Exploring IPv6 Security Flaws: Risks and Protocol Challenges Ahead

Ready or not, IPv6 is finally visible on the horizon... And researchers are already finding major security problems with it.

IPv6, which is supported in some of the latest OSes and network devices, is all about end-to-end, or peer-to-peer communications. Aside from offering more address space than its IPv4 predecessor which has made it immediately popular in some parts of the world it offers a redesigned IP packet format that simplifies route processing, making it ideal for applications such as voice over IP or instant messaging.

But IPv6 presents a whole range of new security problems, experts say. French researchers recently found problems in the IPv6 protocol specification itself, namely in the routing header. Bottom line: The specification lets the sender add an arbitrary number of extra headers on IPv6 packets, and the IPv6-based routers or hosts must process these headers. It's a denial-of-service attacker's dream come true.

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