CAPEC Details
Name Host Discovery
Likelyhood of attack Typical severity
High Low
Summary An adversary sends a probe to an IP address to determine if the host is alive. Host discovery is one of the earliest phases of network reconnaissance. The adversary usually starts with a range of IP addresses belonging to a target network and uses various methods to determine if a host is present at that IP address. Host discovery is usually referred to as 'Ping' scanning using a sonar analogy. The goal is to send a packet through to the IP address and solicit a response from the host. As such, a 'ping' can be virtually any crafted packet whatsoever, provided the adversary can identify a functional host based on its response. An attack of this nature is usually carried out with a 'ping sweep,' where a particular kind of ping is sent to a range of IP addresses.
Prerequisites The adversary requires logical access to the target network in order to carry out host discovery.
Solutions
Related Weaknesses
CWE ID Description
CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Related CAPECS
CAPEC ID Description
CAPEC-169 An adversary engages in probing and exploration activities to identify constituents and properties of the target.
Taxonomy: ATTACK
Entry ID Entry Name
1018 Remote System Discovery