What is a UDP Flood Attack? - Check Point Software (2025)

How Does a UDP Flood Attack Work?

User Datagram Protocol (UDP) is a connectionless protocol, meaning that it doesn’t guarantee successful transmission of data packets. Attackers can leverage the inherent lack of error checking and connection mechanisms in UDP to flood operating systems with a massive volume of packets, rendering systems inaccessible.

Attackers typically utilize botnets to launch UDP flood attacks. Botnets are networks of compromised devices under the control of the attacker. They’re typically composed of:

• Computers infected with malware
• Hijacked IoT devices
• Other devices that have been taken over

The goal of a UDP flood is to send a massive volume of UDP packets to some destination. Common targets of attacks are services that heavily rely on UDP traffic, such as Domain Name System (DNS) servers, gaming servers, and streaming services. The UDP packets overwhelm the processing capacity of the targeted server and exhaust its server resources.

Because UDP floods frequently rely upon IP spoofing to mask the source of the attack, they can be difficult to block.

Dangers of UDP Flood Attacks

UDP floods can have severe consequences for targeted organizations, including:

• Service Disruption: The high volume of UDP packets sent during a flood attack can cause website crashes, service outages, and inability to access online resources. Users are denied access to affected systems, causing frustration and reduced productivity, not to mention a loss of confidence in the organization’s ability to effectively maintain operations.
• Financial Loss: Downtime resulting from a successful UDP flood attack can potentially result in significant revenue losses. Research on data center cyberattacks suggests that every minute of downtime can lead to losses of $9,000 or more. And this is only the cost of the downtime; remediation and recovery expenses can exacerbate the financial impact.
• Reputational Damage: Service disruptions can have long-term effects on an organization’s reputation and customer trust. Repeated instances may drastically erode confidence in the reliability of provided services, potentially resulting in lower perceived value, decreased brand loyalty, and increased customer churn rate.

Common Tools Used in UDP Flood Attacks

Both open-source and commercial attack tools may be used to launch UDP floods:

• Open Source Tools: Hping3 is a popular tool used to send custom Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) packets, including those used in UDP floods. Another option is Low Orbit Ion Cannon (LOIC), a widely-used tool ostensibly created for server stress testing, but commonly used by malicious actors in real-world DoS attacks.
• Commercial Tools: Unfortunately, there are commercial DDoS-for-hire services (sometimes called boosters or stressers) that rent out botnets capable of performing DDoS attacks to anyone willing to pay. Prices for these services can be shockingly low: as little as $10 per hour, in some cases.
• Advanced Attack Techniques: Sophisticated attackers may use more advanced techniques like UDP amplification attacks. In this variation, flaws in unrelated third-party services are exploited to amplify the effects of a UDP flood, resulting in a much higher volume of traffic sent than the attacker’s botnet can produce alone.

How to Prevent UDP Flood Attacks

Defending against UDP flood attacks requires multiple layers of security, including:

• Network Firewalls: It’s possible to configure firewalls to filter out malicious UDP traffic, for instance by blocking packets from unknown sources or directed towards certain or random ports.
• DDoS Mitigation Services: Specialized DDoS mitigation services offer advanced protection against UDP floods and similar volumetric attacks. These services employ advanced capabilities, like traffic scrubbing technologies, to identify and filter out malicious traffic.
• Rate Limiting: Limiting the rate of UDP packets allowed from a single source can help reduce the effects of an attack. This prevents attackers from overwhelming the system with excessive traffic.
• Security Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of systems is an important component of effective security. Rapidly detecting an unexpected spike in UDP traffic is an important part of mitigating a potential attack.
• Incident Response: Having an incident response plan in place ensures that the organization is equipped to to take swift action to respond and recover from attacks.

Adequate defense against UDP floods involves a comprehensive security strategy, well-prepared staff, and capable security systems.

Defeat UDP Flood Attacks with Quantum DDoS Protector

UDP flood attacks present a substantial threat to organizational security. Exploiting the vulnerabilities inherent to the protocol, these attacks require few resources to execute, and yet are capable of causing widespread disruptions. Unchecked UDP floods can rapidly overwhelm systems, rendering them unavailable to legitimate users.

The Check Point Quantum DDoS Protector is an advanced security solution designed to effectively combat UDP flood attacks. Leveraging AI-enhanced detection and mitigation capabilities, it can rapidly identify suspicious activity and block malicious packets. The Quantum DDoS Protector provides unparalleled protection against a wide range of cyber threats, including UDP floods.

Now is the time to protect your business operations and infrastructure with Check Point’s industry-leading technology: schedule a demo of Quantum DDoS Protector today.