About Unicast RPF
The unicast RPF feature reduces problems that are caused by the introduction of malformed or forged (spoofed) IPv4 or IPv6 source addresses into a network by discarding IPv4 or IPv6 packets that lack a verifiable IP source address. For example, a number of common types of Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks, including Smurf and Tribal Flood Network (TFN) attacks, can take advantage of forged or rapidly changing source IPv4 or IPv6 addresses to allow attackers to thwart efforts to locate or filter the attacks. Unicast RPF deflects attacks by forwarding only the packets that have source addresses that are valid and consistent with the IP routing table.
When you enable unicast RPF on an interface, the switch examines all ingress packets received on that interface to ensure that the source address and source interface appear in the routing table and match the interface on which the packet was received. This examination of source addresses relies on the Forwarding Information Base (FIB).
 Note |
Unicast RPF is an ingress function and is applied only on the ingress interface of a switch at the upstream end of a connection. |
Unicast RPF verifies that any packet received at a switch interface arrives on the best return path (return route) to the source of the packet by doing a reverse lookup in the FIB. If the packet was received from one of the best reverse path routes, the packet is forwarded as normal. If there is no reverse path route on the same interface from which the packet was received, the source address might have been modified by the attacker. If unicast RPF does not find a reverse path for the packet, the packet is dropped.
Note |
With unicast RPF, all equal-cost “best” return paths are considered valid, which means that unicast RPF works where multiple return paths exist, if each path is equal to the others in terms of the routing cost (number of hops, weights, and so on) and as long as the route is in the FIB. Unicast RPF also functions where Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) variants are being used and unequal candidate paths back to the source IP address exist. |
Unicast RPF Process
Unicast RPF has several key implementation principles:
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The packet must be received at an interface that has the best return path (route) to the packet source (a process called symmetric routing). There must be a route in the FIB that matches the route to the receiving interface. Static routes, network statements, and dynamic routing add routes to the FIB.
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IP source addresses at the receiving interface must match the routing entry for the interface.
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Unicast RPF is an input function and is applied only on the input interface of a device at the upstream end of a connection.
You can use unicast RPF for downstream networks, even if the downstream network has other connections to the Internet.
 Caution |
Be careful when using optional BGP attributes, such as weight and local preference, because an attacker can modify the best path back to the source address. Modification would affect the operation of unicast RPF. |
When a packet is received at the interface where you have configured unicast RPF and ACLs, the Cisco NX-OS software performs the following actions:
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Checks the input ACLs on the inbound interface.
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Uses unicast RPF to verify that the packet has arrived on the best return path to the source, which it does by doing a reverse lookup in the FIB table.
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Conducts a FIB lookup for packet forwarding.
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Checks the output ACLs on the outbound interface.
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Forwards the packet.
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