Bypass Hotel Wi-Fi Restrictions Using MAC Spoofing | TryHackMe Lab

Introduction

This lab simulates a hotel Wi-Fi network where users must pay for access. The router restricts devices based on their MAC addresses. Alice, who has paid, can access the internet, while Bob’s device is blocked. The lab teaches how MAC address spoofing can bypass such restrictions.

Lab Scenario Summary

We are placed in a simulated hotel Wi-Fi environment. In this scenario:

• Two devices are connected to the hotel router: Alice and Bob.

• Alice has paid for Wi-Fi, so her packets (shown in green) are allowed to pass through the router to the internet.

• Bob has not paid, so his packets (shown in blue) are being blocked by the router and discarded (sent to the bin).

Each device has a unique MAC address:

• Alice's MAC Address: 00:12:32:2F:33:39

• Bob's MAC Address: 04:9E:44:99:A3:12

Objective

The goal is to bypass the Wi-Fi access restriction by changing Bob’s MAC address to match Alice’s MAC address, thereby tricking the router into allowing Bob’s traffic.

Tools Used

• Try Hack Me Lab

Step-by-Step Walkthrough

1. Observation:

   • Initially, I observed the network traffic.

   • Alice's device was able to access the Hotel Wi-Fi.

   • Bob's device was blocked by the router.

2. Understanding the Mechanism:

   • The router uses MAC addresses to identify users.

   • Since Alice paid for Wi-Fi, her MAC address is on the “allowed list”.

3. MAC Spoofing Attack:

   • I changed Bob’s MAC address to spoof Alice’s MAC address:
     00:12:32:2F:33:39

   • This makes Bob's device appear to the router as Alice’s device.

4. Testing the Access:

   • After changing Bob’s MAC address, I sent a request to access the TryHackMe website.

   • This time, the router allowed Bob’s traffic, assuming it was Alice’s device.

Results

By spoofing the MAC address, Bob bypassed the router’s restrictions without paying, gaining free internet access.

What I Learned

• MAC Address Filtering is a weak form of security.

• MAC Spoofing can easily bypass such access restrictions.

• Devices on a network can be impersonated if their MAC addresses are known.

• It’s important to combine MAC filtering with other authentication mechanisms for stronger security.

Conclusion

Through this lab, I successfully demonstrated how a device can gain unauthorized access to a network by spoofing a MAC address. This highlights the importance of understanding basic network security measures and their limitations.