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Experts Sound Alarm Over Growing Attacks Exploiting Zoho ManageEngine Products

criticalRansomwareimportance 60CVE-2022-47966

Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →

CVEVulnerabilityCVSSEPSSFlagsAffectedExposurePublished
CVE-2022-47966
Unauthenticated SAML RCE in Zoho ManageEngine On-Premise Products

CVE-2022-47966 is a critical (CVSS 9.8), unauthenticated remote code execution flaw in roughly two dozen Zoho ManageEngine on-premise products caused by their bundled Apache Santuario xmlsec (XML Security for Java) 1.4.1 library, in which the XSLT features leave security protections to the application and ManageEngine did not provide them. An attacker triggers the flaw by sending a crafted SAML response containing a malicious XSLT transform to the SAML single sign-on (SSO) endpoint; exploitation is only possible if SAML SSO has ever been configured for the product (for some products, SAML SSO must be currently active). Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution in the context of the affected ManageEngine application, typically full compromise of the server and a foothold into the wider enterprise network. Any organization running an affected product version with SAML SSO enabled is affected, with internet-exposed ITSM/identity-management servers the most likely targets. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw is in CISA KEV with known ransomware use, Rapid7 reported broad attacker interest, North Korea's Lazarus Group used it to deploy QuiteRAT, and Iranian government-backed actors have targeted U.S. energy and transit-sector organizations.

Do: Apply vendor updates immediately, upgrading each installed product to at least the fixed version listed (e.g., ServiceDesk Plus 14004+, ADSelfService Plus 6211+, Endpoint Central/Endpoint Central MSP 10.1.2228.11+, Password Manager Pro 12124+, ServiceDesk Plus MSP 13001+, ADAudit Plus 7081+, ADManager Plus 7162+, AD360 4310+); this is a CISA KEV required action. As an interim mitigation, disable or restrict SAML SSO (or limit access to the product's SSO endpoints), since SAML SSO must have been configured for exploitation. Prioritize patching internet-exposed instances and review those servers for signs of compromise, given documented use by Lazarus Group, ransomware operators, and Iranian nation-state actors.

9.8100% KEV ransomware PoC ×6
  • zohocorp ManageEngine Access Manager Plus before 4308
  • zohocorp ManageEngine Active Directory 360 (AD360) before 4310
  • zohocorp ManageEngine ADAudit Plus before 7081
  • +9 more
largetens of thousands of installations plausibly affected (thousands of instances internet-exposed), out of ManageEngine's very large on-prem install base
Full article340 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse

Ravie LakshmananFeb 23, 2023

Multiple threat actors have been observed opportunistically weaponizing a now-patched critical security vulnerability impacting several Zoho ManageEngine products since January 20, 2023.

Tracked as CVE-2022-47966 (CVSS score: 9.8), the remote code execution flaw allows a complete takeover of the susceptible systems by unauthenticated attackers.

As many as 24 different products, including Access Manager Plus, ADManager Plus, ADSelfService Plus, Password Manager Pro, Remote Access Plus, and Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), are affected by the issue.

The shortcoming "allows unauthenticated remote code execution due to usage of an outdated third-party dependency for XML signature validation, Apache Santuario," Bitdefender's Martin Zugec said in a technical advisory shared with The Hacker News.

According to the Romanian cybersecurity firm, the exploitation efforts are said to have commenced the day after penetration testing firm Horizon3.ai released a proof-of-concept (PoC) last month.

A majority of the attack victims are located in Australia, Canada, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Ukraine, the U.K., and the U.S.

The main objective of the attacks detected to date revolves around deploying tools on vulnerable hosts such as Netcat and Cobalt Strike Beacon.

Some intrusions have leveraged the initial access to install AnyDesk software for remote access, while a few others have attempted to install a Windows version of a ransomware strain known as Buhti.

What's more, evidence points to the abuse of the ManageEngine flaw in a targeted espionage operation, with the threat actors using it as an attack vector to deploy malware capable of executing next-stage payloads.

"This vulnerability is another clear reminder of the importance of keeping systems up to date with the latest security patches while also employing strong perimeter defense," Zugec said.

"Attackers don't need to scour for new exploits or novel techniques when they know that many organizations are vulnerable to older exploits due, in part, to the lack of proper patch management and risk management."

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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://thehackernews.com/2023/02/experts-sound-alarm-over-growing.html