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Chinese-Speaking Hacker Group Targets Human Rights Studies in Middle East

Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →

CVEVulnerabilityCVSSEPSSFlagsAffectedExposurePublished
CVE-2021-31207
Security feature bypass in Microsoft Exchange Server (ProxyShell) enables webshell RCE

CVE-2021-31207 is a security feature bypass in Microsoft Exchange Server, classified as an unrestricted file-write issue (CWE-434) that lets an attacker bypass intended restrictions and write files of their choosing to the server. It is the final bug in the ProxyShell chain: chained with the autodiscover SSRF and PowerShell backend elevation flaws, it allows an unauthenticated attacker to reach the Exchange PowerShell API, write arbitrary files such as an ASPX webshell, and execute code with SYSTEM privileges. A successful attacker gains full control of the on-premises Exchange server, including mailbox access, stolen credentials, and a foothold for lateral movement; the bug has been used to deploy ransomware and keyloggers. On-premises deployments of Microsoft Exchange Server (2013, 2016, and 2019 per vendor advisories) are affected, while Exchange Online/cloud mailboxes are not. Exploitation is essentially certain and ongoing: the flaw is in CISA's KEV (added 2021-11-03) with known ransomware use, public ProxyShell PoC/exploit code is available, and EPSS puts the 30-day exploitation probability at 99.8%.

Do: Apply Microsoft's July 2021 security updates for Exchange Server 2013, 2016, and 2019 (or any later security/cumulative update) per vendor instructions, and restrict untrusted access to Exchange's autodiscover and PowerShell endpoints. Hunt for ASPX webshells under the Exchange FrontEnd directories and review IIS logs for autodiscover.json requests chaining PowerShell, since many servers were compromised before patching. Given known ransomware use and KEV listing, treat any server that was unpatched or internet-exposed during the exploitation window as potentially compromised.

6.6100% KEV ransomware PoC
  • microsoft Exchange Server On-premises Microsoft Exchange Server 2013, 2016, and 2019 (per vendor advisory; CISA lists 'Microsoft Exchange Server' generically)
massHundreds of thousands of on-premises Exchange servers (public scans around the July 2021 ProxyShell disclosure showed roughly 400,000-600,000 internet-exposed…
CVE-2021-34473
+1 in the same advisory: …34523
SSRF (CWE-918) in Microsoft Exchange Server Enabling RCE (ProxyShell)

Microsoft Exchange Server contains a server-side request forgery (SSRF, CWE-918) in the Autodiscover service that unauthenticated remote attackers can reach over HTTP. This flaw is the first stage of the widely documented 'ProxyShell' chain, in which the SSRF is combined with privilege escalation and an arbitrary file write in the Exchange PowerShell backend to achieve unauthenticated remote code execution on the server. An attacker who successfully exploits it gains the ability to run code on the Exchange server, and ransomware operators (e.g., Cuba ransomware) leveraged this chain to deploy payloads. Organizations running on-premises Microsoft Exchange Server (2013, 2016, and 2019 per the vendor's advisories) are affected; hosted Exchange Online is a separately managed cloud service. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added the flaw to the KEV catalog on 2021-11-03 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns it a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days (100th percentile).

Do: Apply Microsoft's July 2021 (or later) Exchange Server security updates, which include the ProxyShell fixes, to all on-premises servers. If patching is delayed, restrict internet access to the Autodiscover/EWS frontend endpoints and consider the URL Rewrite mitigation Microsoft published for ProxyShell. Given the KEV listing and known ransomware use, treat internet-facing, unpatched Exchange servers as potentially compromised and hunt for webshells, unusual Exchange processes, and suspicious account or mailbox activity.

9.1
group max
100% KEV ransomware PoC
  • Microsoft Exchange Server On-premises Exchange Server deployments not yet patched with Microsoft's July 2021 (or later) security updates; the source data does not enumerate specific vers
masshundreds of thousands of on-prem Exchange servers; public internet scans at the time of disclosure showed roughly 400,000+ internet-exposed Exchange instances,…
CVE-2023-26360
Unauthenticated RCE via Improper Access Control in Adobe ColdFusion

CVE-2023-26360 is an improper access control flaw (CISA categorizes it as deserialization of untrusted data) in Adobe ColdFusion 2018 (Update 15 and earlier) and ColdFusion 2021 (Update 5 and earlier). It can be triggered over the network with no authentication and no user interaction. A successful attacker achieves arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user, giving them full control of the ColdFusion server. Any organization running the affected ColdFusion versions is exposed, particularly those with instances reachable from the internet; public reporting confirms exploitation in the wild, including a breach of federal agency servers. The flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 2023-03-15, has a public proof-of-concept, and carries a 97.3% EPSS probability of exploitation within 30 days.

Do: Apply Adobe's updates per vendor instructions, upgrading ColdFusion 2018 beyond Update 15 and ColdFusion 2021 beyond Update 5. Because exploitation is unauthenticated and confirmed in the wild (including against a federal agency), prioritize patching internet-facing servers, restrict ColdFusion endpoints to trusted networks in the interim, and hunt for signs of compromise such as web shells, unexpected processes, and suspicious connections (reported activity includes malicious web shell use). Organizations that cannot patch immediately should at minimum limit exposure and monitor for exploitation attempts.

8.697% KEV PoC
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2018 Update 15 and earlier
  • Adobe ColdFusion 2021 Update 5 and earlier
largetens of thousands of internet-exposed ColdFusion servers (public scan data), with many more internal/enterprise deployments
Full article457 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse

Ravie LakshmananSep 05, 2024Malware / Human Rights

Unnamed government entities in the Middle East and Malaysia are the target of a persistent cyber campaign orchestrated by a threat actor known as Tropic Trooper since June 2023.

"Sighting this group's [Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures] in critical governmental entities in the Middle East, particularly those related to human rights studies, marks a new strategic move for them," Kaspersky security researcher Sherif Magdy said.

The Russian cybersecurity vendor said it detected the activity in June 2024 upon discovering a new version of the China Chopper web Shell, a tool shared by many Chinese-speaking threat actors for remote access to compromised servers, on a public web server hosting an open-source content management system (CMS) called Umbraco.

The attack chain is designed to deliver a malware implant named Crowdoor, a variant of the SparrowDoor backdoor documented by ESET back in September 2021. The efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.

Tropic Trooper, also known by the names APT23, Earth Centaur, KeyBoy, and Pirate Panda, is known for its targeting of government, healthcare, transportation, and high-tech industries in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. The Chinese-speaking collective has been assessed to be active since 2011, sharing close ties with another intrusion set tracked as FamousSparrow.

The latest intrusion highlighted by Kaspersky is significant for compiling the China Chopper web shell as a .NET module of Umbraco CMS, with follow-on exploitation leading to the deployment of tools for network scanning, lateral movement, and defense evasion, before launching Crowdoor using DLL side-loading techniques.

It's suspected that the web shells are delivered by exploiting known security vulnerabilities in publicly accessible web applications, such as Adobe ColdFusion (CVE-2023-26360) and Microsoft Exchange Server (CVE-2021-34473, CVE-2021-34523, and CVE-2021-31207).

Crowdoor, first observed in June 2023, also functions as a loader to drop Cobalt Strike and maintain persistence on the infected hosts, while also acting as a backdoor to harvest sensitive information, launch a reverse shell, erase other malware files, and terminate itself.

"When the actor became aware that their backdoors were detected, they tried to upload newer samples to evade detection, thereby increasing the risk of their new set of samples being detected in the near future," Magdy noted.

"The significance of this intrusion lies in the sighting of a Chinese-speaking actor targeting a content management platform that published studies on human rights in the Middle East, specifically focusing on the situation around the Israel-Hamas conflict."

"Our analysis of this intrusion revealed that this entire system was the sole target during the attack, indicating a deliberate focus on this specific content."

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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://thehackernews.com/2024/09/chinese-speaking-hacker-group-targets.html