BGP ORIGIN attribute manipulation and its impact on the Internet

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This post details an investigation into the manipulation of the BGP ORIGIN attribute, revealing that approximately 70% of observed paths have a different ORIGIN value than what was set by the originating Autonomous System. The analysis used BGPKIT and MRT dumps from RIPE RIS and RouteViews, along with internal BMP data, to identify ASes that rewrite the ORIGIN attribute, primarily to IGP, to influence route selection and divert traffic. The study found significant manipulation in both IPv4 and IPv6 routing, with nearly 10% of direct peers rewriting the ORIGIN to IGP for IPv4. The findings highlight the revenue-driven nature of BGP route selection and the widespread deviation from RFC standards.