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Showing posts with label Cybersecurity Threats. Show all posts

Critical Windows Event Log Vulnerability Uncovered: Enterprise Security at Risk

 

In a recent discovery, cybersecurity researchers have identified a critical zero-day vulnerability posing a significant threat to the Windows Event Log service. This flaw, when exploited, has the potential to crash the service on all supported versions of Windows, including some legacy systems, raising concerns among enterprise defenders. 

Discovered by security researcher Florian and reported to Microsoft, the zero-day vulnerability is currently without a patch. The Windows Event Log service plays a pivotal role in monitoring and recording system events, providing essential information for system administrators and security professionals. The exploitation of this vulnerability could result in widespread disruption of critical logging functions, hindering the ability to track and analyze system activities. 

In PoC testing, the team discovered that the Windows Event Log service restarts after two crashes, but if it experiences a third crash, it remains inactive for a period of 24 hours. This extended downtime poses a considerable risk, as many security controls rely on the consistent functioning of the Event Log service. The fallout includes compromised security controls and non-operational security control products. This vulnerability allows attackers to exploit known vulnerabilities or launch attacks without triggering alerts, granting them the ability to act undetected, as outlined in the blog. 

During the period when the service is down, detection mechanisms dependent on Windows logs will be incapacitated. This grants the attacker the freedom to conduct additional attacks, including activities like password brute-forcing, exploiting remote services with potentially destabilizing exploits, or executing common attacker tactics such as running the "whoami" command, all without attracting attention. 

While the vulnerability is easily exploitable locally, a remote attacker aiming to utilize the PoC must establish an SMB connection and authenticate to the target computer. Configuring Windows to prevent this attack without completely disabling SMB poses a challenge, given its role in various network functionalities like shares and printers, according to Kolsek. Internet-facing Windows systems are unlikely to have open SMB connectivity, reducing the likelihood of remote exploitation. 

The vulnerability proves advantageous for an attacker already present in the local network, especially if they have gained access to a low-privileged user's workstation. As a temporary solution until Microsoft issues a patch, users can apply a micro patch provided by Acros through the 0patch agent, tailored for multiple Windows releases and server versions. This helps mitigate potential real-time detection issues linked to the Event Log service's disablement.

Popular Real Estate Theme in WordPress Leaves Websites Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks


The WP Residence Theme: An Overview of a Popular Real Estate Theme

Real estate sites are one of the most famous and thriving sites on the web, and WordPress is one of the most generally used content management systems (CMS) for making and handling these sites. But recent reports have disclosed that there is a flaw in one of the most popular real estate themes for WordPress that has been abused by threat actors to get access to personal info and hack websites.

The flaw exists in the WP Residence theme, which thousands of real estate websites use across the world. The theme lets site owners to make and manage property listings, show property details, and handle user inquiries. The issue coms from a vulnerability in the theme’s code, which lets threat actors to execute arbitrary code and get administrative privileges on the site.

When the threat actors gain access to the website’s backend, they can steal sensitive information, like user credentials, personal data, and financial information. They can also deploy malicious code, which can cause more dangerous attacks, like spreading malware or ransomware, disrupting the site, or launching a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

The Discovery of the Vulnerability: How Wordfence Identified the Issue

The flaw was first found by Wordfence, a leading cybersecurity firm that specialises in WordPress security. The firm discovered that the flaw was being actively exploited in the open, which hints that threat actors were already exploiting it to hack real estate websites. The vulnerability impacted all variants of the WP Residence theme up to version 1.60.3, which was launched in January 2021.

Wordfence immediately alerted the theme’s developers, who released a patch to fix the issue. The patch was included in version 1.60.4, which was released in February 2021. Website owners who use the WP Residence theme are urged to update to the latest version as soon as possible to protect their website from potential attacks.

The Importance of Maintaining Strong Website Security Practices

This incident highlights the importance of keeping your website up-to-date with the latest software patches and security updates. Even popular and well-maintained themes and plugins can contain vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers. Therefore, it’s essential to have a robust security strategy in place, which includes regular backups, malware scans, and security audits.

In conclusion, the vulnerability in the WP Residence theme is a reminder that no website is immune to cyber-attacks. Website owners need to be vigilant and proactive in securing their websites, especially if they handle sensitive information or financial transactions. By following best practices for website security and staying informed about the latest threats and vulnerabilities, website owners can protect their website and their users from harm.