A new exploit of CLDAP servers can be used for DDoS attacks that give attackers a 70x boost

The only thing consistent with the cyber threat landscape is that it is never consistent. The job ahead of cybersecurity personnel is challenging and is not getting any simpler. The security industry has warned about the sophistication of DDoS attacks designed by attackers for years.

In this process of attack, the attacker sends a CLDAP request to an LDAP server with a spoofed sender IP address (the target's IP). The server responds with a bulked-up response to the target's IP giving rise to the reflection attack. The targeted machine cannot process the massive amount of CLDAP data at the same time. Connectionless Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (CLDAP) is not some sort of a scare technique; this is the truth. Businesses must get themselves ready to endure DDoS attacks, especially reflective DDoS attacks. Businesses also need to be aware of any potential weaknesses in their defenses that can permit them to be unsuspecting participants.

What is a DDoS Attack

A Denial of Service (DoS) or Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack occurs when one or many compromised or you can say infected systems launch a flooding attack on one or more targets, in an attempt to overload their network resources and disrupt service or cause a complete service shutdown. Denial of Service and Distributed Denial of Service attacks have harmed commercial and enterprise networks for the last many years. In terms of damage to network infrastructure, service continuity, and business reputation, DDoS attacks have racked up some of the most successful cyberattacks till now.

CLDAP Reflection Attack

A CLDAP Reflection Attack exploits the Connectionless Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (CLDAP), which is an efficient alternative to LDAP queries over UDP. Attackers are sending a CLDAP request to an LDAP server with a spoofed sender IP address and the victim's machine cannot process the massive amount of CLDAP data at the same time which finally the target enters into the attack zone.