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Multiple Vulnerabilities in Sophos Firewall Could Allow for Remote Code Execution – PATCH NOW

OVERVIEW:
Multiple Vulnerabilities have been discovered in Sophos Firewall, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution. Sophos Firewall is a network security solution. Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for unauthorized access on the system. Depending on the privileges associated with the system, an attacker could then; view, change, or delete data.

THREAT INTELLEGENCE:
There are currently no reports of the vulnerabilities being exploited.

SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

Sophos Firewall v21.0 GA (21.0.0) and older

RISK:
Government:

Large and medium government entities: High
Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

Large and medium business entities: High
Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Sophos Firewall, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution. Details of the vulnerabilities are as follows:

Tactic: Initial Access (TA0001):

Technique: Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190):

A pre-auth SQL injection vulnerability in the email protection feature of Sophos Firewall could lead to remote code execution (CVE-2024-12727).
A post-auth code injection vulnerability in the User Portal allows authenticated users to gain remote code execution (CVE-2024-12729).

Additional lower severity vulnerabilities include:

The SSH login passphrase for High Availability (HA) cluster initialization remained active after the HA establishment process completed, potentially exposing a privileged system account on the Sophos Firewall (CVE-2024-12728).

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for unauthorized access on the system. Depending on the privileges associated with the system, an attacker could then; view, change, or delete data.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the following actions be taken:

Apply appropriate updates provided by Sophos to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)
- Safeguard 7.1 : Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
- Safeguard 7.2: Establish and Maintain a Remediation Process: Establish and maintain a risk-based remediation strategy documented in a remediation process, with monthly, or more frequent, reviews.
- Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
- Safeguard 7.5 : Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Internal Enterprise Assets: Perform automated vulnerability scans of internal enterprise assets on a quarterly, or more frequent, basis. Conduct both authenticated and unauthenticated scans, using a SCAP-compliant vulnerability scanning tool.
- Safeguard 7.7: Remediate Detected Vulnerabilities: Remediate detected vulnerabilities in software through processes and tooling on a monthly, or more frequent, basis, based on the remediation process.
- Safeguard 12.1: Ensure Network Infrastructure is Up-to-Date: Ensure network infrastructure is kept up-to-date. Example implementations include running the latest stable release of software and/or using currently supported network-as-a-service (NaaS) offerings. Review software versions monthly, or more frequently, to verify software support.
- Safeguard 18.1: Establish and Maintain a Penetration Testing Program: Establish and maintain a penetration testing program appropriate to the size, complexity, and maturity of the enterprise. Penetration testing program characteristics include scope, such as network, web application, Application Programming Interface (API), hosted services, and physical premise controls; frequency; limitations, such as acceptable hours, and excluded attack types; point of contact information; remediation, such as how findings will be routed internally; and retrospective requirements.
- Safeguard 18.2: Perform Periodic External Penetration Tests: Perform periodic external penetration tests based on program requirements, no less than annually. External penetration testing must include enterprise and environmental reconnaissance to detect exploitable information. Penetration testing requires specialized skills and experience and must be conducted through a qualified party. The testing may be clear box or opaque box.
- Safeguard 18.3: Remediate Penetration Test Findings: Remediate penetration test findings based on the enterprise’s policy for remediation scope and prioritization.
Apply the Principle of Least Privilege to all systems and services. Run all software as a non-privileged user (one without administrative privileges) to diminish the effects of a successful attack. (M1026: Privileged Account Management)
- Safeguard 4.7: Manage Default Accounts on Enterprise Assets and Software: Manage default accounts on enterprise assets and software, such as root, administrator, and other pre-configured vendor accounts. Example implementations can include: disabling default accounts or making them unusable.
- Safeguard 5.5: Establish and Maintain an Inventory of Service Accounts: Establish and maintain an inventory of service accounts. The inventory, at a minimum, must contain department owner, review date, and purpose. Perform service account reviews to validate that all active accounts are authorized, on a recurring schedule at a minimum quarterly, or more frequently.
Vulnerability scanning is used to find potentially exploitable software vulnerabilities to remediate them. (M1016: Vulnerability Scanning)
- Safeguard 16.13: Conduct Application Penetration Testing: Conduct application penetration testing. For critical applications, authenticated penetration testing is better suited to finding business logic vulnerabilities than code scanning and automated security testing. Penetration testing relies on the skill of the tester to manually manipulate an application as an authenticated and unauthenticated user.
Architect sections of the network to isolate critical systems, functions, or resources. Use physical and logical segmentation to prevent access to potentially sensitive systems and information. Use a DMZ to contain any internet-facing services that should not be exposed from the internal network. Configure separate virtual private cloud (VPC) instances to isolate critical cloud systems. (M1030: Network Segmentation)
- Safeguard 12.2: Establish and Maintain a Secure Network Architecture: Establish and maintain a secure network architecture. A secure network architecture must address segmentation, least privilege, and availability, at a minimum.
Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050: Exploit Protection)
- Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Microsoft® Data Execution Prevention (DEP), Windows® Defender Exploit Guard (WDEG), or Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.

REFERENCES:

Sophos:
https://www.sophos.com/en-us/security-advisories/sophos-sa-20241219-sfos-rce

CVE:
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-12727
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-12728
https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-12729

NIST Privacy Enhancing Cryptography (PEC), Special Topics on Privacy and Public Auditability, Event #7 (Virtual), January 16, 2025

Date & time: January 16^th, 2025, 10:00–15:00 (EST)
Featured topics: Time Lock Encryption, Witness Encryption, Deniable Encryption
Format: Invited talks and one panel conversation. Virtual.
Details and updates: https://csrc.nist.gov/events/2025/stppa7
Free registration (via ZoomGov): https://events.zoomgov.com/ev/AoSqthdwGWv7Lg8C2kGG5ec3h8q3Tax84CyI_0SyLcnwA5i8pUo9~ApSaO_qEs6YhikyJekjoLVKrf3_rQZse3J11WVw4h5zHinFfacj0raManA
Host project: NIST Privacy-Enhancing Cryprography (PEC): https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/pec
PEC-Forum: For future announcements: https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/pec/email-list

A main goal of the STPPA series is to gather reference material about “PEC tools”, which may facilitate future reflections on the characterization and development of recommendations/guidelines about advanced cryptography, namely for uses related to privacy and public auditability. Each event will include talks on various interconnected topics, aiming to convey basic technical background, incite curiosity, suggest research questions and discuss applications, with an emphasis on the role of cryptographic tools. Attendance in each event is open and free to the public, but requires registration.

REGISTER | NIST NCCoE Cybersecurity Connections Event & Networking Lunch

Event Date: Thursday, January 23, 2025

Event Time: 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (EST)

Event Location: National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, 9700 Great Seneca Highway, Rockville, MD 20850

Description:

Join us for an in-person ‘Cybersecurity Connections’ Event and Networking Lunch! Hosted in partnership with the Maryland Department of Commerce and Montgomery County, these quarterly events feature a discussion on cybersecurity best practices from leaders in the community, as well as a networking lunch, sponsored by the Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation on behalf of Montgomery County, Maryland.

The NCCoE is currently working with 24 technology vendors to demonstrate the application of technologies and standards to deploy end-to-end zero trust architectures consistent with NIST SP 800-207, Zero Trust Architecture. The event’s expert panel will discuss this work, along with lessons learned for deploying a zero trust architecture, aiming to address both small and large business perspectives during this event.

Agenda:

11:00 – 11:30 a.m. – Arrival/Event Check-In

11:30 – 11:40 a.m. – Welcome and Opening Remarks

Speaker: Honorable Marc Elrich, County Executive, Montgomery County, Maryland

Speaker: Kimberly Mentzell, Director of Cybersecurity and Aerospace, Maryland Department of Commerce

11:40 – 11:45 a.m. – Introduction to the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE)

Speaker: Cherilyn Pascoe, Director, NCCoE (NIST)

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Panel Discussion: Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture

Moderator: Alper Kerman, Principal Lead Zero Trust Security Engineer, Project Manager, NCCoE (NIST)

Panelists:

– Dr. Chase Cunningham, Host, Dr. ZeroTrust Podcast

– Chris Jensen, Federal Business Development and Capture Manager, Tenable

– Dr. Haydar Teymourlouei, Associate Professor, Dept. of Technology & Security, Bowie State University

– Faisal Quader, President & Co-Founder, Technuf, LLC

– Kori Rongey, Solutions Engineering Leader, Cisco

12:45 – 1:30 p.m. – Networking Lunch, sponsored by Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) on behalf of Montgomery County, Maryland

Speaker: Bill Tompkins, President and CEO, Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC)

1:30 p.m. – Adjourn

*Registration closes on January 16, 2025.

*This registration is for in-person attendance only.

Register Now!

Internet-Exposed HMIs Pose Cybersecurity Risks to Water and Wastewater Systems

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a fact sheet providing mitigations and resources for the Water and Wastewater Systems (WWS) Sector using human machine interfaces (HMIs) to limit exposure on the internet and secure them against malicious cyber activity.

HMIs enable operational technology owners and operators to read supervisory control and data acquisition systems connected to programmable logic controllers. Threat actors have demonstrated the capability to easily find and exploit internet-exposed HMIs with cybersecurity weaknesses. CISA and EPA often identify internet-exposed HMIs through scanning via publicly available web-based search platforms.

CISA and EPA encourage WWS organizations to review the fact sheet and implement the recommended mitigations and actions.

Click here for additional CISA Water and Wastewater Systems Sector cybersecurity information.

HiatusRAT Actors Targeting Web Cameras and DVRs

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is releasing this Private Industry Notification (PIN) to highlight HiatusRAT scanning campaigns against Chinese-branded web cameras and DVRs. Agencies and organizations are encouraged to implement the recommendations listed in the mitigation sector to reduce the likelihood and impact of these attack campaigns.

HiatusRAT is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT) whose latest iteration has likely been employed since July 2022. Malicious cyber actors commonly use RATs to take over and control a targeted device from a distance. The Hiatus campaign originally targeted outdated network edge devices. Cybersecurity companies have also observed these actors using the malware to target a range of Taiwan-based organizations and to carry out reconnaissance against a US government server used for submitting and retrieving defense contract proposals.

This FBI PIN contains threat information, mitigation recommendations, and is being provided to assist agencies and organizations in guarding against the persistent malicious actions of cybercriminals.

Microsoft.Source Newsletter | Issue 65

Multiple Vulnerabilities in Google Android OS Could Allow for Remote Code Execution – PATCH: NOW

OVERVIEW:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Android OS, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution. Android is an operating system developed by Google for mobile devices, including, but not limited to, smartphones, tablets, and watches. Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for remote code execution in the context of the logged on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE:
There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.

SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

Android OS patch levels prior to 2024-12-05

RISK:

Government:

Large and medium government entities: High
Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

Large and medium business entities: High
Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Android OS, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution in the context of the logged on user. Following the MITRE ATT&CK framework, exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities can be classified as follows:

Tactic: Execution (TA0002)

Technique: Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203):

A vulnerability in System that could allow for remote code execution. (CVE-2024-43767)
Multiple vulnerabilities in Framework that could allow for elevation of privilege. (CVE-2024-43764, CVE-2024-43769)
Multiple vulnerabilities in System that could allow for elevation of privilege. (CVE-2024-43097, CVE-2024-43768)

Details of lower-severity vulnerabilities are as follows:

Multiple vulnerabilities in Imagination Technologies. (CVE-2024-43077, CVE-2024-43701)
A vulnerability in MediaTek components. (CVE-2024-20125)
A vulnerability in Qualcomm components. (CVE-2024-33063)
Multiple vulnerabilities in Qualcomm closed-source components. (CVE-2024-33044, CVE-2024-33056, CVE-2024-43048, CVE-2024-43052)

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could allow for remote code execution. Depending on the privileges associated with the exploited component, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full rights.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
We recommend the following actions be taken:

Apply appropriate patches provided by Google to vulnerable systems, immediately after appropriate testing. (M1051: Update Software)
- Safeguard 7.1: Establish and Maintain a Vulnerability Management Process: Establish and maintain a documented vulnerability management process for enterprise assets. Review and update documentation annually, or when significant enterprise changes occur that could impact this Safeguard.
- Safeguard 7.4: Perform Automated Application Patch Management: Perform application updates on enterprise assets through automated patch management on a monthly, or more frequent, basis.
- Safeguard 7.5: Perform Automated Vulnerability Scans of Internal Enterprise Assets: Perform automated vulnerability scans of internal enterprise assets on a quarterly, or more frequent, basis. Conduct both authenticated and unauthenticated scans, using a SCAP-compliant vulnerability scanning tool.
Remind users not to visit un-trusted websites or follow links provided by unknown or un-trusted sources. Inform and educate users regarding threats posed by hypertext links contained in emails or attachments, especially from un-trusted sources. (M1017: User Training)
Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. (M1050: Exploit Protection)
- Safeguard 10.5: Enable Anti-Exploitation Features: Enable anti-exploitation features on enterprise assets and software, where possible, such as Apple® System Integrity Protection (SIP) and Gatekeeper™.
- Safeguard 13.10 : Perform Application Layer Filtering: Perform application layer filtering. Example implementations include a filtering proxy, application layer firewall, or gateway.

REFERENCES:

Google:
https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/2024-12-01

Enhanced Visibility and Hardening Guidance for Communications Infrastructure

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in partnership with the National Security Agency (NSA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and international partners, have released a Guide which provides best practices to protect against a People’s Republic of China (PRC)-affiliated threat actor that has compromised networks of major global telecommunications providers. The recommended practices will strengthen visibility and harden network devices against this broad and significant cyber espionage campaign.

This guidance was crafted in response to a PRC affiliated threat actor’s compromise of networks of major global telecommunications providers to conduct a broad and significant cyber espionage campaign. The compromise of private communications impacted a limited number of individuals who are primarily involved in government or political activity.

Although tailored to the Communications Sector, CISA and partners encourage network defenders and engineers of communications infrastructure, and other critical infrastructure organizations with on-premises enterprise equipment, to review and apply the provided best practices, including patching vulnerable devices and services, to reduce opportunities for intrusion. For more information on PRC state-sponsored threat actor activity, see CISA’s People’s Republic of China Cyber Threat.

NIST Guidance on Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture

Requesting Public Comment | NIST Guidance on Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture

The NIST National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (NCCoE) has released the draft of the practice guide, Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture (NIST SP 1800-35), for public comment. This publication outlines results and best practices from the NCCoE effort working with 24 vendors to demonstrate end-to-end zero trust architectures.

As an enterprise’s data and resources have become distributed across on-premises and multiple cloud environments, protecting them has become increasingly challenging. Many users need options to access information across the globe, at all hours, across devices. The NCCoE addressed these unique challenges by collaborating with industry participants to demonstrate 19 sample zero trust architecture implementations.

Detailed technical information for each sample implementation can serve as a valuable resource for technology implementers by providing models they can replicate. The lessons learned from the implementations and integrations can help organizations save time and resources.

Two resources of NIST SP 1800-35 have been released. The “High-Level Document in PDF Format” serves as introductory reading with insight into the project effort, including a high-level summary of project goals, reference architecture, various ZTA implementations, and findings.

The “Full Document in Web Format” provides in-depth details about technologies leveraged, their integrations and configurations, and the use cases and scenarios demonstrated. It also contains information on the implemented security capabilities and their mappings to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) versions 1.1 and 2.0, NIST SP 800-53r5, and security measures outlined in “EO-Critical Software” under Executive Order 14028.

This is the last draft being released for comment before the document will be finalized.

We Want to Hear from You!

We welcome your input and look forward to your comments by January 31, 2025. We also invite you to join our mailing list to receive news and updates about this project.

Comment Now

Critical Patches Issued for Microsoft Products, December 10, 2024 – PATCH NOW

OVERVIEW:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Microsoft products, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution in the context of the logged-on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

THREAT INTELLIGENCE:
There are currently no reports of these vulnerabilities being exploited in the wild.

SYSTEMS AFFECTED:

Microsoft Office
Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based)
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint
Microsoft Office SharePoint
GitHub
Microsoft Office Word
Microsoft Office Excel
Windows Task Scheduler
Windows Mobile Broadband
Windows Kernel-Mode Drivers
Windows Remote Desktop Services
Windows Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) Enclave
Microsoft Office Publisher
Windows IP Routing Management Snapin
Windows Wireless Wide Area Network Service
Windows File Explorer
Windows Kernel
Windows Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS)
Windows Common Log File System Driver
Role: DNS Server
Windows Resilient File System (ReFS)
Windows PrintWorkflowUserSvc
Windows Message Queuing
Remote Desktop Client
WmsRepair Service
Windows LDAP – Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
Windows Cloud Files Mini Filter Driver
Role: Windows Hyper-V
Windows Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS)
Windows Remote Desktop
Microsoft Office Access

RISK:

Government:

Large and medium government entities: High
Small government entities: Medium

Businesses:

Large and medium business entities: High
Small business entities: Medium

Home users: Low

TECHNICAL SUMMARY:
Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Microsoft products, the most severe of which could allow for remote code execution.

A full list of all vulnerabilities can be found in the Microsoft link in the References section.

Successful exploitation of the most severe of these vulnerabilities could result in remote code execution in the context of the logged-on user. Depending on the privileges associated with the user, an attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than those who operate with administrative user rights.

REFERENCES:

Microsoft:
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-us/security-guidance
https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/releaseNote/2024-Dec