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Malàsmoke gang could infect your PC while you watch porn sites

Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →

CVEVulnerabilityCVSSEPSSFlagsAffectedExposurePublished
CVE-2018-15982
Use-After-Free in Adobe Flash Player Allows Arbitrary Code Execution

CVE-2018-15982 is a use-after-free flaw (CWE-416) in Adobe Flash Player versions 31.0.0.153 and earlier, and 31.0.0.108 and earlier, in which Flash frees memory that is subsequently reused, corrupting process memory. It is triggered when Flash processes crafted Flash content, most notably embedded in Microsoft Office documents, requiring a user to open or view the malicious content (CVSS attack vector is local with user interaction required). Successful exploitation gives the attacker arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user viewing the content. Affected users include anyone running the listed Flash Player versions, including the Flash Player Installer and the Adobe-supplied Flash plugin shipped with Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop, Server and Workstation. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-02-15) with known ransomware use, a public exploit is available on Exploit-DB, and EPSS assigns a top-percentile 89.1% probability of exploitation within 30 days.

Do: Flash Player is end-of-life: per CISA's required action, remove or disconnect Flash wherever it is still in use; if Flash must remain, update beyond the affected 31.0.0.153/31.0.0.108 builds and update the flash-plugin package on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Mitigate the known delivery vector by blocking or disabling embedded Flash (SWF) content in Microsoft Office documents and mail clients, and hunt for suspicious documents with embedded Flash given the known in-the-wild and ransomware use.

7.889% KEV ransomware PoC
  • Adobe Flash Player 31.0.0.153 and earlier, and 31.0.0.108 and earlier
  • Adobe Flash Player Installer Same affected ranges as Flash Player (31.0.0.153 and earlier / 31.0.0.108 and earlier)
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (Adobe-supplied flash-plugin)
  • +2 more
mass≈100M+ endpoints historically (Flash was preinstalled/bundled across most Windows desktops and shipped with Chrome and RHEL in 2018); only residual legacy…
CVE-2019-0752
Type Confusion RCE in Microsoft Internet Explorer Scripting Engine

CVE-2019-0752 is a type confusion (CWE-843) memory corruption vulnerability in the way the scripting engine used by Internet Explorer handles objects in memory, and it is distinct from the related scripting-engine flaws CVE-2019-0739, CVE-2019-0753, and CVE-2019-0862. An attacker triggers it by convincing a user to view attacker-controlled or attacker-crafted web content in Internet Explorer, where malformed handling of in-memory objects corrupts memory (the CVSS vector reflects a network attack requiring user interaction with high attack complexity). Successful exploitation yields remote code execution with the privileges of the current user, giving the attacker high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact on the host. Anyone running Internet Explorer on supported Windows client or server systems is exposed; the provided data does not specify exact affected version ranges, though the public proof-of-concept was demonstrated on Windows 10 1809 (build 17763.316). Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-02-15) with known ransomware use, carries a top-percentile EPSS score of 81.6%, and contemporary reporting ties scripting-engine flaws like this to exploit kits (e.g., RIG) delivering malware such as Dridex.

Do: Apply Microsoft's security updates that address CVE-2019-0752 via Windows Update or WSUS, per the CISA KEV required action, and audit legacy Windows clients and servers for any that have not been patched. Where updates are impractical (e.g., out-of-support systems), stop using Internet Explorer as the default browser, restrict or disable scripting in the Internet zone, and consider blocking IE-facing access to untrusted sites. Because exploit kits (e.g., RIG) and ransomware operators have leveraged IE scripting-engine flaws, prioritize patching user workstations and shared/multi-user systems.

7.582% KEV ransomware PoC
  • microsoft internet explorer
masshundreds of millions of Windows devices/users with Internet Explorer present

Indicators of compromiseAll →

TypeIndicatorContext
domainxhamster.comen we saw possibly the largest campaign to date on top site xhamster[.]com from a malvertiser we have tracked for well over a year.
Full article388 words · extracted from securityaffairs.com · click to collapse

Pierluigi Paganini September 12, 2020

A cybercrime group named Malàsmoke has been targeting porn sites over the past months with malicious ads redirecting users to exploit kits.

A cybercrime group named Malàsmoke has been targeting porn sites over the past months, it is placing malicious ads on adult-themed websites to redirect users to exploit kits and deliver malware.

According to researchers from Malwarebytes, the gang was abusing practically all adult ad networks, but in the last campaign, they hit for the first time a top publisher.

This time the cybercrime group has managed to place malverts on xHamster, one of the most popular adult video portals with billions of visitors each month.

The malicious ads uses JavaScript code to redirect users from the porn site to a malicious site that was hosting an exploit kit designed to exploit to exploit CVE-2019-0752 (Internet Explorer) and CVE-2018-15982 (Flash Player) issues.

Upon visiting the malicious site with a vulnerable browser, the exploit kit delivers malware such as Smoke LoaderRaccoon Stealer, and ZLoader.

“Then we saw possibly the largest campaign to date on top site xhamster[.]com from a malvertiser we have tracked for well over a year. This threat actor has managed to abuse practically all adult ad networks but this may be the first time they hit a top publisher.” reads the analysis published by Malwarebytes.

“the threat actor was able to abuse the Traffic Stars ad network and place their malicious ad on xhamster[.]com, a site with just over 1.06 billion monthly visits according to SimilarWeb.com.”

Attacks exploiting exploit kits have declined in recent years due to the improved security of the browsers, most of which have removed both Flash and IE support.

Experts pointed out that the redirection mechanism is more sophisticated than those used in other malvertising campaigns. Threat actors implements some client-side fingerprinting and connectivity checks to avoid VPNs and proxies, in this way they only target legitimate IP addresses.

“Malsmoke is probably the most persistent malvertising campaigns we have seen this year. Unlike other threat actors, this group has shown that it can rapidly switch ad networks to keep their business uninterrupted.” concludes Malwarebytes.

The researchers also published Indicators of compromise (IoCs) for this campaign.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, porn sites)

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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://securityaffairs.com/108181/cyber-crime/malasmoke-porn-sites-malvertising.html