An Evaluation of Enterprise Router Management-Plane Security using Controlled Simulation

Abstract

Enterprise routers are often assumed secure just because they are used in business networks, but that assumption can be risky if management services are left open or poorly monitored, since unauthorized access might go unnoticed. This study examines enterprise router management plane security in a controlled GNS3 simulation. The objectives were to set up the simulation, test MikroTik RouterOS and Cisco IOS XE with controlled unauthorized access attempts, and evaluate performance using metrics such as service accessibility, authentication enforcement, logging visibility, mitigation, and system stability. A test network was created where an Ubuntu attacker node repeatedly tried to reach the management interfaces, and the systems recorded which services could be accessed, how authentication responded, what logs appeared, and the stability of the devices. After applying configuration changes to reduce exposure, the tests were repeated to review effectiveness. Both routers blocked unauthorized access, required valid credentials, and remained stable with no crashes or unexpected behavior. Logging behavior differed: MikroTik captured all access attempts, whereas Cisco’s default setup didn’t record failed web logins. After mitigation, certain management services became unreachable from the attacker node, reducing exposure. These results indicate that securing the management plane requires more than blocking logins. Administrator’s team should disable unused services and ensure logging captures the attempts, while routers vendors should improve default logging. Proper configuration, ongoing monitoring, and observing system behavior are basis for maintaining enterprise router security and minimizing threats.