Nightmare week for security vendors: Now a Trend Micro bug is being exploited in the wild

Nightmare week for security vendors: Now a Trend Micro bug is being exploited in the wild | The Record by Recorded Future

US-Japanese cybersecurity firm Trend Micro disclosed on Wednesday that a threat actor began using a bug in its antivirus products to gain admin rights on Windows systems as part of its attacks.

The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2020–24557, affects the company’s Apex One and OfficeScan XG, two advanced security products aimed at enterprise customers.

The bug was discovered last year by Christopher Vella, a vulnerability researcher at Microsoft, who privately reported the issue to Trend Micro through the company’s Zero-Day Initiative bug acquisition program.

Trend Micro patched the issue in August 2020, but in an update to its initial security advisory posted on Wednesday, the security firm said it learned of incidents where this same bug was weaponized to attack some of its customers.

“The specific flaw exists within the logic that controls access to the Misc folder,” the ZDI team said last year. “An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and execute code in the context of SYSTEM.”

Based on this description of the issue, the bug could not be used to break into systems but was used as a second step in a multi-phase exploit chain after hackers already planted malicious code on a victim’s computer and used the bug to take full control of an infected system.

While Trend Micro did not share any details about the attackers, a source familiar with the attacks told The Record the bug was used by an advanced persistent threat (APT), a term usually used to refer to state-sponsored cyber-espionage groups.

This bug now becomes the fourth vulnerability in Apex One and OfficeScan XG security products that has been exploited in the wild after CVE-2019–18187, CVE-2020–8467, and CVE-2020–8468.

The first three were abused in 2019 and 2020, with the first being used by a Chinese cyber-espionage group during an attack on Mitsubishi Electric.

A bad week for security product vendors

News about hackers exploiting the Trend Micro vulnerability comes a day after FireEye disclosed that multiple hacking groups had also exploited zero-day in security products from Pulse Secure and SonicWall.

While all these attacks are unrelated, they show a pattern in real-world attacks where threat actors are slowly realizing that security products are as vulnerable as any other software, and, because of the central and privileged position they occupy inside most corporate networks, they are ideal entry points into high-profile targets.

Originally published at https://therecord.media on April 22, 2021.

Comments

Bogus Android Clubhouse App Drops Credential-Swiping Malware

The malicious app spreads the BlackRock malware, which steals credentials from 458 services — including Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook and Amazon. Researchers are warning of a fake version of the popular audio chat app Clubhouse, which delivers malware that steals login credentials for more than 450 apps. Clubhouse has burst on the social media scene over the past few months, gaining hype through its audio-chat rooms where participants can discuss anything from politics to relationships. Despite being invite-only, and only being around for a year, the app is closing in on 13 million downloads . However, as of now the app is only available on Apple’s App Store mobile application marketplace — there’s no Android version yet (though plans are in the works to develop one). Cybercriminals are swooping in on Android users looking to download Clubhouse by creating their own fake Android version of the app. To add a legitimacy to the scam, the fake app is delivered from a website purporting to b...

Razer has created a concept N95 mask with RGB and voice projection

Razer claims to have made the world’s smartest mask: its new reusable N95 respirator called Project Hazel. It’s a concept design with a glossy outside shell made of waterproof and scratch-resistant recycled plastic, which is transparent to allow for lip-reading and seeing facial cues when you chat with people. Currently, there isn’t a price or release date attached. Razer refers to Project Hazel as a surgical N95, but it hasn’t yet earned any of the necessary approvals and certifications from the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In a statement to The Verge , Razer said it is working with a team of medical experts and scientists who are helping to develop the mask. The main features of this mask lie within its two circular zones that flank your mouth. They’re used for ventilation, giving the device an almost futuristic gas mask look. Razer claims Project Hazel will use active disc-type v...

Hackers Compromise Mimecast Certificate For Microsoft Authentication

A sophisticated threat actor compromised a Mimecast certificate used to authenticate several of the company’s products to Microsoft 365 Exchange Web Services, Mimecast disclosed Tuesday. The Lexington, Mass.-based email security vendor said the certificate used to authenticate its Sync and Recover, Continuity Monitor and Internal Email Protect (IEP) products to Microsoft 365 has been compromised. Mimecast said it was recently informed of the compromise by Microsoft. Mimecast’s stock is down $2.40 per share (4.67 percent) to $49 per share in pre-market trading Tuesday, which is the lowest the company’s stock has traded since Dec. 15. Mimecast declined to answer questions about whether the compromise of its certificate was carried out by the same threat actor who for months injected malicious code into the SolarWinds Orion network monitoring tool. Approximately 10 percent of Mimecast’s customers use the compromised connection, according to the company. Of those that do, Mimecast said cu...

Teknologiia News

Search This Blog