T1499.002 Service Exhaustion Flood

Adversaries may target the different network services provided by systems to conduct a denial of service (DoS). Adversaries often target the availability of DNS and web services, however others have been targeted as well.(Citation: Arbor AnnualDoSreport Jan 2018) Web server software can be attacked through a variety of means, some of which apply generally while others are specific to the software being used to provide the service.

One example of this type of attack is known as a simple HTTP flood, where an adversary sends a large number of HTTP requests to a web server to overwhelm it and/or an application that runs on top of it. This flood relies on raw volume to accomplish the objective, exhausting any of the various resources required by the victim software to provide the service.(Citation: Cloudflare HTTPflood)

Another variation, known as a SSL renegotiation attack, takes advantage of a protocol feature in SSL/TLS. The SSL/TLS protocol suite includes mechanisms for the client and server to agree on an encryption algorithm to use for subsequent secure connections. If SSL renegotiation is enabled, a request can be made for renegotiation of the crypto algorithm. In a renegotiation attack, the adversary establishes a SSL/TLS connection and then proceeds to make a series of renegotiation requests. Because the cryptographic renegotiation has a meaningful cost in computation cycles, this can cause an impact to the availability of the service when done in volume.(Citation: Arbor SSLDoS April 2012)

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CSA CCM Mappings

Capability ID Capability Description Mapping Type ATT&CK ID ATT&CK Name Notes
UEM-10 Software Firewall mitigates T1499.002 Service Exhaustion Flood
Comments
This control describes how CSPs and CSCs must install, update, and properly configure endpoint and software-defined firewalls, regularly review and approve firewall rule changes, and monitor traffic for anomalies and malicious code. These mitigative actions help prevent unauthorized access, block threats, and ensure only approved firewall rules are active.
References
    DCS-18 Datacenter Operations Resilience mitigates T1499.002 Service Exhaustion Flood
    Comments
    Adversaries may target the different network services provided by systems to conduct a denial of service (DoS). Adversaries often target the availability of DNS and web services, however others have been targeted as well. Web server software can be attacked through a variety of means, some of which apply generally while others are specific to the software being used to provide the service. This control establishes and regularly evaluates processes, procedures, and technical measures to ensure continuous operations of the datacenter, mitigating attacker techniques such as denial‑of‑service and other availability‑impacting attacks that seek to disrupt business and operational continuity.
    References
      DCS-15 Secure Utilities mitigates T1499.002 Service Exhaustion Flood
      Comments
      Adversaries may target the different network services provided by systems to conduct a denial of service (DoS). Adversaries often target the availability of DNS and web services, however others have been targeted as well. Web server software can be attacked through a variety of means, some of which apply generally while others are specific to the software being used to provide the service. This control requires securing, monitoring, maintaining, and regularly testing utility services (e.g., power, HVAC, communications) to ensure ongoing effectiveness, mitigating attacker techniques such as disruption of infrastructure, exploitation of unmonitored service failures, and availability attacks that can compromise system resilience.
      References