Author: blogmirnet

This Joint Cybersecurity Advisory is part of an ongoing #StopRansomware effort to publish advisories for network defenders that detail various ransomware variants and ransomware threat actors. These #StopRansomware advisories include recently and historically observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise (IOCs) to help organizations protect against ransomware. Visit stopransomware.gov to see all #StopRansomware advisories and to learn more about other ransomware threats and no-cost resources.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) released this Joint Cybersecurity Advisory to disseminate known Ghost (Cring)—(“Ghost”)—ransomware IOCs and TTPs identified through FBI investigation as recently as January.

Beginning early 2021, Ghost actors began attacking victims whose internet facing services ran outdated versions of software and firmware. This indiscriminate targeting of networks containing vulnerabilities has led to the compromise of organizations across more than 70 countries, including organizations in China. Ghost actors, located in China, conduct these widespread attacks for financial gain. Affected victims include critical infrastructure, schools and universities, healthcare, government networks, religious institutions, technology and manufacturing companies, and numerous small- and medium-sized businesses.

Ghost actors rotate their ransomware executable payloads, switch file extensions for encrypted files, modify ransom note text, and use numerous ransom email addresses, which has led to variable attribution of this group over time. Names associated with this group include Ghost, Cring, Crypt3r, Phantom, Strike, Hello, Wickrme, HsHarada, and Rapture. Samples of ransomware files Ghost used during attacks are Cring.exe, Ghost.exe, ElysiumO.exe, and Locker.exe.

Ghost actors use publicly available code to exploit Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) and gain access to internet facing servers. Ghost actors exploit well known vulnerabilities and target networks where available patches have not been applied.

FBI, CISA, and MS-ISAC encourage organizations to implement the recommendations in the mitigations section of this advisory to reduce the likelihood and impact of Ghost ransomware incidents.

The NIST Risk Management Framework (RMF) Team has released the initial public draft (ipd) of NIST Interagency Report (IR) 8011v1r1 (Volume 1, Revision 1), Testable Controls and Security Capabilities for Continuous Monitoring: Volume 1 — Overview and Methodology. This represents a major revision of the first and key volume in the multi-volume series.

IR 8011 provides a methodology for identifying testable controls from the Special Publication (SP) 800-53 control catalog that share common defense objectives in support of information security continuous monitoring. Volume 1 introduces key terminology and foundational concepts, describes the methodology, discusses conceptual operational considerations for a potential IR 8011 implementation, and identifies sample automatable control tests.

The public comment period is open through Friday, April 4, 2025. See the publication details for a copy of the draft and instructions for submitting comments. 

Read More

First discovered in 2022, XWorm malware is a remote access trojan (RAT) capable of evading detection and collecting sensitive information, including financial details, browsing history, saved passwords, and cryptocurrency wallet data. XWorm tracks keystrokes, captures webcam images, listens to audio input, scans network connections, and views open windows. It can also access and manipulate a computer’s clipboard, potentially stealing cryptocurrency wallet credentials. Last year, XWorm was involved in many cyberattacks, including the exploitation of CloudFlare tunnels and the delivery via a Windows script file, and the upward trend of these sophisticated RATs is already evident in 2025.   Last month, researchers discovered threat actors targeted script kiddies with a trojanized version of the XWorm RAT builder. The weaponized malware propagated through GitHub, Telegram, and file-sharing platforms to infect over 18,000 devices globally, including the United States.   The malware secretly compromised computers to deploy a backdoor to perform system reconnaissance, command execution, and data exfiltration, such as browser credentials, Discord tokens, Telegram data, and system information. Threat actors have exfiltrated over 1 GB of browser credentials from multiple computers. The malware’s “kill switch” feature was identified and leveraged to disrupt operations on infected computers.     In the past month, the NJCCIC’s email security solution identified an uptick in multiple campaigns attempting to deliver XWorm malware to New Jersey State employees to gain remote access, steal credentials, exfiltrate data, and deploy ransomware. The messages impersonate Booking.com or a customer of a hospitality organization with themes of last-minute bookings to address customer complaints, inquiries about upcoming travel plans, or issues related to past travel reservations. They display subject lines containing keywords such as reservation, booking cancellation, request for action, poor evaluation, hotel accommodation, and establishment difficulty.   The messages contain various types of URLs, such as email trackers, URL shorteners, and open redirects. There are multiple redirects and filtering techniques before arriving at one of the numerous landing pages with various layouts and scripting. The URLs for the landing pages contain keywords such as book, booking, complaint, feedback, inquiry, reportguest, and stayissueguest. The threat actors use the ClickFix technique to display dialogue boxes containing fake error messages to manipulate targets to follow instructions to “fix” the problem. Sometimes, they leverage the appearance of authenticity by using a fake CAPTCHA-themed ClickFix technique to validate the target. However, the target’s clicking copies, pastes, or executes malicious payloads or scripts in the background. The payloads use PowerShell or MSHTA commands to download and execute XWorm malware.   Recommendations   Refrain from responding to unsolicited communications, clicking links, or opening attachments from unknown senders. Exercise caution with communications from known senders. Confirm requests from senders via contact information obtained from verified and official sources. Type official website URLs into browsers manually and only submit account credentials or sensitive information on official websites. Use strong, unique passwords for all accounts and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) where available, choosing authentication apps or hardware tokens over SMS text-based codes. Reduce your digital footprint so threat actors cannot easily target you. Keep systems up to date and apply patches after appropriate testing.

Register for the 5th High-Performance Computing Security Workshop Registration deadline: April 30, 2025 High-performance computing (HPC) systems provide fundamental computing infrastructure and play a pivotal role in economic competitiveness and scientific discovery. Security is an essential component of HPC. NIST HPC Security Working Group (WG) has been leading the effort to create comprehensive and reliable security guidance for HPC systems. As part of the Working Group mission and to reach the greater HPC scientific community, NIST, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), will host the 5th High-Performance Computing Security Workshop on May 7-8, 2025. The workshop aims to listen to the community’s needs and feedback, report and reflect on the ongoing activities at HPC Security WG, and define and discuss future directions with stakeholders from industry, academia, and government. For more information on the workshop, a list of speakers, and hotel information, please visit the event page. In-Person Registration fee: $200/person. Fee includes morning/afternoon snacks and lunch. Virtual Registration fee: $46/person In-Person Registration closes on April 30, 2025. Virtual attendee registration closes on May 8, 2025. Click on the button below to register. Register Now

A vulnerability has been discovered in Trimble Cityworks that could allow for remote code execution. Trimble Cityworks is a system that helps manage the lifecycle of assets for public infrastructure. It uses GIS (geographic information systems) to help with tasks such as permitting, licensing, construction, maintenance, and replacement. Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could allow for remote code execution in the context of the system. Depending on the privileges associated with the system, threat actors could then install programs or view, change, or delete data. 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 The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reports CVE-2025-0994 has been exploited in the wild.

Systems Affected

Cityworks: All versions prior to 15.8.9 Cityworks with office companion: All versions prior to 23.10

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

Recommendations

Apply appropriate updates provided by Trimble to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. 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. Use vulnerability scanning to find potentially exploitable software vulnerabilities to remediate them. 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. Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring.

References Trimble: https://learn.assetlifecycle.trimble.com/i/1532182-cityworks-customer-communication-2025-02-06-docx/0?  CISA: https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-advisories/icsa-25-037-04

Join us at Microsoft 365 Copilot Training for IT to learn how to use Microsoft Copilot to simplify your everyday tasks. During this free event, discover how Copilot can help you enhance efficiency, simplify complex tasks, and optimize technical workflows. You’ll be able to: Use Copilot to summarize the information in a product spec document for a network security product and create a project plan to implement the product. Use Copilot in PowerPoint to create and customize a business presentation based on the product plan that you created for the new network security product. Use Copilot in Word to modify a technical implementation report for a customer who is planning to install your new network security product. Use Copilot in Outlook to draft an email that provides highlights from the technical implementation report that you created for the customer who is installing your new network security product. Join us at an upcoming event: Delivery Language: English Closed Captioning Language: English Event Delivery: Digital Microsoft Events – Microsoft 365 Copilot Training for IT

Yes I still use shortcuts to make my life easy when running Windows computers and here is a guide for you.

CVEs: CVE-2024-40890, CVE-2024-40891, CVE-2025-0890

Summary

Zyxel recently became aware of CVE-2024-40890 and CVE-2024-40891 being mentioned in a post on GreyNoise’s blog. Additionally, VulnCheck informed us that they will publish the technical details regarding CVE-2024-40981 and CVE-2025-0890 on their blog. We have confirmed that the affected models reported by VulnCheck, VMG1312-B10A, VMG1312-B10B, VMG1312-B10E, VMG3312-B10A, VMG3313-B10A, VMG3926-B10B, VMG4325-B10A, VMG4380-B10A, VMG8324-B10A, VMG8924-B10A, SBG3300, and SBG3500, are legacy products that have reached end-of-life (EOL) for years. Therefore, we strongly recommend that users replace them with newer-generation products for optimal protection.

What are the vulnerabilities?

CVE-2024-40890

**UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED**

A post-authentication command injection vulnerability in the CGI program of certain legacy DSL CPE models, including VMG1312-B10A, VMG1312-B10B, VMG1312-B10E, VMG3312-B10A, VMG3313-B10A, VMG3926-B10B, VMG4325-B10A, VMG4380-B10A, VMG8324-B10A, VMG8924-B10A, SBG3300, and SBG3500, could allow an authenticated attacker to execute operating system (OS) commands on an affected device by sending a crafted HTTP POST request. It is important to note that WAN access is disabled by default on these devices, and this attack can only be successful if user-configured passwords have been compromised.

CVE-2024-40891

**UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED**

A post-authentication command injection vulnerability in the management commands of certain legacy DSL CPE models, including VMG1312-B10A, VMG1312-B10B, VMG1312-B10E, VMG3312-B10A, VMG3313-B10A, VMG3926-B10B, VMG4325-B10A, VMG4380-B10A, VMG8324-B10A, VMG8924-B10A, SBG3300, and SBG3500. This vulnerability could allow an authenticated attacker to execute OS commands on an affected device via Telnet. It is important to note that WAN access and the Telnet function are disabled by default on these devices, and this attack can only be successful if the user-configured passwords have been compromised.

CVE-2025-0890

**UNSUPPORTED WHEN ASSIGNED**

Insecure default credentials for the Telnet function in certain legacy DSL CPE models, including VMG1312-B10A, VMG1312-B10B, VMG1312-B10E, VMG3312-B10A, VMG3313-B10A, VMG3926-B10B, VMG4325-B10A, VMG4380-B10A, VMG8324-B10A, VMG8924-B10A, SBG3300, and SBG3500, could allow an attacker to log in to the management interface if the administrators have the option to change the default credentials but fail to do so. It is important to note that WAN access and the Telnet function are disabled by default on these devices.

What should you do?

The following models—VMG1312-B10A, VMG1312-B10B, VMG1312-B10E, VMG3312-B10A, VMG3313-B10A, VMG3926-B10B, VMG4325-B10A, VMG4380-B10A, VMG8324-B10A, VMG8924-B10A, SBG3300, and SBG3500—are legacy products that have reached EOL status for several years. In accordance with industry product life cycle management practices, Zyxel advises customers to replace these legacy products with newer-generation equipment for optimal protection. If you obtained your Zyxel product through an internet service provider (ISP), please contact the ISP for support. For ISPs, please contact your Zyxel sales or service representatives for further details.

Additionally, disabling remote access and periodically changing passwords are proactive measures that can help prevent potential attacks.

Got a question?

If you are an ISP, please contact your Zyxel sales or service representative for further information or assistance. For customers who acquired your Zyxel device from an ISP, please reach out to the ISP’s support team directly.

Coordinated Timeline:

• 2024-07-13: VulnCheck notified Zyxel about vulnerabilities in the EOL CPE VMG4325-B10A without providing any reports.
• 2024-07-14: Zyxel requested VulnCheck to provide a detailed report; however, VulnCheck did not respond.
• 2024-07-31: VulnCheck published CVE-2024-40890 and CVE-2024-40891 on their blog without informing Zyxel.
• 2025-01-28: GreyNoise published CVE-2024-40890 and CVE-2024-40891 on their blog.
• 2025-01-29: Zyxel received VulnCheck’s report regarding CVE-2024-40890, CVE-2024-40891, and CVE-2025-0890.
• 2025-01-29: Zyxel became aware of the vulnerabilities in certain legacy DSL CPE models.

Revision history

2025-2-4: Initial release

This Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC) Advisory is being provided to assist agencies, organizations, and individuals in guarding against the persistent malicious actions of cybercriminals.

Multiple vulnerabilities have been discovered in Google Android OS, the most severe of which could allow for privilege escalation. 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 privilege escalation in the context of the affected component. Depending on the privileges associated with the exploited component, threat actors could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full rights.

Threat Intelligence There are indications that CVE-2024-53104 may be under limited, targeted exploitation.

Systems Affected

Android OS patch levels prior to 2025-02-05

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

Recommendations

Apply appropriate mitigations provided by Google to vulnerable systems immediately after appropriate testing. Use capabilities to detect and block conditions that may lead to or be indicative of a software exploit occurring. Restrict execution of code to a virtual environment on or in transit to an endpoint system.

Reference Android: https://source.android.com/docs/security/bulletin/2025-02-01

Reporting The NJCCIC encourages recipients who discover signs of malicious cyber activity to contact the NJCCIC via the cyber incident report form at www.cyber.nj.gov/report.

Tuesday, February 11, 2025 2:00 PM Eastern Time / 11:00 AM Pacific Time Digital Event Join us for a free Microsoft Discovery Hour to learn how migrating your IT estate to Microsoft Azure can prepare your organization for the AI era. Discover how Azure’s purpose-built solutions can help you optimize costs, boost performance, and provide the flexibility needed to achieve your goals. During this event, you’ll gain insights on: Azure’s comprehensive, multilayered approach to security. The adaptive cloud approach that meets you wherever you are in your cloud journey How Azure is designed to maximize your organization’s ROI and productivity Register today to prepare your organization with cutting-edge AI tools and optimize your IT estate for enhanced security and performance.

Register here

Microsoft Discovery Hour: Migrate to Innovate—Be AI-Ready, Be Secure