Vulnerabilities in the 802.11 Wireless Client Selection Mechanism

Abstract

EEE 802.11 wireless networking has demonstrated explosive growth and popularity, especially in dense urban areas. This has resulted in commercial offerings of public access wireless networks (hotspots) in many airports, hotels, coffee shops, and even some parks. The prevalence of these hotspots has had an unanticipated effect on the mechanisms in client operating systems for selecting wireless networks. This paper examines the automatic network selection mechanisms employed by Microsoft Windows and Apple MacOS, revealing vulnerabilities in their implementations. Specifically, it discusses how an attacker can exploit these vulnerabilities through rogue access points, allowing for unauthorized access to user data without notification. The paper provides a detailed analysis of the wireless networking selection algorithms, highlights the weaknesses in their design, and proposes potential solutions to mitigate these security risks.