● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 negative
BGP ORIGIN Attribute Manipulation Affects 70% of Internet Paths
Key points
- 70% of observed Internet paths show BGP ORIGIN attribute manipulation.
- ORIGIN attribute indicates how a route was injected into BGP.
- Manipulation can impact BGP path selection and traffic forwarding.
- The EGP ORIGIN value is obsolete but still present in 3.5% of routes.
Widespread BGP ORIGIN Manipulation Discovered
An investigation into the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) ORIGIN attribute revealed that a significant portion of Internet paths are affected by its manipulation. Approximately 70% of observed paths across numerous vantage points showed a different ORIGIN value compared to what was initially set by the originating Autonomous System (AS). The ORIGIN attribute is a mandatory component of every BGP prefix announcement and should not be altered after its initial setting.
Impact on Internet Traffic Forwarding
The manipulation of the BGP ORIGIN attribute has a direct impact on how traffic is forwarded across the Internet. BGP's path selection algorithm processes path attributes, including ORIGIN, in a deterministic sequence to determine the best path for a specific prefix. If two routes have equal Local Preference and AS_PATH length, the router evaluates the ORIGIN attribute, selecting the path with the lower ORIGIN value. Incorrect or manipulated ORIGIN values can lead to suboptimal routing decisions.
Understanding the BGP ORIGIN Attribute
The ORIGIN attribute specifies how a route was injected into BGP, distinct from the origin AS that announced the route. It has three possible values: IGP (Interior Gateway Protocol), EGP (Exterior Gateway Protocol), and INCOMPLETE. IGP indicates the route is internal to the originating AS, EGP is a historical and obsolete value, and INCOMPLETE signifies the route was learned from an unknown or external source. While IGP is the most common, 3.5% of routes still use the deprecated EGP, and 6.7% are INCOMPLETE, collectively representing over 10% of routes that could influence routing decisions.
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Primary sources
CVE CVE-2023-503877.5 HIGHReporting from
Research found that approximately 70% of observed Internet paths have a manipulated BGP ORIGIN attribute, differing from the value set by the originating Autonomous System. This manipulation can significantly alter how traffic is routed across the Internet, potentially leading to suboptimal path selection.