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V8 Type Confusion Vulnerability Hits Google Chrome & Microsoft Edge Browser

 

Following the discovery of a V8 vulnerability in Chrome and Edge that has been exploited in the wild, ZDNet recommends that users running Windows, macOS, or Linux update their Chrome builds to version 99.0.4844.84, as an out-of-band security update was recently released by Google to address the issue. 

Concerning the V8 Vulnerability:

There isn't much information available about this recently discovered vulnerability, as Google stated that it will wait for the bulk of users to update their browsers before acting. As per Google, “Note: Access to bug details and links may be kept restricted until a majority of users are updated with a fix. We will also retain restrictions if the bug exists in a third-party library that other projects similarly depend on, but haven’t yet fixed.” 

What is known is that the bug in question has been assigned CVE-2022-1096, which is a zero-day "type confusion in V8" bug and was reported on March 23, 2022, by an "anonymous" researcher. V8 is a JavaScript engine that is completely free and open-source. The Chromium Project created it for Google Chrome and Chromium web browsers. 

Lars Bak is the person who came up with the idea for the project. It's worth noting that the first version of Firefox was released in 2008, almost simultaneously with the initial version of Chrome. Because the V8 vulnerability affected Edge as well, Microsoft Office issued a statement on the subject, stating that the issue had been resolved in Edge version 99.0.1150.55. 

Microsoft’s notice reads, “The vulnerability assigned to this CVE is in Chromium Open Source Software (OSS) which is consumed by Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based). It is being documented in the Security Update Guide to announce that the latest version of Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) is no longer vulnerable. Please see Security Update Guide Supports CVEs Assigned by Industry Partners for more information.”

Google WAF Circumvented Via Oversized POST Requests

 

It is possible to circumvent Google's cloud-based defences due to security flaws in the default protection offered by the company's web application firewall (WAF). 

Researchers from security firm Kloudle discovered that by sending a POST request larger than 8KB, they were able to get beyond the web app firewalls on both Google Cloud Platform (GCP) and Amazon Web Services (AWS). 

“The default behaviour of Cloud Armor, in this case, can allow malicious requests to bypass Cloud Armor and directly reach an underlying application,” according to Kloudle. 

"This is similar to the well-documented 8 KB limitation of the AWS web application firewall, however, in the case of Cloud Armor, the limitation is not as widely known and is not presented to customers as prominently as the limitation in AWS.” 

Even if an underlying application is still susceptible, WAFs are designed to guard against web-based attacks like SQL Injection and cross-site scripting. If a targeted endpoint accepts HTTP POST requests "in a manner that could trigger an underlying vulnerability," bypassing this safeguard would bring a potential attacker one step closer to attacking a web-hosted application. 

Kloudle explains in a technical blog post,“This issue can be exploited by crafting an HTTP POST request with a body size exceeding the 8KB size limitation of Cloud Armor, where the payload appears after the 8192th byte/character in the request body." 

Google's Cloud Armor WAF comes with a collection of predefined firewall rules based on the OWASP ModSecurity Core Rule Set, which is open source. The possible attack vector can be blocked by setting a custom Cloud Armor rule to block HTTP requests with request bodies larger than 8192 bytes - a general rule that can be customised to accommodate defined exceptions. 

Even though AWS' WAF has similar issues, Kloudle faulted GCP for neglecting to notify customers about the problem. According to the researchers, other cloud-based WAFs have comparable drawbacks. 

Kloudle told The Daily Swig: “This is part of ongoing work… so far, we have seen request body limitations with Cloudflare, Azure, and Akamai as well. Some have 8KB and others extend to 128KB.” 

In response to questions from The Daily Swig, a Google spokesperson stated that the 8KB restriction is stated in the company's documentation. Kloudle's representative expressed concern over security and functionality. 

The representative explained, “Perimeter security software is hard. I suspect in this case 8KB limit allows them to reliably process other WAF rules. They could be doing more for developer awareness, including adding that rule by default with the option to disable in case someone wants to. As per the shared security responsibility model they put the onus on the end-user to use the service securely.”  

Kloudle's representative expressed sympathy for the security and functionality trade-offs that cloud providers must make but suggested to The Daily Swig that cloud providers could do more to educate consumers about the issue.

Zero-Day Vulnerability Exploited in Zimbra Email Platform to Spy on Users

 

As part of spear-phishing campaigns that began in December 2021, a threat actor, most likely of Chinese origin, is proactively trying to attack a zero-day vulnerability in the Zimbra open-source email infrastructure. 

In a technical report published last week, cybersecurity firm Volexity described the espionage operation, codenamed "EmailThief," stating that successful exploitation of the cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerability could lead to the execution of arbitrary JavaScript code in the context of the user's Zimbra session. 

The incursions, which commenced on December 14, 2021, were linked to a previously unknown hacker gang that Volexity is investigating under the moniker TEMP HERETIC, with the attacks focused on European government and media organizations. The zero-day vulnerability affects Zimbra's most recent open-source edition, version 8.8.15. 

The assaults are said to have been carried out in two stages, with the first stage targeted at reconnaissance and the distribution of emails to see if a target had received and opened the messages. Multiple waves of email messages were sent out after that to lure users into clicking on a fraudulent link. The attacker used 74 different Outlook.com email identities to send the messages out over two weeks, with the initial recon emails having generic subject lines ranging from invitations to charity auctions and refunds for airline tickets. 

Steven Adair and Thomas Lancaster noted, "For the attack to be successful, the target would have to visit the attacker's link while logged into the Zimbra webmail client from a web browser. The link itself, however, could be launched from an application to include a thick client, such as Thunderbird or Outlook." 

If exploited, the unpatched vulnerability might be used to exfiltrate cookies, providing constant access to a mailbox, sending phishing messages from the hijacked email account to spread the infection, and even facilitating the installation of new malware. 

The researchers stated, "None of the infrastructure identified […] exactly matches infrastructure used by previously classified threat groups."  

"However, based on the targeted organization and specific individuals of the targeted organization, and given the stolen data would have no financial value, it is likely the attacks were undertaken by a Chinese APT actor." 

Further the company recommended, "Users of Zimbra should consider upgrading to version 9.0.0, as there is currently no secure version of 8.8.15."  

Conti Ransomware Exploits Log4j Flaw to Hack VMware vCenter Servers

 

The critical Log4Shell exploit is being used by the Conti ransomware operation to obtain quick access to internal VMware vCenter Server instances and encrypt virtual machines. The group wasted no time in adopting the new attack vector, becoming the first "top-tier" operation to exploit the Log4j flaw. 

On December 9, a proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2021-44228, also known as Log4Shell, was made public. A day later, numerous actors began scanning the internet in search of vulnerable systems. Cryptocurrency miners, botnets, and a new ransomware strain called Khonsari were among the first to leverage the flaw. 

By December 15, state-backed hackers and initial access brokers, who sell network access to ransomware gangs, had joined the list of threat actors using Log4Shell. Conti, one of today's largest and most prolific ransomware groups with tens of full-time members, seems to have developed an early interest in Log4Shell, viewing it as a potential attack channel on Sunday, December 12. 

The group began seeking fresh victims the next day, with the intention of lateral migration to VMware vCenter networks, as per Advanced Intelligence (AdvIntel), a cybercrime and hostile disruption firm. Log4Shell has impacted dozens of vendors, who have rushed to patch their products or provide workarounds and mitigations for customers. VMware is one among them, with 40 products listed as vulnerable. 

While the firm has suggested mitigations or fixes, a patch for the affected vCenter versions has yet to be released. Although vCenter servers are not generally accessible to the internet, there are a few scenarios in which an attacker may exploit the flaw.

“A malicious actor with network access to an impacted VMware product may exploit this issue to gain full control of the target system and/or perform a denial of service attack” – Vmware 

Log4Shell to move laterally 

"This is the first time this vulnerability entered the radar of a major ransomware group," according to a report shared with BleepingComputer. 

“The current exploitation led to multiple use cases through which the Conti group tested the possibilities of utilizing the Log4J exploit” - AdvIntel 

While most defenders are aimed at stopping Log4Shell attacks on Internet-connected devices, the Conti ransomware operation demonstrates how the vulnerability can be leveraged to attack internal systems that aren't as well-protected. 

Conti ransomware affiliates had already invaded the target networks and exploited vulnerable Log4j machines to obtain access to vCenter servers, according to the researchers. This indicates that Conti ransomware members used a different initial access vector to infect a network (RDP, VPN, email phishing) and are now utilising Log4Shell to move laterally on the network. 

Conti, the successor to the notorious Ryuk ransomware, is a Russian-speaking group that has been in the ransomware business for a long time. Hundreds of attacks have been carried out by the group, with its data leak site alone reporting over 600 victim firms who did not pay a ransom. Other firms who paid the actor to have their data decrypted are also included. The group has extorted more than $150 million from its victims in the last six months, according to AdvIntel.

MyBB CAPTCHA Flaw Breaks Forum Validation Checks

 

MyBB has issued a warning to users that the latest version of the programme contains a CAPTCHA-breaking flaw that may affect forum functioning. 

The popular open-source software serves as the foundation for thousands of online forums. However, in June, version 1.8.27 accidentally introduced a programming vulnerability that affects CAPTCHA verification systems enabled by users. 

The project's developers warned on October 3 that the problem affects reCAPTCHA v3 and hCaptcha invisible, two services meant to prevent harmful bots from flooding web pages with false traffic. According to the MyBB developers, validation efforts performed using CAPTCHAs, when applied on a forum, “appear broken and the verification can reject or accept attempts incorrectly”. 

The problem, which has been reported on GitHub, was caused by the usage of the incorrect template and handlers for the CAPTCHAs. Incorrect pointers in reCAPTCHA v3 have resulted in a faulty image verification prompt, possibly allowing the system to be circumvented. 

In the context of hCaptcha, the incorrect handler may cause the feature to refuse all challenges. MyBB advises that users move to an alternative technique for applying CAPTCHAs on their forums temporarily or manually apply forthcoming updates available on GitHub. 

Version 1.8.27 is presently being stabilized, and a fix will be included in the next maintenance release.

Examine the builds 

In addition to the CAPTCHA fix, MyBB has requested forum managers to check their error logging configurations. A read-only feature released in MyBB 1.8.27 requires XHTML code validation as it is created to give forum administrators a chance to notice any errors in a configuration error report– ahead of the planned full release of this feature. 

Customized MyCodes, plugins, theme templates, or username styles that are incompatible with the next version may cause problems in the next build. 

The developers stated, “After upgrading, validation errors will continue to be logged, but messages with problematic MyCode will not be displayed to prevent potential XSS attacks against your forums.”

Recently Patched Confluence Vulnerability Abused in the Wild

 

A significant vulnerability in Confluence's team collaboration server software is on the edge of exploitation after the company released the patch a week ago. 

Threat actors were found abusing the major vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-26084 which affects Confluence Server and Confluence Data Center software, which is often installed on Confluence self-hosted project management, wiki, and team communication platforms. 

The vulnerability is hidden in OGNL (Object-Graph Navigation Language), a basic scripting language for interfacing with Java code, which is the fundamental technology used to build most Confluence software. 

When Atlassian released the fix on August 25, the firm that owns the Confluence software family, stated the vulnerability could be used by threat actors to circumvent authentication and implant malicious OGNL instructions that allow attackers to take control of the system. 

As an outcome, the vulnerability received a severity rating of 9.8 out of 10, indicating that it could be exploited remotely over the internet and building a weaponized exploit would be relatively simple.

Exploitation begins a week after fixes are released

Attackers and professional bug bounty hunters are investigating Confluence systems for functionalities vulnerable to CVE-2021-26084 exploits, according to Vietnamese security researcher Tuan Anh Nguyen, who stated on Tuesday that widespread scans for Confluence servers are already ongoing. 

Soon after the issue was discovered in the open, two security researchers, Rahul Maini and Harsh Jaiswal released a detailed explanation of the flaw on GitHub, along with various proof-of-concept payloads. Maini explained the procedure of creating the CVE-2021-26084 attack as “relatively simpler than expected,” thus proving the bug's high severity level of 9.8. 

Confluence is a widely used team collaboration software among some of the world's top businesses, and the CVE-2021-26084 vulnerability is highly effective from a threat actor's standpoint, criminal gangs are anticipated to increase their assaults in the next few days. 

As Confluence flaws have previously been widely weaponized, a similar exploitation strategy is probable this time. 

Atlassian states that Confluence is used by over 60,000 clients, including Audi, Hubspot, NASA, LinkedIn, Twilio, and Docker, according to its website.

Microsoft Alerts of Critical PowerShell 7 Code Execution Vulnerability

 

Microsoft is alerting customers to upgrade their installations of PowerShell 7 as soon as possible to protect themselves against a.NET remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability. 

PowerShell is a configuration management system that features a command-line shell as well as a task automation scripting language. It runs on.NET, which makes use of a text encoding package that was recently fixed against an RCE flaw. It works with structured data such as JSON, CSV, and XML, and REST APIs and object models, and it operates on all major platforms, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. 

The.NET vulnerability was recognized as a major vulnerability with a score of 9.8 and was patched in April. 

According to the firm, there are no mitigation steps available to prevent the exploitation of the security issue identified as CVE-2021-26701. Customers are encouraged to update to PowerShell 7.0.6 and 7.1.3 as soon as possible in order to safeguard their systems from potential threats. 

In addition, Microsoft's initial advisory instructs developers on how to update their programs to eliminate the risk. 

Microsoft explained in April when the security flaw was patched, "The vulnerable package is System.Text.Encodings.Web. Upgrading your package and redeploying your app should be sufficient to address this vulnerability." 

Any.NET 5,.NET Core, or.NET Framework based application that uses a System. Text.Encodings. The version of the web package indicated below is vulnerable to attacks:
1.System.Text.Encodings.Web: Vulnerable Versions 4.0.0 - 4.5.0 ; Secure Version 4.5.1

2.System.Text.Encodings.Web: Vulnerable Versions 4.6.0-4.7.1; Secure Version 4.7.2

3.System.Text.Encodings.Web: Vulnerable Versions 5.0.0; Secure Version 5.0.1 

According to Microsoft's security alert, Visual Studio consists of the binaries for .NET but it is not vulnerable to this flaw. The update includes the.NET files, ensuring that apps built with Visual Studio that use.NET capabilities are safe from this security flaw. 

"If you have questions, ask them in GitHub, where the Microsoft development team and the community of experts are closely monitoring for new issues and will provide answers as soon as possible," Microsoft added. 

Microsoft has recently mentioned that future PowerShell upgrades will be released through the Microsoft Update service, making it easier to keep PowerShell up to date on Windows 10 and Windows Server.