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Cybersecurity agencies in Australia and the U.S. are  warning  of an actively exploited vulnerability impacting ForgeRock's OpenAM access management solution that could be leveraged to execute arbitrary code on an affected system remotely. "The [Australian Cyber Security Centre] has observed actors exploiting this vulnerability to compromise multiple hosts and deploy additional malware and tools," the organization  said  in an alert. ACSC didn't disclose the nature of the attacks, how widespread they are, or the identities of the threat actors exploiting them. Tracked as  CVE-2021-35464 , the issue concerns a pre-authentication remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in ForgeRock Access Manager identity and access management tool, and stems from an  unsafe Java deserialization  in the Jato framework used by the software. "An attacker exploiting the vulnerability will execute commands in the context of the current user, not as the root user (unl...

SolarWinds, the Texas-based company that became the epicenter of a  massive supply chain attack  late last year, has issued patches to contain a remote code execution flaw in its Serv-U managed file transfer service. The fixes, which target Serv-U Managed File Transfer and Serv-U Secure FTP products, arrive after Microsoft notified the IT management and remote monitoring software maker that the flaw was being exploited in the wild. The threat actor behind the exploitation remains unknown as yet, and it isn't clear exactly how the attack was carried out. "Microsoft has provided evidence of limited, targeted customer impact, though SolarWinds does not currently have an estimate of how many customers may be directly affected by the vulnerability," SolarWinds  said  in an advisory published Friday, adding it's "unaware of the identity of the potentially affected customers." Impacting Serv-U versions 15.2.3 HF1 and before, a successful exploitation of the sh...

Modern password policies are comprised of many different elements that contribute to its effectiveness. One of the components of an effective current password policy makes use of what is known as a  custom dictionary  that filters out certain words that are not allowed as passwords in the environment.  Using custom dictionaries, organizations can significantly improve their cybersecurity posture and filter out obvious passwords that provide poor security for user accounts. When using password dictionaries in your password policy, there are many different approaches to consider. First, let's consider crafting a custom dictionary for your password policy, including general guidance on how these are created, configured, and how you can easily use custom dictionaries in an active directory environment. Why customize your dictionary?  Custom dictionaries are born from the need to "think as a hacker thinks." Compromised credentials are one of the leading causes of mal...

While phishing and ransomware dominate headlines, another critical risk quietly persists across most enterprises: exposed Git repositories leaking sensitive data. A risk that silently creates shadow access into core systems Git is the backbone of modern software development, hosting millions of repositories and serving thousands of organizations worldwide. Yet, amid the daily hustle of shipping code, developers may inadvertently leave behind API keys, tokens, or passwords in configuration files and code files, effectively handing attackers the keys to the kingdom. This isn't just about poor hygiene; it's a systemic and growing supply chain risk. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, so do compliance requirements. Security frameworks like NIS2, SOC2, and ISO 27001 now demand proof that software delivery pipelines are hardened and third-party risk is controlled. The message is clear: securing your Git repositories is no longer optional, it's essential. Below, we look at the ris...

Cybersecurity researchers are warning about a new malware that's striking online gambling companies in China via a watering hole attack to deploy either Cobalt Strike beacons or a previously undocumented Python-based backdoor called BIOPASS RAT that takes advantage of Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) Studio's live-streaming app to capture the screen of its victims. The attack involves deceiving gaming website visitors into downloading a malware loader camouflaged as a legitimate installer for popular-but-deprecated apps such as Adobe Flash Player or Microsoft Silverlight, only for the loader to act as a conduit for fetching next-stage payloads. Specifically, the websites' online support chat pages are booby-trapped with malicious JavaScript code, which is used to deliver the malware to the victims. "BIOPASS RAT possesses basic features found in other malware, such as file system assessment, remote desktop access, file exfiltration, and shell command execution,...

Florida-based software vendor Kaseya on Sunday rolled out urgent updates to address critical security vulnerabilities in its Virtual System Administrator (VSA) solution that was used as a jumping off point to target as many as 1,500 businesses across the globe as part of a widespread supply-chain ransomware attack . Following the incident, the company had urged on-premises VSA customers to shut down their servers until a patch was available. Now, almost 10 days later the firm has shipped VSA version 9.5.7a (9.5.7.2994) with fixes for three new security flaws —  CVE-2021-30116 - Credentials leak and business logic flaw CVE-2021-30119 - Cross-site scripting vulnerability CVE-2021-30120 - Two-factor authentication bypass The security issues are part of a total of seven vulnerabilities that were discovered and reported to Kaseya by the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure ( DIVD ) earlier in April, of which four other weaknesses were remediated in previous rele...

Cybercrime actors part of the Magecart group have latched on to a new technique of obfuscating the malware code within  comment blocks  and encoding stolen credit card data into images and other files hosted on the server, once again demonstrating how the attackers are  continuously improving  their infection chains to escape detection. "One tactic that some Magecart actors employ is the dumping of swiped credit card details into image files on the server [to] avoid raising suspicion," Sucuri Security Analyst, Ben Martin,  said  in a write-up. "These can later be downloaded using a simple  GET request  at a later date." Magecart is the umbrella term given to multiple groups of cybercriminals targeting e-commerce websites with the goal of plundering credit card numbers by injecting malicious JavaScript skimmers and selling them on the black market. Sucuri attributed the attack to  Magecart Group 7  based on overlaps in the tactics, t...

For years, security professionals have recognized the need to enhance SaaS security. However, the exponential adoption of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications over 2020 turned slow-burning embers into a raging fire.  Organizations manage anywhere from thirty-five to more than a hundred applications. From collaboration tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams to mission-critical applications like SAP and Salesforce, SaaS applications act as the foundation of the modern enterprise. 2020 created an urgent need for security solutions that mitigate SaaS misconfiguration risks. Recognizing the importance of SaaS security, Gartner named a new category, SaaS Security Posture Management (SSPM), to distinguish solutions that have the capabilities to offer a continuous assessment of security risks arising from a SaaS application's deployment.  To understand how security teams are currently dealing with their SaaS security posture and what their main concerns are, Adaptive Shield, a ...

Multiple security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in Philips Clinical Collaboration Platform Portal (aka Vue PACS), some of which could be exploited by an adversary to take control of an affected system. "Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an unauthorized person or process to eavesdrop, view or modify data, gain system access, perform code execution, install unauthorized software, or affect system data integrity in such a way as to negatively impact the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of the system," the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA)  noted  in an advisory. The 15 flaws impact: VUE Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (versions 12.2.x.x and prior), Vue MyVue (versions 12.2.x.x and prior), Vue Speech (versions 12.2.x.x and prior), and Vue Motion (versions 12.2.1.5 and prior) Four of the issues (CVE-2020-1938, CVE-2018-12326, CVE-2018-11218, CVE-2020-4670, and CVE-2018-8014) have been given a C...

While it's a norm for phishing campaigns that distribute weaponized Microsoft Office documents to prompt victims to enable macros in order to trigger the infection chain directly, new findings indicate attackers are using non-malicious documents to disable security warnings prior to executing macro code to infect victims' computers. In yet another instance of malware authors continue to evolve their techniques to evade detection, researchers from McAfee Labs stumbled upon a novel tactic that "downloads and executes malicious DLLs (ZLoader) without any malicious code present in the initial spammed attachment macro." ZLoader infections propagated using this mechanism have been primarily reported in the U.S., Canada, Spain, Japan, and Malaysia, the cybersecurity firm noted. The malware — a descendant of the infamous ZeuS banking trojan — is well known for aggressively using macro-enabled Office documents as an initial attack vector to steal credentials and personall...

Four security vulnerabilities have been uncovered in the  Sage X3  enterprise resource planning (ERP) product, two of which could be chained together as part of an attack sequence to enable adversaries to execute malicious commands and take control of vulnerable systems. These issues were discovered by researchers from Rapid7, who notified Sage Group of their findings on Feb. 3, 2021. The vendor has since rolled out  fixes  in recent releases for Sage X3 Version 9 (Syracuse 9.22.7.2), Sage X3 HR & Payroll Version 9 (Syracuse 9.24.1.3), Sage X3 Version 11 (Syracuse 11.25.2.6), and Sage X3 Version 12 (Syracuse 12.10.2.8) that were shipped in March. The list of vulnerabilities is as follows - CVE-2020-7388  (CVSS score: 10.0) - Sage X3 Unauthenticated Remote Command Execution (RCE) as SYSTEM in AdxDSrv.exe component CVE-2020-7389  (CVSS score" 5.5) - System "CHAINE" Variable Script Command Injection (No fix planned) CVE-2020-7387  (CVSS score:...

Cybersecurity researchers on Thursday took the wraps off a new, ongoing espionage campaign targeting corporate networks in Spanish-speaking countries, specifically Venezuela, to spy on its victims. Dubbed " Bandidos " by ESET owing to the use of an upgraded variant of Bandook malware, the primary targets of the threat actor are corporate networks in the South American country spanning across manufacturing, construction, healthcare, software services, and retail sectors. Written in both Delphi and C++,  Bandook  has a history of being sold as a commercial remote access trojan (RAT) dating all the way back to 2005. Since then, numerous variants have emerged on the threat landscape and put to use in different surveillance campaigns in 2015 and 2017, allegedly by a cyber-mercenary group known as Dark Caracal on behalf of government interests in Kazakhstan and Lebanon. In a continuing resurgence of the Bandook Trojan, Check Point last year  disclosed  three new sampl...

Humans are an organization's strongest defence against evolving cyber threats, but security awareness training alone often isn't enough to transform user behaviour. In this guide, usecure looks at why Human Risk Management (HRM) is the new fix for building a security-savvy workforce. Don't be fooled... Businesses are investing more than ever into strengthening their employee security awareness efforts, but a big problem still plagues SMBs and enterprises in every sector —  human-related data breaches . Even with more businesses rolling out staff security awareness training programs to combat evolving cyber threats, over 90% of data breaches still stem from human error. So, why are human-related data breaches still so prevalent? Access Now: Security Awareness Training is Broken. HRM is the Fix [Free eBook] → Security awareness training often isn't enough It's easy to think that rolling out some security awareness courses and sending a few email bulletins fro...

This week, PrintNightmare - Microsoft's Print Spooler vulnerability (CVE-2021-34527) was upgraded from a 'Low' criticality to a 'Critical' criticality. This is due to a Proof of Concept published on GitHub, which attackers could potentially leverage for gaining access to Domain Controllers. As we reported earlier , Microsoft already released a patch in June 2021, but it wasn't enough to stop exploits. Attackers can still use Print Spooler when connecting remotely. You can find all you need to know about this vulnerability in this article and how you can mitigate it (and you can).  Print Spooler in a nutshell:  Print Spooler is Microsoft's service for managing and monitoring files printing. This service is among Microsoft's oldest and has had minimal maintenance updates since it was released.  Every Microsoft machine (servers and endpoints) has this feature enabled by default. PrintNightmare vulnerability:  As soon as an attacker gains limited user...

A cyber-espionage group has been observed increasingly targeting Indian government personnel as part of a broad campaign to infect victims with as many as four new custom remote access trojans (RATs), signaling a "boost in their development operations." Attributed to a group tracked as SideCopy, the intrusions culminate in the deployment of a variety of modular plugins, ranging from file enumerators to browser credential stealers and keyloggers (Xeytan and Lavao), Cisco Talos said in a report published Wednesday. "Targeting tactics and themes observed in SideCopy campaigns indicate a high degree of similarity to the Transparent Tribe APT (aka APT36) also targeting India," researchers Asheer Malhotra and Justin Thattil  said . "These include using decoys posing as operational documents belonging to the military and think tanks and honeytrap-based infections." First documented in September 2020 by Indian cybersecurity firm Quick Heal,  SideCopy  has a  ...

Even as Microsoft  expanded patches  for the so-called PrintNightmare vulnerability for Windows 10 version 1607, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2016, it has come to light that the fix for the remote code execution exploit in the Windows Print Spooler service can be bypassed in certain scenarios, effectively defeating the security protections and permitting attackers to run arbitrary code on infected systems. On Tuesday, the Windows maker issued an  emergency out-of-band update  to address  CVE-2021-34527  (CVSS score: 8.8) after the flaw was accidentally disclosed by researchers from Hong Kong-based cybersecurity firm Sangfor late last month, at which point it emerged that the issue was different from another bug — tracked as  CVE-2021-1675  — that was patched by Microsoft on June 8. "Several days ago, two security vulnerabilities were found in Microsoft Windows' existing printing mechanism," Yaniv Balmas, head of cyber research at C...

A malicious campaign that has set its sights on industrial-related entities in the Middle East since 2019 has resurfaced with an upgraded malware toolset to strike both Windows and macOS operating systems, symbolizing an expansion in both its targets and its strategy around distributing threats. Russian cybersecurity firm attributed the attacks to an advanced persistent threat (APT) it tracks as " WildPressure ," with victims believed to be in the oil and gas industry.  WildPressure first came to light in March 2020 based off of a malware operation distributing a fully-featured C++ Trojan dubbed "Milum" that enabled the threat actor to gain remote control of the compromised device. The attacks were said to have begun as early as August 2019. "For their campaign infrastructure, the operators used rented OVH and Netzbetrieb virtual private servers (VPS) and a domain registered with the Domains by Proxy anonymization service," Kaspersky researcher Denis ...

An analysis of off-the-shelf packages hosted on the NuGet repository has revealed 51 unique software components to be vulnerable to actively exploited, high-severity vulnerabilities, once again underscoring the threat posed by third-party dependencies to the software development process. In light of the growing number of cyber incidents that target the software supply chain, there is an urgent need to assess such third-party modules for any security risks and minimize the attack surface, ReversingLabs researcher Karlo Zanki said in a report shared with The Hacker News. NuGet  is a Microsoft-supported mechanism for the .NET platform and functions as a package manager designed to enable developers to share reusable code. The framework maintains a central repository of over 264,000 unique packages that have collectively produced more than 109 billion package downloads. "All identified precompiled software components in our research were different versions of 7Zip, WinSCP and PuT...