Penetration Testing mailing list archives
Re: Ping a mac address
From: "Bob Foxworth" <rfoxwor1 () tampabay rr com>
Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 20:59:28 -0500
Seems to me you are mixing up osi-layer functionality. A MAC-address is a layer 2 (physical) address. This address only has significance on the local broadcast domain. In ip-terms, your local
subnet.
Ping is a layer 4 protocol, used to check end-to-end connectivity between ip-adresses. You can't use ping to ping a mac-address, since
the
protocol underlying ping (ICMP) won't understand it.I can't find it now, but THERE IS a ethernet "ping" and is a standard protocol , only some old NIC support it , but it does exist.
You state that ping is layer 4 but I believe it is at 3. Ping is the echo-request and echo-reply portion of ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) This is part of the IP protocol to do error-handling, since IP by itself is not guaranteed delivery. IP is at layer 3, not 4, and TCP, which is at 4, supports error-checking, reassembly of lost data etc. Some of the tools now support a TCP "ping" so this of course muddies the water. Pure ICMP is supposed to be part of IP, when it hasn't been blocked by FW rules. What you say about layer 2 is true, MAC's do not route past the local gateway. I remember in the days of the old 8-bit full length ISA bus card from 3com, the 3c501, there came on the support floppy some sort of test diag program which created an ethernet frame to do a connectivity test. Bob Foxworth CISSP ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Audit your website security with Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner: Hackers are concentrating their efforts on attacking applications on your website. Up to 75% of cyber attacks are launched on shopping carts, forms, login pages, dynamic content etc. Firewalls, SSL and locked-down servers are futile against web application hacking. Check your website for vulnerabilities to SQL injection, Cross site scripting and other web attacks before hackers do! Download Trial at: http://www.securityfocus.com/sponsor/pen-test_050831 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current thread:
- Re: Ping a mac address, (continued)
- Re: Ping a mac address Joachim Schipper (Dec 07)
- Re: Ping a mac address Samuel R. Baskinger (Dec 08)
- Re: Ping a mac address Samuel R. Baskinger (Dec 08)
- Re: Ping a mac address kuisma (Dec 04)
- Re: Ping a mac address Joshua Shaffer (Dec 03)
- Re: Ping a mac address Maxime Ducharme (Dec 05)
- RE: Ping a mac address John Tavares (Dec 03)
- Re: Ping a mac address rob . dijkshoorn (Dec 04)
- Re: Ping a mac address James Eaton-Lee (Dec 07)
- Re: Ping a mac address mccauley () gmx net (Dec 09)
- Re: Ping a mac address Bob Foxworth (Dec 11)
- RE: Ping a mac address Dario Ciccarone (dciccaro) (Dec 04)
- RE: Ping a mac address Dario Ciccarone (dciccaro) (Dec 05)
- RE: Ping a mac address Dario Ciccarone (dciccaro) (Dec 05)
- Re: Ping a mac address Thor (Hammer of God) (Dec 05)
- Re: Ping a mac address neil (Dec 06)
- Re: Ping a mac address Chris Kuethe (Dec 06)
- Re: Ping a mac address Thor (Hammer of God) (Dec 05)