Definition of MAC Flooding:
MAC flooding is an attack where a malicious actor sends numerous fake MAC addresses to a switch, overwhelming its CAM table. The CAM table stores MAC addresses and their associated ports for efficient traffic forwarding.
Impact of MAC Flooding:
CAM Table Overflow: When the CAM table is full, the switch cannot learn new MAC addresses and is forced to broadcast traffic to all ports, leading to a degraded network performance and potential data interception.
Switch Behavior: The switch operates in a fail-open mode, treating the network as a hub, which can be exploited for eavesdropping on traffic.