Cyber Group 'Gold Melody' Selling Compromised Access to Ransomware Attackers

Unspecified vulnerability in the Oracle Customer Intelligence component in Oracle E-Business Suite 11.5.10.2, 12.1.1, 12.1.2, 12.1.3, 12.2.3, 12.2.4, and 12.2.5 allows remote attackers to affect confidentiality and integrity via unknown vectors, a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0551, CVE-2016-0552, CVE-2016-0559, and CVE-2016-0560.

CVE-2017-5638 is an improper input validation flaw (CWE-20) in the Jakarta Multipart parser of Apache Struts, in which the parser mishandles the Content-Type value of a file upload and allows malicious upload leading to remote code execution. It is triggered remotely without authentication by sending a crafted Content-Type header in a multipart request to a Struts endpoint; no valid upload or credentials are required. A successful attacker gains code execution in the security context of the application server, which typically enables host compromise, data theft, or ransomware deployment. Any organization running Apache Struts applications that use the Jakarta Multipart parser is affected; the provided data specifies only "Apache Struts" and gives no version ranges. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw is listed in CISA KEV (added 2021-11-03) with known ransomware use, EPSS assigns it roughly a 100% exploitation probability (100th percentile), and no public PoC is catalogued in the source data.

Do: Apply updates per vendor instructions: upgrade Apache Struts to the releases that fix this flaw (2.3.32 / 2.5.10.1 or later, per Apache advisory S2-045), and check for Struts jars bundled inside application packages and vendor appliances. Prioritize internet-facing apps, and as an interim mitigation validate or filter the Content-Type header on multipart requests. Because exploitation is in the wild and ransomware use is known, also review web and application server logs for evidence of successful compromise.

HTTPServerILServlet.java in JMS over HTTP Invocation Layer of the JbossMQ implementation, which is enabled by default in Red Hat Jboss Application Server <= Jboss 4.X does not restrict the classes for which it performs deserialization, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted serialized data.

CVE-2019-19781 is a path-traversal flaw (classified CWE-22, though CISA's description calls it unspecified) in Citrix ADC (formerly NetScaler ADC), Citrix Gateway, and Citrix SD-WAN WANOP appliances that lets an unauthenticated remote attacker traverse directories via crafted requests and execute arbitrary commands on the appliance, typically with root privileges. It is triggered by sending specially crafted directory-traversal requests (crafted URLs/requests to the appliance's management or VPN endpoints), which lets the attacker write files and run commands with no credentials. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution on the appliance, enabling theft of VPN/ADC credentials, lateral movement into the corporate network, and installation of persistent backdoors. Any organization running affected ADC, Gateway, or SD-WAN WANOP firmware is affected, with internet-facing gateways used for remote access at the highest risk. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the vulnerability is on CISA's KEV (added 2021-11-03) with known ransomware use, EPSS assigns near-certain (100.0%) probability of exploitation within 30 days, and no public PoC is listed despite confirmed abuse.

Do: Upgrade Citrix ADC, Gateway, and SD-WAN WANOP appliances to the fixed firmware builds listed in Citrix advisory CTX267020; if patching cannot be done immediately, apply Citrix's published interim mitigation and restrict internet exposure to the appliance. Because exploitation grants root code execution and persistence, after patching hunt for indicators of compromise (unexpected nsroot account, modified system files, crontab/scheduled entries), kill all active and inactive sessions, and rotate appliance and VPN credentials. Prioritize internet-facing gateways and comply with CISA's required action to apply vendor updates.

CVE-2020-14750 is a critical vulnerability in the Console component of Oracle WebLogic Server (Oracle Fusion Middleware), functioning as a bypass of the earlier fix for the widely exploited CVE-2020-14882. An unauthenticated attacker with network access over HTTP can trigger it simply by sending crafted requests to the web administration console, with no credentials or user interaction required. Successful exploitation results in full takeover of the WebLogic Server, yielding high impact to confidentiality, integrity and availability (CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8). All supported WebLogic Server versions are affected — 10.3.6.0.0, 12.1.3.0.0, 12.2.1.3.0, 12.2.1.4.0 and 14.1.1.0.0 — particularly deployments whose admin console is reachable from the internet. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw is in CISA's KEV catalog (added 2021-11-03), carries a 99.3% EPSS, and multiple botnets have been observed exploiting it, with reports of access brokers selling compromised-server access to ransomware operators.

Do: Apply Oracle's emergency/out-of-cycle patch for CVE-2020-14750 or any later Critical Patch Update on all affected WebLogic versions (10.3.6.0.0, 12.1.3.0.0, 12.2.1.3.0, 12.2.1.4.0, 14.1.1.0.0), per vendor instructions. Until patched, restrict HTTP access to the WebLogic admin console to trusted networks and prioritize remediating internet-facing consoles. Hunt for signs of exploitation, since multiple botnets are actively scanning for and exploiting this flaw.

CVE-2020-14882 is a remote code execution vulnerability in Oracle WebLogic Server; its relationship to CVE-2020-14750 (a WebLogic administration console flaw) indicates it is reachable over the network, likely without authentication. An attacker who can reach a vulnerable WebLogic instance can trigger the flaw and execute arbitrary code in the context of the server. Successful exploitation can yield full control of the affected host, enabling data theft, lateral movement, and potentially ransomware deployment (ransomware use is currently unknown). Any organization running Oracle WebLogic Server is affected; WebLogic is widely deployed as a Java application server in large enterprises and government networks, and instances are frequently exposed to the internet. The vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) and carries a maximum EPSS score of 100%, indicating confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.

Do: Apply Oracle's WebLogic Server updates per vendor instructions immediately, as this is a required action under the CISA KEV listing. Inventory environments for WebLogic deployments (commonly listening on ports 7001/7002), prioritize patching internet-facing instances, and restrict or firewall access to the WebLogic administration console until patched. Review access logs for signs of exploitation, and treat unpatched, externally reachable WebLogic servers as high risk given the 100% EPSS score and confirmed in-the-wild exploitation.

GitLab CE/EE versions from 11.9 onward fail to properly validate image files before passing them to the bundled ExifTool file parser, enabling command/code injection (CWE-94). A remote, unauthenticated attacker triggers it by getting the server to parse a specially crafted image (e.g., through file-upload features), with no credentials or user interaction required. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary command execution on the GitLab server, exposing source code, credentials, CI/CD data, and the wider network (CVSS 10.0, scope-changed). All self-managed GitLab Community and Enterprise Edition deployments on affected versions are exposed. The flaw is actively exploited in the wild: it is on CISA's KEV with known ransomware use, public PoCs exist, and 2021 campaigns used it for ransomware, cryptojacking, and access brokering against GitLab servers.

Do: Upgrade immediately to the patched releases - 13.10.3 or later, or the corresponding 13.9.6/13.8.6/13.7.9 backports - per vendor instructions, as required for KEV entries. Until patched, restrict network access to internet-facing GitLab instances and verify the bundled ExifTool is current. Hunt for signs of compromise (suspicious processes or cron jobs, cryptominers, webshells, new SSH keys, unexpected outbound connections), given documented ransomware and cryptojacking abuse.

CVE-2021-22941 is an improper access control flaw (CWE-284) in Citrix ShareFile storage zones controller that allows an unauthenticated attacker to remotely compromise the controller over the network with no privileges or user interaction required (CVSS 9.8 critical). Any organization running a storage zones controller version before 5.11.20 is affected, and because these controllers handle file storage and transfer, a successful attack exposes both the server and the data it hosts. A compromised controller gives an attacker a foothold in the enterprise network, which is consistent with the flaw's known use in ransomware operations. The vulnerability was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-25 with ransomware use explicitly flagged, and its 53.6% EPSS score (99th percentile) indicates a high near-term probability of exploitation; related reporting on access brokers such as the Gold Melody group selling network access to ransomware operators underscores the active threat. Defenders should treat this as actively exploited rather than theoretical.

Do: Upgrade storage zones controller to version 5.11.20 or later following Citrix's update instructions, prioritizing internet-exposed controllers since exploitation requires no credentials. Given confirmed ransomware use, hunt for signs of compromise on currently deployed controllers (unexpected processes, new or modified scheduled tasks and accounts, unfamiliar files) before and after patching. Restrict controller exposure to the minimum necessary network paths and monitor for follow-on lateral movement.

CVE-2021-26084 is an OGNL injection vulnerability (CWE-917) in Atlassian Confluence Server and Data Center that may allow an unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code. Any organization running Confluence Server or Data Center is potentially affected. It is significant because it is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 100.0% probability of exploitation within 30 days (100th percentile).

Do: Apply updates to Confluence Server and Data Center per Atlassian's instructions, which is the required action in the CISA KEV listing. Prioritize remediation given confirmed in-the-wild exploitation and known ransomware use.

ForgeRock Access Management (AM) Core Server contains a Java deserialization flaw (CWE-502, deserialization of untrusted data) that allows remote code execution. An attacker triggers it by sending a specially crafted HTTP request carrying malicious serialized data to one of three web endpoints: /ccversion/Version, /ccversion/Masthead, or /ccversion/ButtonFrame. Successful exploitation executes arbitrary code in the context of the AM service account, which per the vendor is typically a non-root user, so the attacker gains the privileges of the application process on that server. Any organization running ForgeRock AM Core Server is affected, especially where the /ccversion/ endpoints are reachable by untrusted networks. The flaw is being actively exploited in the wild: it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 with known ransomware use, EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days, and no public PoC is tracked in the source data.

Do: Apply ForgeRock's update per vendor instructions (the CISA KEV required action), prioritizing internet-facing AM servers. As an interim mitigation, block or restrict access to the /ccversion/ endpoints (e.g., /ccversion/*) at a reverse proxy or WAF, and ensure AM runs under a non-root service account. Because ransomware use is known, review access logs for requests to /ccversion/Version, /ccversion/Masthead, and /ccversion/ButtonFrame and treat any exposed, unpatched host as potentially compromised.

JMSAppender in Log4j 1.2 is vulnerable to deserialization of untrusted data when the attacker has write access to the Log4j configuration. The attacker can provide TopicBindingName and TopicConnectionFactoryBindingName configurations causing JMSAppender to perform JNDI requests that result in remote code execution in a similar fashion to CVE-2021-44228. Note this issue only affects Log4j 1.2 when specifically configured to use JMSAppender, which is not the default. Apache Log4j 1.2 reached end of life in August 2015. Users should upgrade to Log4j 2 as it addresses numerous other issues from the previous versions.

Sitecore Experience Platform (XP) 7.5 Initial Release through 8.2 Update-7 contains an insecure deserialization flaw (CWE-502) that allows unauthenticated remote command execution on the server. An attacker triggers it simply by sending crafted serialized input to an affected Sitecore instance over the network; no authentication, special configuration, or user interaction is required (CVSS 9.8). Successful exploitation yields arbitrary command execution with the privileges of the web application, giving attackers full control of the CMS server to steal data, deploy malware, or pivot into the corporate network. Any organization running the affected Sitecore XP releases is exposed, particularly content management or delivery servers reachable from the internet. The flaw is actively exploited: it was added to CISA's KEV on 2022-03-25 with known ransomware use, EPSS puts the 30-day exploitation probability at 97.9%, and contemporaneous reporting describes access brokers such as 'Gold Melody' selling compromised network access to ransomware operators.

Do: Apply updates per vendor instructions: upgrade to a fixed release or install the hotfix Sitecore provided for each affected 7.5-8.2 version, as required by CISA's KEV entry. Prioritize internet-facing Sitecore servers, review logs for signs of exploitation, and restrict network access to Sitecore endpoints as an interim measure, since ransomware operators are known to exploit this flaw.

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.