DHCP snooping is a network security feature used to prevent unauthorized DHCP servers from providing IP addresses to clients on a network. It works by allowing only trusted DHCP servers to respond to DHCP requests, while filtering out any unauthorized DHCP messages from untrusted sources. This helps protect the network from attacks such as DHCP spoofing, where a malicious server could assign incorrect IP addresses, potentially leading to attacks like man-in-the-middle or denial of service. DHCP snooping maintains a database of trusted MAC addresses and their corresponding IP addresses to ensure that only legitimate devices receive network configuration settings.