A new attack technique, which researchers have named Win-DDoS, has been discovered, posing a significant threat to cybersecurity by potentially allowing attackers to control thousands of public domain controllers (DCs) worldwide to execute distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Presented by SafeBreach researchers Or Yair and Shahak Morag at DEF CON 33, this innovative method exploits an inherent flaw in the Windows Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) client code. This flaw manipulates the URL referral process, enabling attackers to direct DCs towards a victim server to launch overwhelming attacks. According to Yair and Morag, they effectively turned Windows DCs into unknowing participants in DDoS activities without needing code execution or authentication.
The process established by the Win-DDoS method begins with the attacker sending an RPC call to the DCs, coercing them into acting as clients for the Connectionless Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (CLDAP). The DCs subsequently make CLDAP requests to the attacker’s server, which returns a referral response pointing to another server controlled by the attacker. This referral includes several lengthy URLs leading to the same IP address, causing the DCs to repetitively send LDAP queries until the connections are closed, creating continuous demand on the targeted victim server.
What differentiates Win-DDoS from traditional DDoS attacks is that it operates without requiring any substantial infrastructure investment or breaching devices, allowing attackers to remain undetected. The ability to generate high bandwidth without a traditional DDoS setup makes the threat particularly concerning.
Moreover, the researchers noted that it is possible to trigger serious issues such as LSASS crashes or a blue screen of death by submitting excessively lengthy referral lists to DCs, exploiting the lack of limits on referral sizes and how information is cached in memory.
Apart from the Win-DDoS technique, SafeBreach’s research identified vulnerabilities in various aspects of Windows systems that could be exploited for denial-of-service attacks. Their findings revealed that certain flaws could lead to a crash in Windows systems without needing user authentication or compromising any internal devices. These vulnerabilities allow attackers to leverage even a small foothold within an internal network to amplify their disruptive capabilities dramatically.
The implications of this research are significant. It challenges conventional enterprise assumptions regarding threat modeling and the safety of internal systems, emphasizing the need for enhanced security strategies to protect against these evolving threats.
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