Adversaries may bridge network boundaries by compromising perimeter network devices. Breaching these devices may enable an adversary to bypass restrictions on traffic routing that otherwise separate trusted and untrusted networks.
Devices such as routers and firewalls can be used to create boundaries between trusted and untrusted networks. They achieve this by restricting traffic types to enforce organizational policy in an attempt to reduce the risk inherent in such connections. Restriction of traffic can be achieved by prohibiting IP addresses, layer 4 protocol ports, or through deep packet inspection to identify applications. To participate with the rest of the network, these devices can be directly addressable or transparent, but their mode of operation has no bearing on how the adversary can bypass them when compromised.
When an adversary takes control of such a boundary device, they can bypass its policy enforcement to pass normally prohibited traffic across the trust boundary between the two separated networks without hinderance. By achieving sufficient rights on the device, an adversary can reconfigure the device to allow the traffic they want, allowing them to then further achieve goals such as command and control via Multi-hop Proxy or exfiltration of data via Traffic Duplication. In the cases where a border device separates two separate organizations, the adversary can also facilitate lateral movement into new victim environments.
View in MITRE ATT&CK®Capability ID | Capability Description | Mapping Type | ATT&CK ID | ATT&CK Name | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
AC-2 | Account Management | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
AC-3 | Access Enforcement | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
AC-4 | Information Flow Enforcement | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
AC-5 | Separation of Duties | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
AC-6 | Least Privilege | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
CA-7 | Continuous Monitoring | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
CM-2 | Baseline Configuration | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
CM-5 | Access Restrictions for Change | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
CM-6 | Configuration Settings | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging | |
CM-7 | Least Functionality | Protects | T1599 | Network Boundary Bridging |
Technique ID | Technique Name | Number of Mappings |
---|---|---|
T1599.001 | Network Address Translation Traversal | 18 |