What attacks can DHCP snooping help defend against?

DHCP snooping is primarily designed to protect against bogus DHCP server attacks. By enabling DHCP snooping on a network, switches can determine which ports are allowed to send DHCP server responses. This provides a mechanism to filter out responses from any unauthorized or rogue DHCP servers.

In addition to protecting against bogus servers, DHCP snooping also helps mitigate starvation attacks, where an attacker sends a flood of DHCP requests impersonating a legitimate device, consuming all available IP address leases from a DHCP server. However, the mention of changing the CHADDR field value as a method for starvation attacks is somewhat misleading, as it is not the typical mechanism employed for such attacks within the context of DHCP operations.

Understanding that DHCP snooping fundamentally creates an environment that distinguishes between trusted and untrusted ports helps clarify its role in defending against unauthorized DHCP communications while ensuring legitimate devices can receive their needed IP configurations.

Bogus DHCP server attacks are a primary focus of DHCP snooping's defensive capabilities, as the feature is designed explicitly for that purpose. This reinforces the idea that its implementation is crucial in maintaining a secure DHCP infrastructure.