DNP3 IDS Signatures

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The DNP3 IDS Signatures are part of Digital Bond's SCADA IDS Signature research project. The signatures, or rules in Snort parlance, are written for Snort and some or all of the SCADA signatures have been integrated into most commercial IDS/IPS products.

The signatures can be broadly grouped in the following categories:

  • Unauthorized DNP3 Use - the authorized DNP3 clients and servers are entered as variables in the IDS, and the signatures identify when unauthorized systems send requests with variable severity levels dependent on the request.
  • DNP3 Protocol Errors - these signatures will be triggered when an attacker is attempting to fuzz the protocol.
  • Rare and Dangerous Requests - a number of DNP3 requests can cause a denial of service condition if used by an attacker.

The DNP3 Signatures currently available are listed in the table below.


SID Message Summary
1111201 Disable Unsolicited Response An attacker stops unsolicited responses from field devices to prevent alarms and other critical events.
1111202 Non-DNP3 Communication on a DNP3 Port An established connection between a HMI or control server and a PLC is hijacked or spoofed to send other attacks to either device.
1111203 Unsolicited Response Storm Large amounts of false unsolicited responses are sent to a DNP3 server to overwelm the control servers or control room operators.
1111204 Cold Restart from Authorized Client An attacker can force a PLC or other DNP3 server to power cycle by issuing a response packet with function code 0D.
1111205 Cold Restart from Unauthorized Client An attacker can force a PLC or other DNP3 server to power cycle by issuing a response packet with function code 0D.
1111206 Unauthorized Read Request to a PLC An unauthorized DNP3 client attempts to read information from a PLC or other field device.
1111207 Unauthorized Write Request to a PLC An unauthorized DNP3 client attempts to write information to a PLC or other field device.
1111208 Unauthorized Miscellaneous Request to a PLC An unauthorized DNP3 client issues a request, other than a read or write request, to a PLC or other field device.
1111209 Stop Application An application is stopped on the DNP3 server.
1111210 Warm Restart An attacker can force a PLC or other DNP3 server to initialize its configuration and clear events with function code 0E.
1111211 Broadcast Request from an Authorized Client An attacker can issue a request packet to a network of PLCs or other DNP3 servers.
1111212 Broadcast Request from an Unauthorized Client An attacker can issue a request packet to a network of PLCs or other DNP3 servers.
1111213 Points List Scan An attacker determines what DNP3 data points are available in the reconnaissance phase of an attack.
1111214 Function Code Scan An attacker determines what DNP3 function codes are available in the reconnaissance phase of an attack.


External Links

Download SCADA IDS Signatures

DNP3 Signatures Full Documentation Pages

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