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Multi-vendor Game Server (GameSpy) DDoS Attack

Posted by Hemos on from the how-many-games-do-you-have dept.

w4rl5ck writes "PivX has this security advisory about DDoS attacks using a single modem line and some game servers (i.e. Counter Strike, QuakeX, Battlefield 1942 - in short, those supporting GameSpy). Works via spoofed udp packages querying the server stats, and because udp is connectionless, the server simply answers - to the spoofed address, of course. Funny thing, isn't it? (originally found on heise.de)"

5 of 188 comments (clear)

  1. Even if it is connectionless.. by grub · · Score: 5, Informative

    .. it wouldn't be hard to put in some sort of verification to ensure the packets are getting to an appropriate destination. Witness NFS.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
    1. Re:Even if it is connectionless.. by Yokaze · · Score: 3, Informative

      It would be and it is.

      Connectionless is on the connection layer. This doesn't mean, that the application can't be stateful.
      HTTP is a stateless protocol, still you are surfing just this moment a stateful website.

      --
      "Between strong and weak, between rich and poor [...], it is freedom which oppresses and the law which sets free"
    2. Re:Even if it is connectionless.. by The+Raven · · Score: 3, Informative
      WTF do they do that, anyway?
      Because a program that queries thousands of servers would take HOURS to query them all if it had to negotiate a connection, query, then break down the connection for EVERY SINGLE ONE of the servers it queries.

      It's not uncommon for me to query 20 thousand servers in a few minutes. Doing this with a stateful method would take over an hour. Imagine downloading 20 thousand 500 byte images from 20 thousand web servers. With a well written program, you should be able to do 20 a second... IF you have Windows NT (or derivatives, like 2000 or XP) or Linux. Windows 9x wouldn't be able to do more than 3 or 4, because it can't handle the massive number of TCP connections that NT can.

      Using UDP, on Windows 9x or NT or Linux, I can query 100-200 servers per second.

      The advantages of a connectionless protocol are clear. Yes, we may need to consider an alternative, but don't bash them for stupidity when you don't know the first thing about what you're talking about.
      --
      "I will trust Google to 'do no evil' until the founders no longer run it." Hello Alphabet.
  2. Re:What did we always say.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    As much as I love the All Seeing Eye and I hate Gamespy, the problem exists in the games themselves, any games that support Gamespy. Next time read the article.

  3. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 4, Informative

    Comment removed based on user account deletion