Christmas tree packet
|
A Christmas tree packet is a packet with every single option set for whatever protocol is in use. Also known as a "Kamikaze" packet, nastygram, and lamp test segment.
The term probably derives from a fanciful image of each little option bit being represented by a different-colored light bulb, all turned on, as in, "the packet was lit up like a Christmas Tree."
Christmas Tree packets can be used as a method of divining the underlying nature of a TCP/IP stack by sending the packets and awaiting and analyzing the responses. Many operating systems implement their compliance with the Internet Protocol standard (RFC 791) in varying or incomplete ways. By observing how a host responds to an odd packet, such as a Christmas Tree packet, assumptions can be made regarding the host's operating system. Versions of Microsoft Windows, BSDi, HP-UX, Cisco IOS, MVS, and IRIX display behaviors that differ from the RFC standard when queried with said packets.
Compare Chernobyl packet, martian packet.