Memcached amplification
UDP-exposed memcached yields up to 51,200x amplification
categoryNetwork and infrastructure attacksseverityHighdetectabilityNonelabnot yet measured
Example: GitHub 1.35 Tbps (2018)
Classification
25 values: 13 imported, 1 derived, 11 machine-classified. What do these mean?
Exploitability
| Attack vector | Network attacks |
|---|---|
| Reach (CVSS) | Network |
| Attack complexity | Low |
| Privileges required | None |
| User interaction | None |
| Attacker skill required | Low |
| Resources required | Low |
| Likelihood / prevalence | Low |
| Maturity | Legacy / declining |
Impact & scope
| Severity | High |
|---|---|
| Impact | Availability |
| Platform | IaaSLinuxmacOSWindows |
| Environment | On-premises |
| Target asset class | Network device |
| Kill-chain phase (tactic) | Impact |
Detection & telemetry
| Detectability | None |
|---|---|
| Data sources (ATT&CK data components) | Command ExecutionFirewall Rule ModificationHost StatusNetwork Connection CreationNetwork Traffic FlowProcess Creation |
Detection & response
Mitigated by 12
- M1037 attack-mitigation
D3-APCAd3fendD3-CSPPd3fendD3-ISVAd3fendD3-ITFd3fendD3-NTCDd3fendD3-NTFd3fendD3-NTSAd3fendD3-PHDURAd3fendD3-PMADd3fendD3-RTSDd3fendD3-UGLPAd3fend
Detected by 1
- DET0408 attack-detection-strategy
Attack relationships
- Parent: Carpet-bombing DDoS
- Parent: DDoS-for-hire / booters
- Parent: DoS / DDoS
- Parent: Hacktivism
- Parent: Ransom DDoS
- Parent: Shrew / pulsing DoS
Framework references
- Primary source: https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ddos/memcached-ddos-attack/
- attack: T1498.002 (primary)
- capec: CAPEC-490
Evidence & sources
- ev-0001 (Cyber Attack Taxonomy) — Name, definition and Example/ID taken verbatim from the 'Network and infrastructure attacks' table, line 141 of Cyber-Attack-Taxonomy.md
- ev-0002 (Seeded-record enrichment run 2026-09-30 (crosswalk + facet classification)) — Crosswalk to attack:T1498.002, capec:CAPEC-490 as the nearest framework entries; ids verified to exist in the cached catalogues.
- ev-0003 (CAPEC — Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification 3.9) — CAPEC-490 Amplification: CAPEC prerequisites for this pattern
This type of an attack requires the existence of a 3rd party service that generates a response that is significantly larger than the request that triggers it.