In
computer networking, a mangled or invalid packet is a
packet — especially
IP packet — that either lacks order or self-coherence, or contains code aimed to confuse or disrupt
computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
s,
firewalls,
routers, or any service present on the network.
Their usage is associated with a type of network attack called a
denial-of-service (DoS) attack. They aim to destabilize the network and sometimes to reveal its available services – when network operators must restart the disabled ones.
Mangled packets can be generated by dedicated software such as
nmap.
, most invalid packets are easily filtered by modern
stateful firewalls.
References
Packets (information technology)
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