China-linked APT group targets Russian nuclear sub designer with an undocumented backdoor
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2017-11882 | Memory Corruption RCE in Microsoft Office via Legacy Equation Editor CVE-2017-11882 is a memory corruption vulnerability (CWE-119) in Microsoft Office, residing in the legacy Microsoft Equation Editor component (EQNEDT32.EXE), that allows remote code execution in the context of the current user. Attackers trigger it by persuading a user to open a crafted document, most commonly an RTF file or other Office document carrying a malicious embedded equation object, which overflows a buffer while the equation content is parsed. Successful exploitation lets the attacker run arbitrary code with the privileges of the signed-in user, a typical foothold for malware delivery and, per CISA, for ransomware operations. Any environment running affected Microsoft Office builds is exposed; the source data does not enumerate specific affected version ranges. The flaw is confirmed exploited in the wild: it was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 with known ransomware use and holds a 99.9% EPSS score (percentile 100), though the source data lists no public PoC. Do: Apply Microsoft's Office security updates (November 2017 or later) across all endpoints, prioritizing this KEV-listed flaw given its known ransomware use. On systems that cannot yet be patched, disable or unregister the legacy Equation Editor (EQNEDT32.EXE) and consider blocking or warning on RTF attachments as interim mitigations. Check for indicators of abuse such as EQNEDT32.EXE spawning unexpected child processes after document opens. | 7.8 | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC ×10 |
| masshundreds of millions of users/installations (Office is near-ubiquitous on Windows and in enterprises; the share still unpatched is unknown) | |
| CVE-2018-0798 +1 in the same advisory: …0802 | Memory Corruption RCE in Microsoft Office Equation Editor (CVE-2018-0798) CVE-2018-0798 is a memory corruption flaw (out-of-bounds write, CWE-787) in the Microsoft Equation Editor component of Microsoft Office 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016 that allows remote code execution when the component mishandles objects in memory. A remote attacker triggers it by persuading a user to open a specially crafted document containing a maliciously embedded equation; user interaction is required and no privileges are needed (CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R). Successful exploitation lets the attacker run arbitrary code in the context of the current user, with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CVSS 3.1 score 8.8). Any organization running the affected legacy Office versions — including deployments using the Office Compatibility Pack — is exposed, with government, military, and transportation organizations named in related reporting on Office-document attack campaigns. Exploitation is confirmed: the flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03, and its EPSS score of 95.1% (100th percentile) indicates a very high probability of active exploitation, with related headlines highlighting APT activity (notably the Bitter group's campaigns against military targets in South Asia) around Office document threats. Do: Apply Microsoft's security updates for this vulnerability across Office 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 and the Office Compatibility Pack, per vendor instructions as required by CISA KEV, and upgrade off legacy Office 2007/2010 to a still-supported release since those versions no longer receive regular fixes. Enforce caution with untrusted Office documents (don't open unsolicited attachments or embedded equations from unknown sources) and consider stripping or blocking embedded OLE equation objects from external files. Prioritize patching for government, military, and transportation-sector environments given active APT targeting of those sectors via Office documents. | 8.8 group max | 95% | KEV |
| masshundreds of millions of Office users/endpoints worldwide |
Full article380 words · extracted from therecord.media · click to collapse
A threat actor believed to be operating on behalf of Chinese state-sponsored interests was recently observed targeting a Russian defense contractor involved in designing nuclear submarines for the Russian Navy, according to new research published today by Cybereason. The attack was narrowly-focused, the firm said, and originated with a spear-phishing attempt targeting a general director working at the Rubin Design Bureau, a Saint Petersburg-based shipbuilder that has designed most of Russia’s nuclear submarines. The email attachment included a malicious Rich Text File (RTF) document that included descriptions of an autonomous underwater vehicle. The email attachment was weaponized with a RoyalRoad payload, which has been used by several China-linked threat actors including Tick, Tonto Team, Goblin Panda, Rancor, and TA428. The tool generates weaponized RTF documents that exploit the following vulnerabilities in Microsoft’s Equation Editor: CVE-2017-11882, CVE-2018-0798 and CVE-2018-0802. Interestingly, the attack group’s RoyalRoad sample exhibited anomalous characteristics and delivered what the company is calling “PortDoor” malware, a previously undocumented backdoor “designed with obfuscation and persistence in mind,” Cybereason said. The malware has multiple functionalities, including reconnaissance, target profiling, delivery of additional payloads, privilege escalation, static detection antivirus evasion, one-byte XOR encryption, AES-encrypted data exfiltration, and more. Although Cybereason wasn’t able to definitively attribute the attack to a known threat group, it said it shares similarities with a few Chinese APT groups. Previous research from nao_sec suggests that the malicious RTF document was created with RoyalRoad v7 with a header encoding that was previously observed being used by Tonto Team, TA428, and Rancor. Two of those groups—Tonto Team and TA428—have been linked to attacks targeting Russian research and defense organizations. Additionally, the spear-phishing emails and lure documents used by those groups exhibit “certain similarities in the linguistic and visual style used by the attackers,” Cybereason said, calling the groups “potential suspects that fit the profile.” Rubin Design Bureau did not respond to a request for comment.
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Adam Janofsky
is the founding editor-in-chief of The Record from Recorded Future News. He previously was the cybersecurity and privacy reporter for Protocol, and prior to that covered cybersecurity, AI, and other emerging technology for The Wall Street Journal.
Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://therecord.media/china-linked-apt-group-targets-russian-nuclear-sub-designer-with-an-undocumented-backdoor