If you observe many ARP responses without matching ARP requests, what are you likely witnessing?

When observing a situation where there are many ARP responses without corresponding ARP requests, it typically indicates ARP spoofing. ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) is used to map IP addresses to MAC addresses on a local area network. In a normal operational context, an ARP request is generated when a device wants to learn the MAC address associated with a specific IP address, and the corresponding ARP response provides that MAC address.

However, in instances of ARP spoofing, an attacker might send out unsolicited ARP responses. This means they are attempting to manipulate the address resolution process, which can lead to traffic interception or redirection. The attacker sends false ARP responses, associating their MAC address with the IP addresses of legitimate devices on the network. As a result, you would see a surplus of ARP responses without the expected corresponding requests, highlighting an abnormal and potentially malicious activity.

In contrast, ARP poisoning and ARP spoofing are closely related concepts, but ARP spoofing is the term that specifically describes the behavior observed in this scenario. Network congestion and normal behavior would not typically result in the observed phenomenon of many unsolicited ARP responses, reinforcing that ARP spoofing is indeed the most accurate interpretation of the situation.