01/17/2024-01/24/2024 Malicious NPM Packages, ~40,000 Attacks in 3 Days, MavenGate Attack Could Let Hackers Hijack Java And More.

1. Patch Your GoAnywhere MFT Immediately – Critical Flaw Lets Anyone Be Admin

A critical security flaw has been disclosed in Fortra’s GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer (MFT) software that could be abused to create a new administrator user. Tracked as CVE-2024-0204, the issue carries a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10. Authentication bypass in Fortra’s GoAnywhere MFT prior to 7.4.1 allows an unauthorized user to create an admin user via the administration portal. The issue is the result of a path traversal weakness in the “/InitialAccountSetup.xhtml” endpoint that could be exploited to create administrative users. Users who cannot upgrade to version 7.4.1 can apply temporary workarounds in non-container deployments by deleting the InitialAccountSetup.xhtml file in the install directory and restarting the services.

2. Malicious NPM Packages Exfiltrate Hundreds of Developer SSH Keys via GitHub

Malicious npm packages, warbeast2000 and kodiak2k, discovered using GitHub to store stolen Base64-encrypted SSH keys from developers. Uploaded at the beginning of the month, the packages attracted 412 and 1,281 downloads before npm took them down on January 21, 2024. Security firm ReversingLabs revealed eight versions of warbeast2000 and over 30 versions of kodiak2k. Both execute postinstall scripts, with warbeast2000 attempting to access private SSH keys and kodiak2k searching for a key named “meow.” Lucija Valentić, a security researcher, explained that warbeast2000 uploads the key to an attacker-controlled GitHub repo. Kodiak2k’s later versions execute a script from an archived GitHub project, launching the Mimikatz tool to extract credentials. Valentić emphasizes this incident showcases cybercriminals exploiting open-source package managers for malicious software supply chain attacks on development and end-user organizations.

3. ~40,000 Attacks in 3 Days: Critical Confluence RCE Under Active Exploitation

Malicious actors have begun to actively exploit a recently disclosed critical security flaw impacting Atlassian Confluence Data Center and Confluence Server. Tracked as CVE-2023-22527 (CVSS score: 10.0), the vulnerability impacts out-of-date versions of the software, allowing unauthenticated attackers to achieve remote code execution on susceptible installations. The shortcoming affects Confluence Data Center and Server 8 versions released before December 5, 2023, as well as 8.4.5. Over 11,000 Atlassian instances have been found to be accessible over the internet as of January 21, 2024, although it’s currently not known how many of them are vulnerable to CVE-2023-22527. This vulnerability has the potential to permit unauthenticated attackers to inject OGNL expressions into the Confluence instance, thereby enabling the execution of arbitrary code and system commands. 

4. PixieFail UEFI Flaws Expose Millions of Computers to RCE, DoS, and Data Theft

Multiple security vulnerabilities, collectively named PixieFail by Quarkslab, have been revealed in the TCP/IP network protocol stack of the widely used Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification. These nine issues, found in the TianoCore EFI Development Kit II (EDK II), can lead to remote code execution, denial-of-service (DoS), DNS cache poisoning, and sensitive information leakage. UEFI firmware from major providers like AMI, Intel, Insyde, and Phoenix Technologies are affected. The vulnerabilities stem from overflow bugs, out-of-bounds reads, infinite loops, and a weak pseudorandom number generator in EDK II’s NetworkPkg, impacting PXE functionality during the Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) stage. The vulnerabilities have specific identifiers (CVEs) and varying CVSS scores. The impact and exploitability depend on firmware builds and default PXE boot configurations, with potential for remote code execution, DoS, DNS cache poisoning, or data extraction.

5. MavenGate Attack Could Let Hackers Hijack Java and Android via Abandoned Libraries

Numerous widely-used Java and Android libraries are vulnerable to a novel software supply chain attack called MavenGate. Oversecured reported that domain name purchases could be used to hijack project access, exploiting default build configurations and making attacks difficult to detect. The attack can inject malicious code into dependencies, compromising the build process via a malicious plugin. All Maven-based technologies, including Gradle, are susceptible, affecting over 200 companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. Apache Maven, vital for Java projects, is a target due to potentially compromised dependencies in public repositories. The attack involves obtaining expired domains, asserting rights through a DNS TXT record, and gaining access to vulnerable groupIds. While Maven Central believes the outlined attack is infeasible due to automation, Oversecured suggests developers and end-users play crucial roles in ensuring security for direct and transitive dependencies, emphasizing the responsibility of both parties.

6. U.S. Cybersecurity Agency Warns of Actively Exploited Ivanti EPMM Vulnerability

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a critical flaw, CVE-2023-35082, affecting Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) and MobileIron Core to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. The flaw, now patched, is an authentication bypass that could potentially expose users’ personal information. Ivanti disclosed the vulnerability in August 2023, urging users to update to version 11.11.0.0. The flaw could be chained with CVE-2023-35081 to allow attackers to write malicious web shell files. Though there’s no detail on real-world exploits, federal agencies are advised to apply fixes by February 8, 2024. Two zero-day flaws in Ivanti Connect Secure VPN devices are also under mass exploitation, prompting the company to release updates next week. The attacks, initially linked to a Chinese threat actor, have since attracted additional threat actors globally, compromising over 2,100 devices across various sectors. Organizations are urged to apply Ivanti’s provided mitigation after importing backup configurations to prevent re-compromise.

01/10/2024-01/17/2024 Citrix, VMware, and Atlassian Hit with Critical Flaws, SonicWall Firewalls Potentially Vulnerable, Critical RCE Vulnerability And More.

1. GitHub Rotates Keys After High-Severity Vulnerability Exposes Credentials

GitHub responded to a security vulnerability by rotating keys, including the GitHub commit signing key and customer encryption keys for GitHub Actions, Codespaces, and Dependabot. Discovered on December 26, 2023, the high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2024-0200, CVSS score: 7.2) was promptly addressed. While there’s no evidence of exploitation, GitHub urges users to import the new keys. GitHub Enterprise Server (GHES) is also affected, but exploiting it requires an authenticated user with an organization owner role logged into a GHES instance, limiting potential risks. Another high-severity bug (CVE-2024-0507, CVSS score: 6.5) was patched, allowing an attacker with Management Console user account access and editor role to escalate privileges through command injection. GitHub emphasizes user security following previous incidents, such as replacing the RSA SSH host key.

2. Citrix, VMware, and Atlassian Hit with Critical Flaws — Patch ASAP!

Citrix is warning of two zero-day security vulnerabilities in NetScaler ADC (formerly Citrix ADC)and NetScaler Gateway (formerly Citrix Gateway) that are being actively exploited in the wild. The flaws are listed below:

• CVE-2023-6548 (CVSS score: 5.5) – Authenticated (low privileged) remote code execution on Management Interface (requires access to NSIP, CLIP, or SNIP with management interface access)
• CVE-2023-6549 (CVSS score: 8.2) – Denial-of-service (requires that the appliance be configured as a Gateway or authorization and accounting, or AAA, virtual server).

Users of NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway version 12.1 are recommended to upgrade their appliances to a supported version that patches the flaws. In recent months, multiple security vulnerabilities in Citrix appliances (CVE-2023-3519 and CVE-2023-4966) have been weaponized by threat actors to drop web shells and hijack existing authenticated sessions.

3. Alert: Over 178,000 SonicWall Firewalls Potentially Vulnerable to Exploits – Act Now

Over 178,000 exposed SonicWall firewalls face potential exploitation from two security flaws, leading to denial-of-service (DoS) conditions and remote code execution (RCE). Jon Williams, a senior security engineer at Bishop Fox, highlights the commonality in the vulnerabilities, manifested in different HTTP URI paths due to code pattern reuse. The flaws, namely CVE-2022-22274 (CVSS score: 9.4) and CVE-2023-0656 (CVSS score: 7.5), involve stack-based buffer overflows in SonicOS. These vulnerabilities allow remote, unauthenticated attackers to induce DoS or potentially execute code, posing significant risks. The cybersecurity firm warns of potential weaponization, causing repeated crashes and forcing the appliance into maintenance mode, necessitating administrative intervention to restore normal functionality.

4. Balada Injector Infects Over 7,100 WordPress Sites Using Plugin Vulnerability

Thousands of WordPress sites, using a vulnerable version of the Popup Builder plugin, face compromise by the Balada Injector malware. First identified by Doctor Web in January 2023, this ongoing campaign exploits security flaws in WordPress plugins to inject a backdoor, redirecting visitors to fraudulent tech support pages and scams. Sucuri’s recent findings reveal the extensive operation, active since 2017, infiltrating over 1 million sites. Balada Injector exploits a high-severity flaw in Popup Builder (CVE-2023-6000, CVSS score: 8.8), disclosed by WPScan and patched in version 4.2.3. The attackers aim to insert a malicious JavaScript file hosted on specialcraftbox[.]com, gaining control over sites and facilitating malicious redirects. Persistent control involves uploading backdoors and creating rogue administrators. In the latest wave, logged-in admin cookies trigger the installation of a rogue backdoor plugin, fetching a second-stage payload. This payload, saved as “sasas,” scans for site directories, modifying wp-blog-header.php to inject the Balada JavaScript malware.

5. Critical RCE Vulnerability Uncovered in Juniper SRX Firewalls and EX Switches

Juniper Networks has released updates to fix a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in its SRX Series firewalls and EX Series switches. The issue, tracked as CVE-2024-21591, is rated 9.8 on the CVSS scoring system. An out-of-bounds write vulnerability in J-Web of Juniper Networks Junos OS SRX Series and EX Series allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to cause a Denial-of-Service (DoS) or Remote Code Execution (RCE) and obtain root privileges on the device. The issue is caused by use of an insecure function allowing a bad actor to overwrite arbitrary memory. As temporary workarounds until the fixes are deployed, the company recommends that users disable J-Web or restrict access to only trusted hosts.  Additionally, Juniper Networks resolved a high-severity bug (CVE-2024-21611, CVSS score: 7.5) in Junos OS and Junos OS Evolved, potentially causing a DoS condition. Although there’s no evidence of exploitation, the company addresses these vulnerabilities following security issues with SRX firewalls and EX switches exploited by threat actors last year.

6. New PoC Exploit for Apache OfBiz Vulnerability Poses Risk to ERP Systems

Researchers have developed a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploiting a critical flaw (CVE-2023-51467, CVSS score: 9.8) in Apache OFBiz ERP system, allowing execution of a memory-resident payload. This vulnerability serves as a bypass for another severe flaw (CVE-2023-49070, CVSS score: 9.8) in the same software, enabling authentication circumvention and remote code execution. Though fixed in Apache OFBiz version 18.12.11, threat actors are attempting to exploit it in vulnerable instances. VulnCheck’s latest findings reveal that CVE-2023-51467 permits executing a payload directly from memory, leaving minimal traces. Apache OFBiz has a history of exploited vulnerabilities, with the recent bug joining the ranks. Despite security measures, the incomplete nature of the sandbox in the system allows potential attackers to run curl commands and obtain a bash reverse shell on Linux systems.

7. Act Now: CISA Flags Active Exploitation of Microsoft SharePoint Vulnerability

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added a critical privilege escalation vulnerability (CVE-2023-29357, CVSS score: 9.8) in Microsoft SharePoint Server to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog due to ongoing attacks. The flaw allows attackers with access to spoofed JWT authentication tokens to execute a network attack, bypassing authentication and gaining administrator privileges without any user action. Microsoft patched the bug in June 2023, part of its Patch Tuesday updates. While real-world exploitation details and threat actor identities are unknown, federal agencies are urged to apply patches by January 31, 2024. Microsoft emphasizes protection for customers with automatic updates enabled.

01/04/2024-01/10/2024 4 Windows Update Patches 48 New Vulnerabilities, CISA Flags 6 Vulnerabilities, Hackers Target Microsoft SQL Servers And More.

1. Microsoft’s January 2024 Windows Update Patches 48 New Vulnerabilities

Microsoft rolled out Patch Tuesday updates for January 2024, fixing 48 security flaws across its software. Two critical and 46 important bugs were addressed, none publicly known or actively attacked. This marks the second consecutive Patch Tuesday with no zero-days. The fixes include nine for the Chromium-based Edge browser, patching a zero-day actively exploited (CVE-2023-7024). Among the critical patches this month: CVE-2024-20674, allowing bypass of Windows Kerberos security, and CVE-2024-20700, enabling remote code execution in Windows Hyper-V. Exploiting CVE-2024-20674 demands network access, while CVE-2024-20700 doesn’t require authentication but needs a race condition win for remote code execution. Notable flaws involve privilege escalation in CLFS (CVE-2024-20653) and a security bypass affecting SQL clients (CVE-2024-0056).

2. CISA Flags 6 Vulnerabilities – Apple, Apache, Adobe , D-Link, Joomla Under Attack

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added six actively exploited security flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. Among them is CVE-2023-27524 (CVSS score: 8.9), a high-severity vulnerability in Apache Superset allowing remote code execution, fixed in version 2.1.
CISA also highlighted five other flaws:

• CVE-2023-38203 (CVSS score: 9.8) – Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data
• CVE-2023-29300 (CVSS score: 9.8) – Adobe ColdFusion Deserialization of Untrusted Data
• CVE-2023-41990 (CVSS score: 7.8) – Apple Multiple Products Code Execution
• CVE-2016-20017 (CVSS score: 9.8) – D-Link DSL-2750B Devices Command Injection
• CVE-2023-23752 (CVSS score: 5.3) – Joomla! Improper Access Control
  Notably, CVE-2023-41990, fixed by Apple in iOS 15.7.8 and iOS 16.3, was exploited in Operation Triangulation spyware attacks via a crafted iMessage PDF attachment. Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies are urged to apply fixes by January 29, 2024, to counter active threats.

3. Alert: New Vulnerabilities Discovered in QNAP and Kyocera Device Manager

Kyocera’s Device Manager product is susceptible to a disclosed security flaw (CVE-2023-50916) allowing attackers to coerce authentication attempts to malicious resources, potentially leading to data theft and NTLM relay attacks. The vulnerability arises from a path traversal issue, now resolved in Kyocera Device Manager version 3.1.1213.0.
In a related development, QNAP addressed multiple high-severity vulnerabilities:

• CVE-2023-39296: Prototype pollution flaw in QTS and QuTS hero.
• CVE-2023-47559: XSS vulnerability in QuMagie.
• CVE-2023-47560: OS command injection flaw in QuMagie.
• CVE-2023-41287: SQL injection vulnerability in Video Station.
• CVE-2023-41288: OS command injection flaw in Video Station.
• CVE-2022-43634: Unauthenticated remote code execution flaw in Netatalk.

While no evidence of exploitation exists, users are urged to update to the latest versions of affected products to mitigate potential risks.

4. Alert: Ivanti Releases Patch for Critical Vulnerability in Endpoint Manager Solution

Ivanti addressed critical vulnerabilities in its Endpoint Manager (EPM) and Avalanche solutions. CVE-2023-39336 impacts EPM versions 2021 and 2022 (pre-SU5), posing a risk of remote code execution through SQL injection, with a severity score of 9.6.
In a separate update, Ivanti resolved 21 flaws in Avalanche, 13 of which were critical buffer overflows (CVSS scores: 9.8), patched in Avalanche 6.4.2. These could lead to denial-of-service or code execution if exploited by attackers sending specially crafted data packets to the Mobile Device Server.
While no evidence exists of exploitation, it’s worth noting that state-backed actors previously exploited zero-day flaws (CVE-2023-35078 and CVE-2023-35081) in Ivanti’s Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) to breach Norwegian government networks. Users should apply the provided updates to mitigate potential risks.

5. Hackers Target Microsoft SQL Servers In Mimic Ransomware Attacks

A financially motivated Turkish hacking group, known as RE#TURGENCE, is targeting Microsoft SQL (MSSQL) servers worldwide with Mimic (N3ww4v3) ransomware. The campaign, affecting targets in the EU, U.S., and Latin America, typically ends with either selling compromised host access or deploying ransomware. The attackers exploit insecurely configured MSSQL servers, utilizing xp_cmdshell for command shell access. They employ heavily obfuscated Cobalt Strike payloads, launch AnyDesk for remote desktop access, and collect credentials using Mimikatz. The Mimic ransomware, dropped via AnyDesk, encrypts files and displays a ransom note. The group’s tactics link them to Phobos ransomware attacks. Securonix previously exposed a similar campaign (DB#JAMMER) targeting MSSQL servers with Mimic ransomware in the past year. Users are advised to secure MSSQL configurations to mitigate risks.