Vulnerability Analysis of the Simple Multicast Forwarding (SMF) Protocol for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

If deployments of Mobile Ad Hoc Networks (MANETs) are to become common outside of purely experimental settings, protocols operating such MANETs must be able to preserve network integrity, even when faced with careless or malicious participants. A first step towards protecting a MANET is to analyze the vulnerabilities of the routing protocol(s), managing the connectivity. Understanding how these routing protocols can be exploited by those with ill intent, countermeasures can be developed, readying MANETs for wider deployment and use. One routing protocol for MANETs, developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a multicast routing protocol for efficient data dissemination, is denoted "Simplified Multicast Forwarding'' (SMF). This protocol is analyzed, and its vulnerabilities described, in this paper. SMF consists of two independent components: (i) duplicate packet detection and (ii) relay set selection, each of which presents its own set of vulnerabilities that an attacker may exploit to compromise network integrity. This paper explores vulnerabilities in each of these, with the aim of identifying attack vectors and thus enabling development of countermeasures.