Multiple malware used in attacks exploiting Ivanti VPN flaws
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-21887 +1 in the same advisory: …46805 | Command Injection RCE in Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Ivanti Connect Secure (formerly Pulse Connect Secure) and Ivanti Policy Secure appliances contain a command injection flaw (CWE-77) in their web components, triggered when an authenticated administrator sends crafted requests to the appliance. The bug can be chained with the separate authentication bypass CVE-2023-46805, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to achieve the same result. Successful exploitation lets an attacker execute arbitrary commands and code on the appliance, providing a foothold into the networks behind the VPN or network access control gateway. Any organization running these appliances, typically enterprises and government agencies often deployed directly on the internet perimeter, is affected. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-01-10 with known ransomware use and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days, although no public proof-of-concept is available. Do: Apply Ivanti's mitigations or patched builds immediately per vendor instructions, addressing the chained authentication bypass CVE-2023-46805 at the same time, and discontinue or restrict use of any appliance for which mitigations are unavailable, especially if it is internet-facing. Because exploitation with ransomware use is known, assume compromise is possible: review appliance web logs for suspicious requests and run Ivanti's integrity-checking guidance to verify appliance images before and after remediation. Where feasible, restrict direct internet exposure of the appliance web interface and monitor for further vendor advisories. | 9.1 group max | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC |
| largetens of thousands of appliances (roughly 20,000-30,000 internet-exposed ICS gateways at disclosure; total deployed base likely higher) | |
| CVE-2024-21888 | A privilege escalation vulnerability in web component of Ivanti Connect Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Ivanti Policy Secure (9.x, 22.x) allows a user to elevate privile A privilege escalation vulnerability in web component of Ivanti Connect Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Ivanti Policy Secure (9.x, 22.x) allows a user to elevate privileges to that of an administrator. NVD description · AI analysis pending | 8.8 | 87% |
| — | ||
| CVE-2024-21893 | SSRF in Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, and Neurons SAML Component CVE-2024-21893 is a server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the SAML component of Ivanti Connect Secure (formerly Pulse Connect Secure), Ivanti Policy Secure, and Ivanti Neurons. A remote attacker can trigger the flaw with crafted unauthenticated requests to the SAML component, causing the appliance to make requests to otherwise restricted resources. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to access certain restricted resources without any credentials, and CISA notes the flaw has been used in ransomware operations. Any organization running an affected Ivanti Connect Secure, Policy Secure, or Neurons deployment is exposed, particularly where the appliance is reachable from the internet. The vulnerability is confirmed exploited in the wild: it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-01-31, carries an EPSS probability of 100%, and no public proof-of-concept is known. Do: Apply Ivanti's released patches or the vendor-issued mitigations immediately per vendor instructions, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable, as required by CISA. Because ransomware use is documented, review SAML-related logs and appliance audit trails for signs of exploitation and follow-on compromise, and check for indicators of post-exploitation activity. Monitor Ivanti advisories for patched version numbers and updated mitigation guidance, since specific fixed versions are not yet specified in the available data. | 8.2 | 100% | KEV ransomware |
| largetens of thousands of internet-exposed appliances (with total user counts likely in the hundreds of thousands) |
Full article402 words · extracted from securityaffairs.com · click to collapse
Pierluigi Paganini
February 01, 2024
Mandiant spotted new malware used by a China-linked threat actor UNC5221 targeting Ivanti Connect Secure VPN and Policy Secure devices.
Mandiant researchers discovered new malware employed by a China-linked APT group known as UNC5221 and other threat groups targeting Ivanti Connect Secure VPN and Policy Secure devices.
The attackers were observed exploiting CVE-2023-46805 and CVE-2024-21887 to execute arbitrary commands on the unpatched Ivanti devices.
The cybersecurity firm reported that threat actors are employing the malware in post-exploitation activity, likely performed through automated methods.
Mandiant recently observed a mitigation bypass technique used to deploy a custom web shell tracked as BUSHWALK. Successful exploitation would bypass the initial mitigation provided by Ivanti on Jan. 10, 2024.
Mandiant speculates that mitigation bypass activity is highly targeted, restricted, and differs from the mass exploitation activity observed after the disclosure of the Ivanti flaws.
Other malware employed in the attack is a new variant of the LIGHTWIRE web shell, the Python web shell backdoor CHAINLINE and FRAMESTING web shell.
Mandiant also completed the analysis of another malware family employed in the attacks, the ZIPLINE passive backdoor. The backdoor allows operators to support the authentication of its custom protocol used to establish C2.
Mandiant also reported that threat actors employed several open-source tools to facilitate post-exploitation activities on Ivanti CS appliances. The tools were used to perform internal network reconnaissance, lateral movement, and data exfiltration within a restricted number of victim environments.
Some of the open-source utilities used by the threat actors, include Impacket, CrackMapExec, iodine, and Enum4linux.
“Additionally, Linux-based tools identified in incident response investigations use code from multiple Chinese-language Github repositories. As noted in our previous blog post, UNC5221 has largely leveraged TTPs associated with zero-day exploitation of edge infrastructure by suspected PRC nexus actors.” concludes Mandiant.
Ivanti also warned of two new high-severity vulnerabilities in its Connect Secure and Policy Secure solutions respectively tracked as CVE-2024-21888 (CVSS score: 8.8) and CVE-2024-21893 (CVSS score: 8.2). The software company also warned that one of these two vulnerabilities is under active exploitation in the wild.
The vulnerability CVE-2024-21888 is a privilege escalation issue that resides in the web component of Ivanti Connect Secure (9.x, 22.x) and Policy Secure (9.x, 22.x). An attacker can exploit the vulnerability to gain admin privileges.
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