The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is a network protocol used to map a physical address (MAC address) to an IP address on a local network. The following are the steps of ARP protocol:
Step 1: A device sends an ARP request to the network asking for the MAC address of a specific IP address.
Step 2: If the IP address is on the same network as the requesting device, the ARP request is broadcasted to all devices on that network.
Step 3: The device with the matching IP address responds with its MAC address.
Step 4: The requesting device receives the response and caches the MAC address, associating it with the IP address.
Step 5: The requesting device uses the MAC address to communicate with the device that has the specified IP address.
The ARP protocol has no security mechanisms to verify that the MAC address is correct; therefore, ARP spoofing attacks can be used to intercept and modify network traffic.
