CAPEC Details
Name WiFi MAC Address Tracking
Likelyhood of attack Typical severity
Low Low
Summary In this attack scenario, the attacker passively listens for WiFi messages and logs the associated Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. These addresses are intended to be unique to each wireless device (although they can be configured and changed by software). Once the attacker is able to associate a MAC address with a particular user or set of users (for example, when attending a public event), the attacker can then scan for that MAC address to track that user in the future.
Prerequisites None
Solutions Automatic randomization of WiFi MAC addresses Frequent changing of handset and retransmission device
Related Weaknesses
CWE ID Description
CWE-201 Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data
CWE-300 Channel Accessible by Non-Endpoint
Related CAPECS
CAPEC ID Description
CAPEC-292 An adversary sends a probe to an IP address to determine if the host is alive. Host discovery is one of the earliest phases of network reconnaissance. The adversary usually starts with a range of IP addresses belonging to a target network and uses various methods to determine if a host is present at that IP address. Host discovery is usually referred to as 'Ping' scanning using a sonar analogy. The goal is to send a packet through to the IP address and solicit a response from the host. As such, a 'ping' can be virtually any crafted packet whatsoever, provided the adversary can identify a functional host based on its response. An attack of this nature is usually carried out with a 'ping sweep,' where a particular kind of ping is sent to a range of IP addresses.