November 10th, 2009

Adobe plugs security hole in Photoshop Elements

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 4:15 pm

Categories: Adobe, Arbitrary Code Execution, Browsers, Data theft, Denial of Service (DoS), Locally Running Web Servers, Patch Watch, Pen testing

Tags: Adobe Systems Inc., Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe PhotoShop Elements, Security, Patches, Ryan Naraine

Adobe has shipped a patch to cover a security vulnerability affecting its Photoshop Elements software product.

The flaw, rated moderate, affects Adobe Photoshop Elements versions 8.0 and 7.0. It could be exploited by a hacker with valid login credentials and/or physical access to execute arbitrary commands with elevated privileges. Read the rest of this entry »

October 27th, 2009

Malware ads served from Gizmodo

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 10:04 am

Categories: Adobe, Anti Virus, Arbitrary Code Execution, Botnets, Browsers, Facebook, Flash, Locally Running Web Servers, Malware, Passwords, Social Networking Applications, Spam and Phishing, Spyware and Adware

Tags: Advertisement, Blog, Malware, Gizmodo, Ryan Naraine

[ UPDATE: Dancho has more details on this attack ]

Popular gadget blog Gizmodo has acknowledged falling victim to an “elaborate scam” that served malicious ads for scareware (fake anti-virus) to its readers.

In an apology posted online, Gizmodo said the its ad sales team was tricked into running malicious ads purporting to be from Suzuki.  Read the rest of this entry »

October 27th, 2009

Facebook password-reset spam is Bredolab botnet attack

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 8:27 am

Categories: Anti Virus, Arbitrary Code Execution, Botnets, Browsers, Data theft, Denial of Service (DoS), Facebook, Locally Running Web Servers, Malware, Microsoft, Passwords, Phishing, Social Networking Applications, Spam and Phishing, Spyware and Adware, Viruses and Worms

Tags: Facebook, Spam, Attack, Virus Hunter, Cyberthreats, E-mail, Identity Theft, Security, Viruses And Worms, Online Communications

Virus hunters are raising the alarm for a large-scale spam attack that uses fake Facebook password-reset messages to trick PC users into downloading a dangerous piece of malware.

The malicious executable is linked to the Bredolab botnet, which has been linked to massive spam runs and identity-theft related attacks. Read the rest of this entry »

October 22nd, 2009

Metasploit + Rapid7 shakes up pen-test landscape

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 10:21 am

Categories: Arbitrary Code Execution, Botnets, Browsers, Complex Attacks, Exploit code, Locally Running Web Servers, Malware, Metasploit, Microsoft, Patch Watch, Pen testing

Tags: Penetration Testing, Microsoft Corp., Exploit, R7, Immunity, Marketing Research, Marketing, Ryan Naraine

Guest Editorial by Nick Selby

With the acquisition of Metasploit (MS) by Rapid7 (R7), the dynamics within the small penetration testing market have changed. We believe that more competition will challenge each of the three main penetration testing software vendors in different ways, and that this new competitive landscape will quickly inure to the benefit of end users and buyers.

To radically simplify, the dynamics have been that Core Security sat at the top of the marketplace in terms of price, scale and enterprise usability; Immunity Security cleaned up at the lower end of the enterprise market and dominated for vendors and professional services types, who also used MS as a free tool. Read the rest of this entry »

October 20th, 2009

Google Voice mails exposed for all to see and hear

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 7:52 am

Categories: Browsers, Google, Hackers, Locally Running Web Servers, Passwords, Phishing, Responsible disclosure

Tags: Google Inc., Telecom & Utilities, Ryan Naraine

A simple search query has exposed Google Voice mail messages (audio and transcript) for anyone to see and hear.

As first reported here, a user entering “site:https://www.google.com/voice/fm/*” into the Google search bar discovered random voice mail messages belonging to random Google Voice accounts (see screenshot below). Read the rest of this entry »

October 20th, 2009

GAO report: NASA at 'high risk' of data breach

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 5:29 am

Categories: Anti Virus, Arbitrary Code Execution, Botnets, Complex Attacks, Data theft, Exploit code, Locally Running Web Servers, Passwords, Patch Watch, Pen testing, Punditocracy, Responsible disclosure

Tags: NASA, General Accounting Office, Audior, Security, Strategy, Management, Ryan Naraine

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has painted a bleak picture of the NASA’s IT security posture.

An audit of the space agency’s computer systems found weaknesses in several critical areas, especially in the way NASA implemented access controls like user accounts, passwords and the encryption of sensitive data. Read the rest of this entry »

October 16th, 2009

Oracle to fix 38 database, product vulnerabilities

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 10:12 am

Categories: Arbitrary Code Execution, Browsers, Data theft, Denial of Service (DoS), Exploit code, Locally Running Web Servers, Open source, Oracle, Passwords, Responsible disclosure, Vulnerability research

Tags: Database, Oracle Corp., Vulnerability, Authentication, Security, Ryan Naraine

Oracle has announced plans to ship a Critical Patch Update (CPU) with fixes for at least 38 security vulnerabilities in a wide range of database and server products.

The most serious vulnerabilities (CVSS score of 10.0) affect Oracle Core RDBMS, Oracle JRockit and Oracle Network Authentication. The patches are due on Tuesday, October 20, 2009.

Read the rest of this entry »

October 8th, 2009

Monster Patch Tuesday on tap: 13 bulletins, 34 vulnerabilities

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 4:38 pm

Categories: Anti Virus, Arbitrary Code Execution, Browsers, Complex Attacks, Data theft, Denial of Service (DoS), Hackers, Kernel-level Exploits, Locally Running Web Servers, Microsoft, Passwords, Patch Watch, Pen testing

Tags: Monster, Vulnerability, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft IIS Server, Attack, Smb/Sme, Microsoft Windows, Security, Operating Systems, Software

Microsoft is planning a bumper Patch Tuesday next week — 13 bulletins covering 34 security vulnerabilities in a wide range of products. Eight of the 13 bulletins will be rated “critical,” Microsoft’s highest severity rating.

According to Microsoft’s advance notice, the patches coming on October 13 includes fixes for two serious issues that are well-known and already documented — a code execution bug in SMB v2 and a gaping hole in FTP in IIS. Read the rest of this entry »

September 30th, 2009

RIM plugs BlackBerry phishing hole

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 5:48 am

Categories: Browsers, Complex Attacks, Data theft, Hackers, Locally Running Web Servers, Mobile (In)Security, Passwords, Patch Watch, Phishing

Tags: Research In Motion Ltd., RIM BlackBerry, Phishing, Device User, Handhelds, Hardware, Ryan Naraine

Research in Motion (RIM) has shipped a fix for a serious security vulnerability that exposes BlackBerry users to phishing attacks.

The certificate handling vulnerability, which carries a CVSS severity score of 6.8, affects all versions of the BlackBerry device software.  The flaw allows malicious hackers to trick BlackBerry device users into connecting to an attacker-controlled Web site, RIM warned in an advisory.

Read the rest of this entry »

September 29th, 2009

Hacker ships tool to circumvent China's Green Dam filter

Posted by Ryan Naraine @ 5:22 am

Categories: Anti Virus, Arbitrary Code Execution, Browsers, Denial of Service (DoS), Digital rights management, Exploit code, Locally Running Web Servers, Microsoft, Patch Watch, Pen testing, Phishing, Research, Responsible disclosure

Tags: Researcher, Hacker, Tool, Productivity, Government, Security, Ryan Naraine

A security researcher at the University of Michigan has released a tool that help Chinese computers users disable the censorship functionality of the controversial Green Dam Youth Software.

The Dam Burst utility, created by researcher Jon Oberheide, works by by injecting code into a running application and removing the Green Dam hooks that enable it to monitor and block user activity. This effectively restores the running application to its original uncensored state, Oberheide explained. Read the rest of this entry »