SYN/ACK to port 53

From: DeCamp, Paul (PDeCampat_private)
Date: Thu May 24 2001 - 11:33:28 PDT

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    OK, this is beginning to drive me nuts.  Since about February of this year,
    our firewall has been periodically hit with what can only be a probe,
    attack, whatever to port 53.  Every time the scan exhibits the same behavior
    and is from the same set of IP addresses.
    
    A SYN/ACK packet is sent to TCP port 53.  No SYN was sent from our system.
    The SYN & ACK sequence numbers appear to be random, but the ACK is always 1
    less than the SYN.  Our system responds with a RST to the ACK.
    
    I have searched books, the Internet (SANS, SecuityFocus, etc.), and while I
    have found other reports of somewhat-simlar activity, I have to this day
    found no coherent explanation as to what this is.  Based on the SYN/ACK
    numbers, this is obviously some sort of malformed packet, but to what
    purpose?  To spoof our system into thinking that it has sent a SYN when it
    hasn't?  Is it a type of SYN flood?  To hijack a port on our system?  A scan
    for some trojan?
    
    Any assistance would be appreciated, and better yet, any advice as to where
    on the Internet is a good location for looking up such obviously abnormal
    activity and what possible explanations may be.  Thanks.
    
    ------------------
    Paul DeCamp, IT Operations Lead
    MedManage Systems Inc.
    Voice:  (425) 354-2212
    E-Mail: PDeCampat_private
    



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