Attack Vector Analysis
GTP Attack Vectors & Exploitation
Comprehensive analysis of GTP protocol attack vectors and exploitation techniques for mobile network security testing
Tunnel Hijacking
Intercept and manipulate GTP tunnels to redirect user traffic
Critical Severity
Attackers can intercept GTP tunnel establishment and redirect user data through malicious endpoints.
• Traffic interception
• Data manipulation
• Service redirection
DoS Attacks
Denial of service attacks targeting GTP endpoints
High Severity
Flooding GTP endpoints with malformed or excessive packets to disrupt service availability.
• Resource exhaustion
• Service disruption
• Network congestion
Message Spoofing
Crafting malicious GTP messages to impersonate network elements
High Severity
Creating fake GTP messages to impersonate legitimate network elements and manipulate network behavior.
• Identity spoofing
• Unauthorized access
• Session manipulation
Information Disclosure
Extracting sensitive information from GTP traffic
Medium Severity
Analyzing GTP headers and payloads to extract sensitive subscriber and network information.
• Privacy breach
• Location tracking
• Subscriber profiling
Replay Attacks
Replaying captured GTP messages for malicious purposes
Medium Severity
Capturing and replaying GTP messages to cause duplicate sessions or billing fraud.
• Session duplication
• Billing fraud
• Service disruption
Protocol Fuzzing
Discovering vulnerabilities through malformed message testing
Variable Severity
Sending malformed GTP messages to discover implementation vulnerabilities and crash conditions.
• Implementation bugs
• Crash conditions
• Memory corruption
Attack Impact Matrix
Comprehensive overview of GTP attack vectors and their potential impact
| Attack Vector | Severity | Confidentiality | Integrity | Availability | Affected Versions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tunnel Hijacking | Critical | High | High | Medium | GTPv1, GTPv2 |
| DoS Attacks | High | Low | Low | High | All Versions |
| Message Spoofing | High | Medium | High | Medium | GTPv1, GTPv2 |
| Information Disclosure | Medium | High | Low | Low | All Versions |
| Replay Attacks | Medium | Low | Medium | Medium | GTPv1, GTPv2 |
Mitigation Strategies
Essential security measures to protect against GTP attacks
Technical Controls
- • Implement GTP tunnel authentication
- • Deploy message integrity verification
- • Enable sequence number validation
- • Configure rate limiting and DDoS protection
- • Use GTP firewalls and security gateways
Operational Controls
- • Regular security assessments
- • Network traffic monitoring
- • Anomaly detection systems
- • Incident response procedures
- • Security awareness training