Modeling vulnerabilities of ad hoc routing protocols

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to automate the analysis of ad hoc routing protocols in the presence of attackers. To this end, a formal model fo protocol behavior is developed in which time is modeled by a set of constraints on the time of occurrence of events, enabling the representation of partially ordered timed events and asynchronous communication. Data variables are represented symbolically, capturing a range of distinct executions in each expression. Given a formal description of Ad Hoc On Demand Distance Vector Routing Algorithm (AODV) and a desired safety property (route stability), an analysis by a naive semi-decision procedure discovers an instance of an attack that leads to a violation of the property.