Ping of Death Attack: How It Targets IPs and How to Prevent It

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Among the earliest forms of network-based attacks, the Ping of Death (PoD) remains a classic example of how something as basic as a ping request can be manipulated to crash systems. Though many modern operating systems have patched against it, vulnerable or unpatched IP hosts may still be exposed—and attackers know this.

What Is a Ping of Death Attack?

A Ping of Death is a type of Denial of Service (DoS) attack in which an attacker sends a malformed or oversized ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) packet to a target system. While a standard ICMP Echo Request (ping) packet is typically 32 to 64 bytes and never more than 65,535 bytes, attackers exploit vulnerable systems by crafting a ping packet that, when reassembled, exceeds this size limit.

Older or improperly configured systems may not handle this oversized packet properly, resulting in:

  • System crashes
  • Reboots
  • Application failures
  • Kernel-level panic

The attack targets the system's memory handling and causes instability or shutdown.

Impact of a Ping of Death Attack

The consequences of a successful Ping of Death attack on a public-facing IP can be significant, especially if the target serves as a critical server or service endpoint. Some of the common impacts include:

  • Sudden service downtime and disruption
  • Crashing of legacy systems or unpatched network devices
  • Loss of availability for users or clients
  • Exhaustion of system resources in edge devices like routers, printers, or cameras
  • Potential denial of access to mission-critical infrastructure

In environments that rely on legacy systems, even a single malformed ping can cascade into larger operational issues.

How to Defend Against Ping of Death Attacks

How to Defend Against Ping of Death Attacks

The Ping of Death attack exploits improperly handled ICMP packets. While most modern systems are patched, you can still strengthen defences by following these steps across platforms:

1. Disable Ping

  • On Windows (Block Incoming Pings via Firewall):
    • New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Block ICMPv4-In" -Protocol ICMPv4 -Direction Inbound -Action Block
  • On Linux (Using iptables to drop ping requests):
    • sudo iptables -A INPUT -p icmp --icmp-type echo-request -j DROP
  • On Cisco Routers:
    • conf t
    • access-list 100 deny icmp any any echo
    • access-list 100 permit ip any any
    • interface GigabitEthernet0/0
    • ip access-group 100 in
    • end

3. Rate-Limit ICMP Instead of Blocking (if ping is needed internally)

  • On Linux (iptables rate-limit ping):
    • sudo iptables -A INPUT -p icmp --icmp-type echo-request -m limit --limit 1/second -j ACCEPT
    • sudo iptables -A INPUT -p icmp --icmp-type echo-request -j DROP
  • On Routers/Firewalls:
    • Check your firewall UI for ICMP rate-limiting or flood protection and enable thresholds (e.g., Max 5 ICMP/sec).

4. Configure DPI or Threat Protection on Firewalls

Enable Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) or Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) features to filter malformed ICMP packets.
  • On Fortinet: Enable DoS policy > ICMP flooding protection
  • On Palo Alto: Use Zone Protection Profiles to block oversized/malformed ICMP
  • On pfSense: Install and configure Snort or Suricata

5. Harden Cloud Platforms

    • On AWS:
      • Go to Security Groups
      • Edit inbound rules
      • Remove or restrict:
        • Type: All ICMP - IPv4 | Source: 0.0.0.0/0
    • On Azure:
      • Go to Network Security Group > Inbound Rules
      • Add a rule to Deny ICMP (Protocol 1) from Any source if not required
    • On GCP:
      • Navigate to VPC network > Firewall rules
      • Create or edit a rule:
        • Direction: Ingress
        • Protocols: ICMP
        • Action: Deny
        • Source IP ranges: 0.0.0.0/0

Final Thoughts

The Ping of Death might seem outdated, but it continues to be effective in environments where legacy systems remain in use or where security hygiene is inconsistent. Attackers often scan for publicly available IPs, looking for low-effort opportunities like these. Protecting against such attacks is not about sophisticated tools—it’s about knowing what you have exposed and ensuring it’s secure. Simple best practices like patching, traffic filtering, and network segmentation go a long way in eliminating this vulnerability altogether.