F5 Warns of a New Critical BIG

The flaw (CVE-2014-0160, widely known as 'Heartbleed') is an out-of-bounds read (CWE-125) in the TLS and DTLS implementations of OpenSSL, caused by improper handling of Heartbeat Extension packets. A remote, unauthenticated attacker triggers it by sending a crafted heartbeat request whose declared payload length exceeds the data actually sent, causing OpenSSL to copy up to roughly 64 KB of adjacent process memory into the response. The attacker gains chunks of process memory per request — potentially TLS private keys, session cookies, usernames and passwords — and can repeat the request to harvest more, typically without any trace in logs. Any server or client running a vulnerable OpenSSL release that enables TLS or DTLS heartbeats is affected, which at the time of disclosure included hundreds of thousands of internet-exposed HTTPS servers as well as appliances, load balancers, and bundled libraries. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the vulnerability is listed in CISA KEV (added 2022-05-04, required action: apply updates per vendor instructions) and EPSS assigns it the maximum 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days.

Do: Apply OpenSSL updates per your OS or vendor's instructions — the upstream fix at the time of the 2014 disclosure was OpenSSL 1.0.1g, with most distributions shipping backported patches — and restart or rebuild every service linked against OpenSSL, including bundled copies in load balancers, appliances, and VPN or management interfaces. Because leaked memory can include TLS private keys, treat keys and certificates on affected endpoints as compromised: rotate keys, reissue and revoke certificates, and invalidate session cookies and credentials that may have leaked. Confirm the heartbeat fix is present on all TLS/DTLS endpoints to satisfy the CISA KEV required action.

CVE-2014-0322 is a use-after-free memory corruption flaw (CWE-416) in Microsoft Internet Explorer that allows remote code execution. It is triggered when the browser processes crafted web content: an attacker-controlled object is freed and then reused, corrupting memory, and in the known campaign FireEye observed it being exploited as a 0-day via a watering hole attack on websites visited by targets. A successful exploit lets an attacker execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-on user, typically through nothing more than a drive-by visit to a compromised web page. Everyone browsing with the affected Internet Explorer versions was exposed, which at the time of disclosure meant on the order of hundreds of millions of desktop users given IE's dominant market share. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild - the flaw was added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-05-04 - though the source data notes no standalone public proof-of-concept code.

Do: Apply Microsoft's March 2014 Internet Explorer security updates per vendor instructions, as required by the CISA KEV catalog. Inventory endpoints for legacy or unpatched IE usage, restrict browsing with IE on outdated hosts, migrate systems still using IE to a supported browser where possible, and monitor for watering-hole/drive-by compromise indicators.

CVE-2014-4113 is a privilege escalation flaw (CWE-264) in Win32k, the kernel-mode component of Microsoft Windows; Microsoft's description is unspecified, but the flaw allows an attacker to gain elevated privileges on the host. It is triggered by executing a specially crafted application locally on an affected system, typically by an attacker who has already obtained a foothold with limited user rights. Successful exploitation yields higher-privilege (kernel/administrator-level) execution, letting the attacker fully compromise the machine and evade user-level restrictions — a common second stage chained after an initial intrusion. Any Microsoft Windows system of the era whose Win32k component was not patched by Microsoft's October 2014 security updates is affected. Exploitation is confirmed: the flaw is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-04), carries a very high EPSS score (87%, ~100th percentile), and public reporting has tied it to threat-actor activity (APT3's Operation Double Tap); no public PoC is catalogued.

Do: Apply Microsoft's October 2014 security updates — or any later cumulative/rollup updates — on all Windows systems, per CISA's required action, prioritizing internet-exposed and high-value hosts listed in the KEV catalog. Confirm the patched Win32k file version on legacy machines that may have missed these updates. Because this is a local privilege escalation typically chained after an initial foothold, also restrict local execution of untrusted code and limit user privileges on any systems that cannot be patched.

CVE-2019-8506 is a type confusion flaw (CWE-843) in the web content processing engine shared by Apple's Safari browser and the iOS, tvOS, and watchOS operating systems, as well as iTunes and iCloud for Windows. It is triggered when a user processes maliciously crafted web content, such as by visiting an attacker-controlled webpage. Successful exploitation may allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code on the affected device or desktop. Anyone running Safari or iOS/tvOS versions before 12.2, watchOS before 5.2, or iTunes/iCloud for Windows before the fixed 12.9.4/7.11 releases is affected, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (Desktop, Server, Workstation) is also listed among affected products in the source data. The flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-05-04, indicating known exploitation in the wild, though no public PoC is available and ransomware use is unknown.

Do: Upgrade affected Apple software to the fixed releases: iOS 12.2, tvOS 12.2, watchOS 5.2, Safari 12.1, iTunes 12.9.4 for Windows, and iCloud for Windows 7.11, or later versions. Inventory Windows endpoints for iTunes and iCloud installations, which are frequently overlooked, and update or remove them. Red Hat Enterprise Linux users should apply Red Hat's updates addressing this CVE, and because this is a CISA KEV entry, patch per vendor instructions promptly.

CVE-2021-1789 is a type confusion flaw (CWE-843) in the WebKit engine that powers Safari and web views across Apple's platforms, fixed through improved state handling. An attacker triggers it by getting a victim to open or view maliciously crafted web content, for example via a crafted link in an email or a compromised webpage. Successful exploitation leads to arbitrary code execution in the context of the application rendering the content, and the CVSS 3.1 score of 8.8 reflects high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact with network attack vector and user interaction required. Everyone running affected Apple software below the February 2021 patch levels is exposed — iOS/iPadOS before 14.4, macOS Big Sur before 11.2, macOS Catalina/Mojave without Security Update 2021-001, tvOS before 14.4, watchOS before 7.3, and Safari before 14.0.3 — as well as WebKitGTK users on Fedora per the CPE data. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw is in CISA KEV (added 2022-05-04) and was used as a macOS zero-day in watering-hole attacks on Hong Kong pro-democracy users, deploying the DazzleSpy backdoor; EPSS estimates a 14.5% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Do: Update to iOS/iPadOS 14.4, macOS Big Sur 11.2 (or apply Security Update 2021-001 on Catalina/Mojave), Safari 14.0.3, tvOS 14.4 and watchOS 7.3; on Fedora, apply the available webkitgtk package update. Because this flaw is in CISA KEV and used in targeted watering-hole attacks, prioritize patching internet-facing and high-risk user fleets. Confirm inventory shows no Apple devices below these patch levels and that users are not relying on outdated Safari builds on unsupported macOS versions.

F5 BIG-IP contains a critical missing-authentication flaw (CWE-306) in its iControl REST control plane: an unauthenticated attacker with network reachability to the management interface, or to self IPs exposing the REST service on TCP 443, can bypass authentication completely. By sending specially crafted HTTP requests, the attacker gains the ability to execute arbitrary code, create or delete files, and disable services, effectively achieving full takeover of the load balancer or security appliance and the traffic it handles. All F5 BIG-IP deployments running unpatched software are affected; the provided data does not enumerate exact version ranges, which are listed in F5's May 2022 security advisory. The flaw was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2022-05-10 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days (100th percentile), indicating active in-the-wild exploitation. No public proof-of-concept is catalogued in the provided data, but the KEV listing and known ransomware use confirm real-world attacks.

Do: Upgrade affected F5 BIG-IP systems to the fixed releases listed in F5's May 2022 security advisory (K23605340) immediately, prioritizing appliances whose management interface or self IPs on TCP 443 are reachable from untrusted networks; as an interim mitigation, block untrusted access to the management interface and the iControl REST service. Because this flaw is in CISA's KEV catalog with known ransomware use, also hunt for signs of compromise (unexpected files, disabled services, unknown persistence) on any system that was exposed before patching.