A Survey on Security Issues of SDN Controllers

Software Defined Network (SDN) separates the data layer and control layer of traditional networks, achieving efficient logical centralized control and flexible data forwarding strategy deployment. Compared to traditional networks, the high flexibility and programmability of SDN have made them widely used in various fields such as wide area networks and cloud computing. The successful application of SDN also provides a good reference for the development of multimodal networks in the future; and analyze and predict the endogenous security mechanism of future SDN controller systems. With the continuous development of information technology networks, network service functions have shown diversified and complex characteristics, leading to SDN facing more complex security threats. As the brain and command centre of SDN, controller security protection is important to SDN stable operation. Although mainstream controllers currently have some built-in security protection strategies, due to the lack of targeted defense against special attack methods, they can only serve as a preliminary defense line for SDN security protection. This article starts with the security threats faced by SDN, analyzes the security attacks faced by SDN controllers and the built-in security protection measures of the system, studies the shortcomings of SDN controller systems in facing increasingly diverse security threats, and combines endogenous security to analyze and predict the security protection measures of future SDN controller systems.