Chinese APT Hackers Used Log4Shell Exploit to Target Academic Institution
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2021-44228 | JNDI Injection Remote Code Execution in Apache Log4j2 (Log4Shell) Apache Log4j2, an extremely widely used Java logging library, fails to protect its JNDI lookup feature against attacker-controlled JNDI-related endpoints (CWE-20, CWE-502), so crafted text processed by the logger causes the Java runtime to fetch and load attacker-supplied objects, leading to remote code execution. The flaw is triggered whenever attacker-controlled input reaches the logging API and is parsed for JNDI lookups, a pattern common in web servers and enterprise Java applications that log user-supplied fields such as headers or form values. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution under the privileges of the affected application, giving attackers a foothold for lateral movement, data theft, and ransomware deployment. Any Java application or product that ships or bundles an affected Apache Log4j2 release is exposed, making this one of the most broadly deployed vulnerabilities ever disclosed. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-12-10 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days. Do: Inventory all Java applications and dependencies for Apache Log4j2 and apply the vendor's patched updates, or remove affected assets from the network, as required by CISA's KEV catalog. Where updates are not yet available, use the temporary mitigations in CISA's ED-22-02 recommended-mitigation guidance, such as disabling message lookups, only until patches are applied. Prioritize internet-facing and business-critical systems and hunt for exploitation activity given known ransomware use. | 10.0 | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC ×9 |
| masshundreds of millions of Java applications/devices, with hundreds of thousands of internet-exposed services |
Full article292 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse
Ravie LakshmananDec 30, 2021
A never-before-seen China-based targeted intrusion adversary dubbed Aquatic Panda has been observed leveraging critical flaws in the Apache Log4j logging library as an access vector to perform various post-exploitation operations, including reconnaissance and credential harvesting on targeted systems.
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike said the infiltration, which was ultimately foiled, was aimed at an unnamed "large academic institution." The state-sponsored group is believed to have been operating since mid-2020 in pursuit of intelligence collection and industrial espionage, with its attacks primarily directed against companies in the telecommunications, technology, and government sectors.
The attempted intrusion exploited the newly discovered Log4Shell flaw (CVE-2021-44228, CVSS score: 10.0) to gain access to a vulnerable instance of the VMware Horizon desktop and app virtualization product, followed by running a series of malicious commands orchestrated to fetch threat actor payloads hosted on a remote server.
"A modified version of the Log4j exploit was likely used during the course of the threat actor's operations," the researchers noted, adding it involved the use of an exploit that was published in GitHub on December 13, 2021.
Aquatic Panda's malicious behavior went beyond conducting reconnaissance of the compromised host, starting with making an effort to stop a third-party endpoint detection and response (EDR) service, before proceeding to retrieve next-stage payloads designed to obtain a reverse shell and harvest credentials.
But after the victim organization was alerted to the incident, the entity "was able to quickly implement their incident response protocol, eventually patching the vulnerable application and preventing further threat actor activity on the host." In light of the attack's successful disruption, the exact intent remains unknown.
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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://thehackernews.com/2021/12/chinese-apt-hackers-used-log4shell.html