RFC 8900: IP Fragmentation Considered Fragile

Publisher

RFC Editor (IETF)

URL

https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc8900.html

Published

2020-09-01

Updated

unknown

Accessed

2026-10-02

HTTP status

200

License

IETF Trust Legal Provisions; no-redistribution; short excerpts and locators only

Source notes citing this source

• RFC 8900 cites a measurement in which at least 28% of sampled paths did not convey packets containing the IPv6 Fragment extension header. in context
• RFC 8900 states that NAT devices must virtually reassemble fragmented packets in order to translate and forward each fragment. in context
• RFC 8900 says network operators MUST NOT filter ICMPv6 Packet Too Big messages unless they are known to be forged. in context
• RFC 8900 (BCP 230, September 2020) says developers SHOULD NOT develop new protocols or applications that rely on IP fragmentation. in context
• RFC 8900 explains that persistent loss of ICMP Packet Too Big messages causes persistent path MTU black holes. in context
• RFC 8900 notes that non-initial IP fragments carry no transport-layer port information, so a stateless firewall must either accept all subsequent fragments or block them, possibly blocking legitimate traffic. in context

Cite this source record

APA

WarmTransfer. (2020, September 1). RFC 8900: IP Fragmentation Considered Fragile. WarmTransfer. https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/rfc-8900-ip-fragmentation-fragile

BibTeX

@misc{warmtransfer-rfc-8900-ip-fragmentation-fragile,
  title  = {RFC 8900: IP Fragmentation Considered Fragile},
  author = {{WarmTransfer}},
  year   = {2020},
  url    = {https://warmtransfer.net/knowledge/sources/rfc-8900-ip-fragmentation-fragile},
  note   = {RFC Editor (IETF), accessed 2026-10-02}
}