Emerson Electric's Proficy Machine Edition Version 9.00 and prior is vulenrable to CWE-353 Missing Support for Integrity Check, and has no authentication or authorization of data packets after establishing a connection for the SRTP protocol.

CVE-2022-2793

Threat Roundup for August 12 to August 19

The fact that the flaws enable remote code execution, exist across all major Apple OS technologies, and are being actively exploited heightens the need for a quick response.

Security researchers are urging users of Apple Mac, iPhone, and iPad devices to immediately update to newly released versions of the operating systems for each technology, to mitigate risk from two critical vulnerabilities in them that attackers are actively exploiting.

The zero-day flaws allow threat actors to take complete control of affected devices. They impact users of iPhone 6s and later, all models of iPad Pro, iPod touch (7th generation), iPad Ai2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 4 and later. Also affected are users with Macs running macOS Monterey, macOS Big Sur, and macOS Catalina. Apple disclosed the vulnerabilities and the updates addressing them on Wednesday.

**Remote Code Execution Flaws**

One of the zero-days (CVE-2022-32893) exists in WebKit, Apple's browser engine for Safari and for all iOS and iPadOS Web browsers. Apple described the flaw as tied to an out-of-bounds write issue that attackers could use to remotely take control of vulnerable devices. "Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution," Apple warned in one of its typically terse vulnerability disclosures this week. "Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited," the company noted.

The other vulnerability (CVE-2022-32894) is also an out-of-bounds write flaw that gives attackers a way to execute code with kernel-level privileges on vulnerable devices. Such vulnerabilities allow attackers to gain complete access to the underlying hardware. The company said it is aware of reports of attackers actively exploiting the bug.

Apple said it had implemented "improved bounds checking" in iOS 15.6.1, iPadOS 15.6.1, macOS Monterey 12.5.1, and Safari 15.6.1 to address both issues.

Lisa Plaggemier, executive director of the National Cybersecurity Alliance, said the widespread use of Apple's technologies puts both businesses and consumers at risk from the vulnerabilities. "While cyber criminals will no doubt try to access personal information about consumers, accessing a business often has significantly more upside for malicious actors," she says.

**WebKit Flaw Has Wider Impact**

In a blog, Sophos identified CVE-2022-32893 as having potentially the wider impact compared to the other flaw that Apple disclosed this week. The flaw gives attackers a way to set up "booby-trapped" Web pages that can trick Macs, iPhones, and iPads into running untrusted software. "Simply put, a cybercriminal could implant malware on your device even if all you did was to view an otherwise innocent web page," the security vendor said.

The flaw has widespread impact because WebKit powers all Web rendering software on Apple's mobile devices and is used widely by Mac users as well. The vulnerability impacts more applications and systems components than just the Safari browser itself, so steering clear of the browser alone is not enough to mitigate risk, Sophos said.

"The WebKit component is particularly problematic, as it is the browser engine across all Apple software," says Rick Holland, chief information security officer and vice president of strategy at Digital Shadows. "Apple users should patch now. These updates need to be applied as soon as possible."

**Both Consumers & Organizations at Risk**

Like many others have noted about the sparse nature of software vendor vulnerability disclosures recently, Holland too said it would have been more useful for defenders if Apple had provided more context and details around the flaws.

"Apple is light on the technical details of this week's two zero-day vulnerabilities," he says. "However, it is never reassuring to see the phrase 'execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges'," as Apple's disclosure reads.

Defenders should push patches out immediately and send notifications that employees should be patching any personal iPhones, iPads, or Macs. These updates present a security awareness opportunity to discuss the risks to employees' lives and provide patching instructions, including how to enable automatic updates.

Mike Parkin, senior technical engineer at Vulcan Cyber, says there's not enough information to determine how easily attackers can exploit these vulnerabilities. But reports about the flaws being already used in the wild is concerning, he says, especially because they allow for remote code execution. Apple products are widely used both in enterprise and consumer markets, and often overlap for people who work in Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environments, he says. Given that, and the relative lack of detail, it's hard to say who'll be more at risk.

"Organizations should deploy the appropriate controls to minimize the risk to their environments," Parkin advocates. "The ones that allow BYOD devices will face some additional challenges, as they'll need to address systems that they don't directly control."

Patch Now: 2 Apple Zero-Days Exploited in Wild

Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-18-1 - Safari 15.6.1 addresses code execution and out of bounds write vulnerabilities.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----  
Hash: SHA256

APPLE-SA-2022-08-18-1 Safari 15.6.1

Safari 15.6.1 addresses the following issues.  
Information about the security content is also available at  
https://support.apple.com/HT213414.

WebKit  
Available for: macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina  
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to  
arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue  
may have been actively exploited.  
Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved  
bounds checking.  
WebKit Bugzilla: 243557  
CVE-2022-32893: an anonymous researcher

Safari 15.6.1 may be obtained from the Mac App Store.  
All information is also posted on the Apple Security Updates  
web site: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222.

This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,  
and details are available at:  
https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/

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Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-18-1

Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-17-1 - iOS 15.6.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1 addresses code execution and out of bounds write vulnerabilities.

    -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----Hash: SHA256APPLE-SA-2022-08-17-1 iOS 15.6.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1iOS 15.6.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1 addresses the following issues.Information about the security content is also available athttps://support.apple.com/HT213412.KernelAvailable for: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, andiPod touch (7th generation)Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code withkernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue mayhave been actively exploited.Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improvedbounds checking.CVE-2022-32894: an anonymous researcherWebKitAvailable for: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, andiPod touch (7th generation)Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead toarbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issuemay have been actively exploited.Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improvedbounds checking.WebKit Bugzilla: 243557CVE-2022-32893: an anonymous researcherThis update is available through iTunes and Software Update on youriOS device, and will not appear in your computer's Software Updateapplication, or in the Apple Downloads site. Make sure you have anInternet connection and have installed the latest version of iTunesfrom https://www.apple.com/itunes/  iTunes and Software Update on thedevice will automatically check Apple's update server on its weeklyschedule. When an update is detected, it is downloaded and the optionto be installed is presented to the user when the iOS device isdocked. We recommend applying the update immediately if possible.Selecting Don't Install will present the option the next time youconnect your iOS device.  The automatic update process may take up toa week depending on the day that iTunes or the device checks forupdates. You may manually obtain the update via the Check for Updatesbutton within iTunes, or the Software Update on your device.  Tocheck that the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad has been updated:  *Navigate to Settings * Select General * Select About. The versionafter applying this update will be "iOS 15.6.1 and iPadOS 15.6.1".All information is also posted on the Apple Security Updatesweb site: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222.This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,and details are available at:https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----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SLRt-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-17-1

Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-17-2 - macOS Monterey 12.5.1 addresses code execution and out of bounds write vulnerabilities.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----  
Hash: SHA256

APPLE-SA-2022-08-17-2 macOS Monterey 12.5.1

macOS Monterey 12.5.1 addresses the following issues.  
Information about the security content is also available at  
https://support.apple.com/HT213413.

Kernel  
Available for: macOS Monterey  
Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with  
kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may  
have been actively exploited.  
Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved  
bounds checking.  
CVE-2022-32894: an anonymous researcher

WebKit  
Available for: macOS Monterey  
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to  
arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue  
may have been actively exploited.  
Description: An out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved  
bounds checking.  
WebKit Bugzilla: 243557  
CVE-2022-32893: an anonymous researcher

macOS Monterey 12.5.1 may be obtained from the Mac App Store or  
Apple's Software Downloads web site:  
https://support.apple.com/downloads/  
All information is also posted on the Apple Security Updates  
web site: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201222.

This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,  
and details are available at:  
https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/

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Apple Security Advisory 2022-08-17-2

APTs continue to exploit the dynamic job market and the persistent phenomenon of remote working, as explored by PwC at Black Hat USA.

Fake job offers have become a top phishing tactic for state-sponsored threat actors to lure in unsuspecting targets in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many reconsider their careers amid growing demand for skilled workers and managers.

The cyber-threat analyst team at PwC, which has followed a prime example of this (the Lazarus Group's Operation In(ter)ception) closely, presented a detailed account of the Lazarus campaign and how the group implemented the strategy during last week's Black Hat USA 2022 conference in Las Vegas.

PwC principal threat analyst Sveva Vittoria Scenarelli, who studies advanced persistent threats (APTs) in the Asia-Pacific region with an emphasis on North Korea, noted that the stakes are high.

"This is an espionage-motivated campaign that is incredibly persistent in targeting the aerospace sector, the defense industrial base, manufacturing chemical sector, for everything from military secrets to intellectual property to confidential information of strategic interest," Scenarelli explained during her presentation at Black Hat, called "Talent Need Not Apply: Tradecraft and Objectives of Job-themed APT Social Engineering."

The Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) agrees, and has warned that the threat actors (aka APT38, Black Artemis, BlueNoroff, Hidden Cobra, and Stardust Chollima) "employ malicious cyberactivity to collect intelligence, conduct attacks, and generate revenue."

Scenarelli explained that Lazarus follows up with its targets via messaging apps such as WhatsApp.

This is "to make sure that the victims do open the malicious viewer documents or the malicious executables that the threat actor has sent," she said. "Black Artemis will also set up domains. This can be for command and control of its malicious implants to send emails that appear to come from on a legit site, or indeed to perform Web exploitation as an initial access method."

Scenarelli explained that Black Artemis creates domains that spoof prominent job search websites like Indeed, with attractive positions at high-profile companies such as Google and Oracle. She underscored that many sites look legitimate, though there are obvious signs they are fake. For instance, the Indeed decoy site URL is Indeed.US.org, she said. Scenarelli noted that the job descriptions disguised as .docx, .pdf, or .rtx files launch when the victims click on the documents, which may enable macros.

Similarly, Scenarelli recalled another attack by the group, which made off with $625 million in cryptocurrency. She warned that this variant, which PwC researchers call "Black Alicanto," is financially motivated and dangerous. In the wake of Microsoft recently disabling macros in Office documents, Scenarelli said this malware might use .lnk files, perhaps embedded in password-protected Microsoft Word documents.

"Threat actors are having to pivot a bit in their initial access techniques and using more and more .lnk files, ISO files, MSI installers, and stuff like that," she said. But in the background, she noted, the .lnk file is calling MSHDA.exe, which connects to a remote server to pull down a malicious JavaScript script that PwC calls "Cabbage Loader."

This script places a .lnk file in the victim's startup folder "to ensure persistence and then pulls down a whole series of other JavaScript payloads," she explained. "These are essentially profilers that want to make sure that the actual person that's interacting with them is not a sandbox, is not a researcher, but it's actually a target of interest."

Scenarelli concluded that Lazarus and other North Korea-based threat actors continue to exploit the growing demand for skilled people, who, despite their training and awareness of threats, can be caught off guard.

"The job market right now is a really key area for North Korea-based threat actors," she said. "So, keep your eyes peeled, make sure you're aware of whom you're interviewing. And for the love of all that is holy, don't open those links that you get sent on LinkedIn, do not open them."

State-Sponsored APTs Dangle Job Opps to Lure In Spy Victims

Categories: News
Tags: Microsoft

Tags:  USB stick

Tags:  tech support scam

Tags:  scammers

Tags:  Office 365

Tags:  fake

Tags:  phone call

We take a look at a Microsoft warning related to tech support scammers sending out bogus USB sticks in the mail.



(Read more...)




The post Tech support scammers target Microsoft users with fake Office 365 USB sticks appeared first on Malwarebytes Labs.

Microsoft is a hot target for scammers and acts of fraud. For example, tech support scam websites cover themselves in Windows branding and messages. Phone scammers claim to be calling directly from Microsoft. If it’s not a Bill Gates themed lottery spam mail in your mailbox, it’s a fake Excel spreadsheet laden with dangerous Macros.

Well, Microsoft is now issuing a warning related to a recent scam riding on the coat-tails of their branding. Criminals are producing very slickly designed physical boxes made to look like Microsoft products. The boxes say “Microsoft Office Professional Plus” on the front, along with “product key inside - no disc” at the bottom.

Opening the box reveals a solitary USB stick and a product key. This is about to go as horribly wrong as you'd expect.

**Why mysterious USB sticks are probably not your friend**

We’ve warned at length about the dangers of plugging random USB sticks into your device. Whether a stranger has given you it in the street as part of a giveaway, or you found it on the floor, or even received it at an event, there’s an element of risk involved.

You simply do not know what lurks on the stick if someone else has used it first. Of course, some fancy Microsoft branding and a large box will work wonders on the “please trust my fancy Microsoft box” front. Some sort of promotional copy of an otherwise expensive document editing tool? Even better.

What happens if someone is unfortunate enough to plug it in?

**What's in the box?**

Sadly, people expecting a freebie Office Professional Plus do not receive what they were expecting. What actually happens is victims see a popup for a fake tech support line. Phoning the number is a short step to handing over remote control to the scammers.

Based on the typical tactics, the scammers will install a form of remote access software onto the target PC. At this point, they can pretty much do what they want. Do you have bank details stored on a notepad on your desktop? They can just open it up and take it. Will they install some dubious software or even malware to get up to who knows what? They might, and the victim would probably be none the wiser.

If they stick to the whole “here’s a product of some sort” angle, they may well just ask the victim to make a payment of some sort over the phone. Whatever the end-game, it’s not going to benefit the person sitting in front of their computer.

**It's pretend virus time**

In this particular instance, the fake Microsoft outfit went with the “You have a virus, call us” approach. They did indeed attempt to install remote access software. Once the non-existent problem was “solved”, the victim was passed over to a phony Office 365 subscription team.

Microsoft has pointed out that this isn’t a very common tactic. While it has happened in the past, you shouldn’t start living in fear of novelty oversized Microsoft boxes landing on your doorstep to ruin your day.

Should you receive a novelty oversized Microsoft box, don’t panic. Check out Microsoft’s list of tips for staying safe where Microsoft-centric tech support scams are concerned. Report the box directly to Microsoft’s technical support scam reporting page. If there’s anything suspicious, you’ll have some steps to follow and hopefully a safe and timely resolution to follow. Either way: do not plug the USB stick into your computer and you’ll be fine.

Tech support scammers target Microsoft users with fake Office 365 USB sticks

Version 2.0 of the ransomware group's operation borrows extortion tactics from the LockBit 3.0 group.

The BlackByte ransomware group, which has connections to Conti, has resurfaced after a hiatus with a new social media presence on Twitter and new extortion methods borrowed from the better-known LockBit 3.0 gang.  

According to reports, the ransomware group is using various Twitter handles to promote the updated extortion strategy, leak site, and data auctions. The new scheme lets victims to pay to extend the publishing of their stolen data by 24 hours ($5,000), download the data ($200,000) or destroy all the data ($300,000). It's a strategy the LockBit 3.0 group already pioneered.

"It is not surprising BlackByte is taking a page out of LockBit's book by not only announcing a version 2 of their ransomware operation but also adopting the pay to delay, download, or destroy extortion model," says Nicole Hoffman, senior cyber-threat intelligence analyst at Digital Shadows, who calls the market for ransomware groups "competitive" and explains LockBit is one of the most prolific and active ransomware groups globally.

Hoffman adds it is possible BlackByte is trying to gain a competitive advantage or trying to gain media attention to recruit and grow its operations.

"Although the double-extortion model is not broken by any means, this new model may be a way for groups to introduce multiple revenue streams," she says. "It will be interesting to see if this new model becomes a trend among other ransomware groups or just a fad that is not widely adopted."

Oliver Tavakoli, CTO at Vectra, calls this approach an "interesting business innovation."

"It allows smaller payments to be collected from victims who are almost certain they won’t pay the ransom but want to hedge for a day or two as they investigate the extent of the breach," he says.

John Bambenek, principal threat hunter at Netenrich, points out ransomware actors have played around with a variety of models to maximize their revenue.

"This almost looks like an experiment on if they can get lower tiers of money," he says. "I just don't know why anyone would pay them anything except for destroying all the data. That said, attackers, like any industry, are experimenting with business models all the time."

**Causing Disruption With Common Tactics**

BlackByte has remained one of the more common ransomware variants, infecting organizations worldwide and previously employing a worm capability similar to Conti's precursor Ryuk. But Harrison Van Riper, senior intelligence analyst at Red Canary, notes that BlackByte is just one of several ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operations that have the potential to cause a lot of disruption with relatively common tactics and techniques.

"Like most ransomware operators, the techniques BlackByte uses are not particularly sophisticated, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t impactful," he says. "The option to extend the victim's timeline is likely an effort to get at least some sort of payment from victims who may want extra time for a variety of reasons: to determine legitimacy and scope of the data theft or continue ongoing internal discussion on how to respond, to name a couple of reasons."

Tavakoli says cybersecurity pros should view BlackByte less as an individual static actor and more as a brand that can have a new marketing campaign tied to it at any time; he notes the set of underlying techniques to carry off the attacks seldom change.

"The precise malware or entry vector utilized by a given ransomware brand may change over time, but the sum of techniques used across all of them are pretty constant," he says. "Get your controls in place, ensure you have detection capabilities for attacks which target your valuable data, and run simulated attacks to test your people, processes and procedures."

**BlackByte Targets Critical Infrastructure**

Bambenek says that because BlackByte has made some mistakes (such as an error with accepting payments in the new site), from his perspective it may be a little lower on the skill level than others.

"However, open source reporting says they are still compromising big targets, including those in critical infrastructure," he says. "The day is coming when a significant infrastructure provider is taken down via ransomware that will create more than just a supply chain issue than we saw with Colonial Pipeline."

In February, the FBI and US Secret Service released a joint cybersecurity advisory on BlackByte, warning that attackers deploying the ransomware had infected organizations in at least three US critical infrastructure sectors.

BlackByte Ransomware Gang Returns With Twitter Presence, Tiered Pricing

Separate fixes to macOS and iOS patch respective flaws in the kernel and WebKit that can allow threat actors to take over devices and are under attack.

Separate fixes to macOS and iOS patch respective flaws in the kernel and WebKit that can allow threat actors to take over devices and are under attack.

Apple is urging macOS, iPhone and iPad users immediately to install respective updates this week that includes fixes for two zero-days under active attack. The patches are for vulnerabilities that allow attackers to execute arbitrary code and ultimately take over devices.

Patches are available for effected devices running iOS 15.6.1 and macOS Monterey 12.5.1. Patches address two flaws, which basically impact any Apple device that can run either iOS 15 or the Monterey version of its desktop OS, according to security updates released by Apple Wednesday.

One of the flaws is a kernel bug (CVE-2022-32894), which is present both in iOS and macOS. According to Apple it is an “out-of-bounds write issue \[that\] was addressed with improved bounds checking.”

The vulnerability allows an application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, according to Apple, which, in usual vague fashion, said there is a report that it “may have been actively exploited.”

The second flaw is identified as a WebKit bug (tracked as CVE-2022-32893), which is an out-of-bounds write issue that Apple addressed with improved bounds checking. The flaw allows for processing maliciously crafted web content that can lead to code execution, and also has been reported to be under active exploit, according to Apple. WebKit is the browser engine that powers Safari and all other third-party browsers that work on iOS.

**Pegasus-Like Scenario**

The discovery of both flaws, about which little more beyond Apple’s disclosure are known, was credited to an anonymous researcher.

One expert expressed worry that the latest Apple flaws “could effectively give attackers full access to device,” they might create a Pegasus-like scenario similar to the one in which nation-state APTs barraged targets with spyware made by Israeli NSO Group by exploiting an iPhone vulnerability.

“For most folks: update software by end of day,” tweeted Rachel Tobac, the CEO of SocialProof Security, regarding the zero-days. “If threat model is elevated (journalist, activist, targeted by nation states, etc): update now,” Tobac warned.

**Zero-Days Abound**

The flaws were unveiled alongside other news from Google this week that it was patching its fifth zero-day so far this year for its Chrome browser, an arbitrary code execution bug under active attack.

The news of yet more vulnerabilities from top tech vendors being barraged by threat actors demonstrates that despite the best efforts from top-tier tech companies to address perennial security issues in their software, it remains an uphill battle, noted Andrew Whaley, senior technical director at Promon, a Norwegian app security company.

The flaws in iOS are especially worrying, given the ubiquity of iPhones and users’ utter reliance on mobile devices for their daily lives, he said. However, the onus is not only on vendors to protect these devices but also for users to be more aware of existing threats, Whaley observed.

“While we all rely on our mobile devices, they are not invulnerable, and as users we need to maintain our guard just like we do on desktop operating systems,” he said in an email to Threatpost.

At the same time, developers of apps for iPhones and other mobile devices also should add an extra layer of security controls in their technology so they are less reliant on OS security for protection, given the flaws that frequently crop up, Whaley observed.

“Our experience shows that this is not happening enough, potentially leaving banking and other customers vulnerable,” he said.

Tag

#mac