WinPcap 4.1.3

Now that we are able to capture and filter network traffic, we want to put our knowledge to work with a simple "real world" application.

In this lesson we will take code from the previous lessons and use these pieces to build a more useful program. the main purpose of the current program is to show how the protocol headers of a captured packet can be parsed and interpreted. The resulting application, called UDPdump, prints a summary of the UDP traffic on our network.

We have chosen to parse and display the UDP protocol because it is more accessible than other protocols such as TCP and consequently is an excellent initial example. Let's look at the code:

/*
* Copyright (c) 1999 - 2005 NetGroup, Politecnico di Torino (Italy)
* Copyright (c) 2005 - 2006 CACE Technologies, Davis (California)
* All rights reserved.
*
* Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
* modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
* are met:
*
* 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
* 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
* notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
* documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
* 3. Neither the name of the Politecnico di Torino, CACE Technologies
* nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote
* products derived from this software without specific prior written
* permission.
*
* THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
* "AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
* LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
* A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT
* OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
* SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT
* LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE,
* DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY
* THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT
* (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE
* OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.
*
*/
#include "pcap.h"
/* 4 bytes IP address */
typedef struct ip_address{
u_char byte1;
u_char byte2;
u_char byte3;
u_char byte4;
}ip_address;
/* IPv4 header */
typedef struct ip_header{
u_char ver_ihl; // Version (4 bits) + Internet header length (4 bits)
u_char tos; // Type of service
u_short tlen; // Total length
u_short identification; // Identification
u_short flags_fo; // Flags (3 bits) + Fragment offset (13 bits)
u_char ttl; // Time to live
u_char proto; // Protocol
u_short crc; // Header checksum
ip_address saddr; // Source address
ip_address daddr; // Destination address
u_int op_pad; // Option + Padding
}ip_header;
/* UDP header*/
typedef struct udp_header{
u_short sport; // Source port
u_short dport; // Destination port
u_short len; // Datagram length
u_short crc; // Checksum
}udp_header;
/* prototype of the packet handler */
void packet_handler(u_char *param, const struct pcap_pkthdr *header, const u_char *pkt_data);
int main()
{
pcap_if_t *alldevs;
int inum;
int i=0;
pcap_t *adhandle;
char errbuf[PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE];
u_int netmask;
char packet_filter[] = "ip and udp";
struct bpf_program fcode;
/* Retrieve the device list */
if (pcap_findalldevs_ex(PCAP_SRC_IF_STRING, NULL, &alldevs, errbuf) == -1)
{
fprintf(stderr,"Error in pcap_findalldevs: %s\n", errbuf);
exit(1);
}
/* Print the list */
for(d=alldevs; d; d=d->next)
{
printf("%d. %s", ++i, d->name);
if (d->description)
printf(" (%s)\n", d->description);
else
printf(" (No description available)\n");
}
if(i==0)
{
printf("\nNo interfaces found! Make sure WinPcap is installed.\n");
return -1;
}
printf("Enter the interface number (1-%d):",i);
scanf_s("%d", &inum);
if(inum < 1 || inum > i)
{
printf("\nInterface number out of range.\n");
/* Free the device list */
pcap_freealldevs(alldevs);
return -1;
}
/* Jump to the selected adapter */
for(d=alldevs, i=0; i< inum-1 ;d=d->next, i++);
/* Open the adapter */
if ( (adhandle= pcap_open(d->name, // name of the device
65536, // portion of the packet to capture.
// 65536 grants that the whole packet will be captured on all the MACs.
PCAP_OPENFLAG_PROMISCUOUS, // promiscuous mode
1000, // read timeout
NULL, // remote authentication
errbuf // error buffer
) ) == NULL)
{
fprintf(stderr,"\nUnable to open the adapter. %s is not supported by WinPcap\n");
/* Free the device list */
pcap_freealldevs(alldevs);
return -1;
}
/* Check the link layer. We support only Ethernet for simplicity. */
if(pcap_datalink(adhandle) != DLT_EN10MB)
{
fprintf(stderr,"\nThis program works only on Ethernet networks.\n");
/* Free the device list */
pcap_freealldevs(alldevs);
return -1;
}
if(d->addresses != NULL)
/* Retrieve the mask of the first address of the interface */
netmask=((struct sockaddr_in *)(d->addresses->netmask))->sin_addr.S_un.S_addr;
else
/* If the interface is without addresses we suppose to be in a C class network */
netmask=0xffffff;
//compile the filter
if (pcap_compile(adhandle, &fcode, packet_filter, 1, netmask) <0 )
{
fprintf(stderr,"\nUnable to compile the packet filter. Check the syntax.\n");
/* Free the device list */
pcap_freealldevs(alldevs);
return -1;
}
//set the filter
if (pcap_setfilter(adhandle, &fcode)<0)
{
fprintf(stderr,"\nError setting the filter.\n");
/* Free the device list */
pcap_freealldevs(alldevs);
return -1;
}
printf("\nlistening on %s...\n", d->description);
/* At this point, we don't need any more the device list. Free it */
pcap_freealldevs(alldevs);
/* start the capture */
pcap_loop(adhandle, 0, packet_handler, NULL);
return 0;
}
/* Callback function invoked by libpcap for every incoming packet */
void packet_handler(u_char *param, const struct pcap_pkthdr *header, const u_char *pkt_data)
{
struct tm ltime;
char timestr[16];
ip_header *ih;
udp_header *uh;
u_int ip_len;
u_short sport,dport;
time_t local_tv_sec;
/*
* Unused variable
*/
(VOID)(param);
/* convert the timestamp to readable format */
local_tv_sec = header->ts.tv_sec;
localtime_s(&ltime, &local_tv_sec);
strftime( timestr, sizeof timestr, "%H:%M:%S", &ltime);
/* print timestamp and length of the packet */
printf("%s.%.6d len:%d ", timestr, header->ts.tv_usec, header->len);
/* retireve the position of the ip header */
ih = (ip_header *) (pkt_data +
14); //length of ethernet header
/* retireve the position of the udp header */
ip_len = (ih->ver_ihl & 0xf) * 4;
uh = (udp_header *) ((u_char*)ih + ip_len);
/* convert from network byte order to host byte order */
sport = ntohs( uh->sport );
dport = ntohs( uh->dport );
/* print ip addresses and udp ports */
printf("%d.%d.%d.%d.%d -> %d.%d.%d.%d.%d\n",
ih->saddr.byte1,
ih->saddr.byte2,
ih->saddr.byte3,
ih->saddr.byte4,
sport,
ih->daddr.byte1,
ih->daddr.byte2,
ih->daddr.byte3,
ih->daddr.byte4,
dport);
}
#define PCAP_OPENFLAG_PROMISCUOUS
Defines if the adapter has to go in promiscuous mode.
Definition remote-ext.h:203
#define PCAP_SRC_IF_STRING
String that will be used to determine the type of source in use (file, remote/local interface).
Definition remote-ext.h:177
struct pcap pcap_t
Descriptor of an open capture instance. This structure is opaque to the user, that handles its conten...
Definition incs/pcap.h:70
#define PCAP_ERRBUF_SIZE
Size to use when allocating the buffer that contains the libpcap errors.
Definition incs/pcap.h:59
pcap_t * pcap_open(const char *source, int snaplen, int flags, int read_timeout, struct pcap_rmtauth *auth, char *errbuf)
Open a generic source in order to capture / send (WinPcap only) traffic.
void pcap_freealldevs(pcap_if_t *alldevsp)
Free an interface list returned by pcap_findalldevs().
int pcap_compile(pcap_t *p, struct bpf_program *fp, char *str, int optimize, bpf_u_int32 netmask)
Compile a packet filter, converting an high level filtering expression (see Filtering expression synt...
int pcap_datalink(pcap_t *p)
Return the link layer of an adapter.
int pcap_loop(pcap_t *p, int cnt, pcap_handler callback, u_char *user)
Collect a group of packets.
int pcap_findalldevs_ex(char *source, struct pcap_rmtauth *auth, pcap_if_t **alldevs, char *errbuf)
Create a list of network devices that can be opened with pcap_open().
int pcap_setfilter(pcap_t *p, struct bpf_program *fp)
Associate a filter to a capture.
struct sockaddr * netmask
if not NULL, a pointer to a struct sockaddr that contains the netmask corresponding to the address po...
Definition incs/pcap.h:164
Item in a list of interfaces, used by pcap_findalldevs().
Definition incs/pcap.h:148
struct pcap_addr * addresses
a pointer to the first element of a list of addresses for the interface
Definition incs/pcap.h:152
char * name
a pointer to a string giving a name for the device to pass to pcap_open_live()
Definition incs/pcap.h:150
struct pcap_if * next
if not NULL, a pointer to the next element in the list; NULL for the last element of the list
Definition incs/pcap.h:149
char * description
if not NULL, a pointer to a string giving a human-readable description of the device
Definition incs/pcap.h:151
Header of a packet in the dump file.
Definition incs/pcap.h:126
struct timeval ts
time stamp
Definition incs/pcap.h:127
bpf_u_int32 len
length this packet (off wire)
Definition incs/pcap.h:129

First of all, we set the filter to "ip and udp". In this way we are sure that packet_handler() will receive only UDP packets over IPv4: this simplifies the parsing and increases the efficiency of the program.

We have also created a couple of structs that describe the IP and UDP headers. These structs are used by packet_handler() to properly locate the various header fields.

packet_handler(), although limited to a single protocol dissector (UDP over IPv4), shows how complex "sniffers" like tcpdump/WinDump decode the network traffic. Since we aren't interested in the MAC header, we skip it. For simplicity and before starting the capture, we check the MAC layer with pcap_datalink() to make sure that we are dealing with an Ethernet network. This way we can be sure that the MAC header is exactly 14 bytes.

The IP header is located just after the MAC header. We will extract the IP source and destination addresses from the IP header.

Reaching the UDP header is a bit more complicated, because the IP header doesn't have a fixed length. Therefore, we use the IP header's length field to know its size. Once we know the location of the UDP header, we extract the source and destination ports.

The extracted values are printed on the screen, and the result is something like:

  1. \Device\Packet_{A7FD048A-5D4B-478E-B3C1-34401AC3B72F} (Xircom t 10/100 Adapter)
    Enter the interface number (1-2):1
    listening on Xircom CardBus Ethernet 10/100 Adapter...
    16:13:15.312784 len:87 130.192.31.67.2682 -> 130.192.3.21.53
    16:13:15.314796 len:137 130.192.3.21.53 -> 130.192.31.67.2682
    16:13:15.322101 len:78 130.192.31.67.2683 -> 130.192.3.21.53

Each of the final 3 lines represents a different packet.

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documentation. Copyright (c) 2002-2005 Politecnico di Torino. Copyright (c) 2005-2010 CACE Technologies. Copyright (c) 2010-2013 Riverbed Technology. All rights reserved.