US Patent 7688832 MPLS cookie label

A method and system for preventing misforwarding of packets from an MPLS network to a virtual private network are disclosed. The method includes receiving a packet at an ingress edge node of the MPLS network, associating a cookie with a label bound to a route by an egress edge node of the MPLS network, and inserting the cookie on an MPLS label stack at the ingress edge node. The packet is transmitted over the MPLS network to an egress edge node. The cookie allows the egress edge node to detect if the transmitted packet is misforwarded by comparing the cookie in the label stack of the transmitted packet with a stored cookie label at the egress edge node.