Man-in-the-middle attack

Description
The man-in-the middle attack acts intercepting a communication between two systems, for example, in the http transaction the target is the TCP connection between client and server. Using different techniques the attacker splits the original TCP connection in 2 new connections, one between the client and the attacker and the other between the attacker  and the server, as shown in figure 1. Once the TCP connection is intercepted, the attacker acts as a proxy, being able to read, insert and modify the data in the intercepted communication.



Figure 1. Illustration of man-in-the-middle attack

In the web context the MITM attack is very effective because of the nature of the http protocol and the data transfer which are all ASCII based. This way, it’s possible to view and interview within the http protocol and also in the data transferred. So, for example, it’s possible to capture a session cookie reading the http header, but it’s also possible to change  an  amount of  money transaction inside the application context, as shown in figure 2.



Figure 2. Illustration of a HTTP Packet intercepted with Paros Proxy.

The MITM attack could also be done over https connection by using the same technique, the only difference consists in  the establishment of two independent SSL sessions, one over each TCP connection. The browser sets a SSL connection with attacker and the attacker establishes  another SSL connection with the web server. In general the browser warns the user that the digital certificate used is not valid, but sometimes the user could ignore the warning because he doesn’t understand the threat.. In some specific contexts it’s possible that the warn doesn’t appear, as for example, when the Server certificate is compromised by the attacker or when the attacker certificate is signed by a trusted CA and the CN is the same of the original web site.

The MITM it’s not only an attack technique but it’s also usually used during a development step of a web application or still used for Web Vulnerability assessments.

MITM Attack tools
There are several tools to realize MITM attack. These tools are particularly efficient in LAN networks environments because implements extra functionalities like the arp spoof capabilities that permits intercept the communication between hosts.


 * PacketCreator
 * Ettercap
 * Dsniff
 * Cain e Abel

MITM Proxy only tools
Proxy tools only permits interact with all the parts of the HTTP protocol like the header and the body of a transaction, but have not the capability to intercept the TCP connection between client and server. To intercept the communication it’s necessary to use other network attack tools or configure the browser


 * OWASP WebScarab
 * Paros Proxy
 * Burp Proxy
 * ProxyFuzz
 * Odysseus Proxy
 * Fiddler (by Microsoft)

Severity
High

Likelihood of exploitation
Medium

External References

 * http://www.sans.org/reading_room/whitepapers/threats/480.php
 * http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/300.html
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitm

Related Threats
Category:Authentication

Category:Client-side Attacks

Related Attacks
Man-in-the-browser_attack

Related Vulnerabilities
Category:Session Management Vulnerability

Related Countermeasures

 * Session Management