#apache logging log4j exploit

[digitalworldvision]

Summary of Cybersecurity Alert: Hackers Exploit Logging Errors!

Importance of Logs: Logs are essential for monitoring, maintaining, and troubleshooting IT systems. However, mismanaged or poorly configured logs can expose vulnerabilities to attackers.

Exploitation by Hackers: Cybercriminals target logging systems to inject malicious code, gain unauthorised access, or steal data. Examples include the Log4Shell vulnerability in the Log4j library.

Consequences of Compromised Logs: A compromised logging system can lead to data breaches, business disruptions, financial losses, regulatory fines, and damaged stakeholder trust.

Securing Logging Systems: Businesses should upgrade to advanced log management tools that provide real-time monitoring, anomaly detection, and centralised secure log storage.

Zero Trust Security Model: Adopting a zero trust approach combined with smart logging practices prevents attackers from freely moving within compromised systems and helps detect malicious activities.

Common Hacker Techniques:

Log Deletion: Attackers delete logs to erase evidence, as seen in the 2017 Equifax breach.

Log Alteration: Hackers modify or forge logs to mislead investigators, as in the 2018 SingHealth breach.

Disabling Logs: Disabling logging services to avoid detection, as in the 2020 SolarWinds attack.

Encrypting Logs: Attackers encrypt logs to prevent analysis, as in the NotPetya ransomware attack.

Changing Retention Policies: Altering log retention settings to ensure evidence is purged before investigation, as seen in the 2018 Marriott breach.

Historical Examples: Real-world breaches like Equifax (2017), SingHealth (2018), SolarWinds (2020), and NotPetya (2017) demonstrate the devastating impact of log manipulation.

Protecting Logs:

Store logs securely.

Restrict access to authorised personnel.

Mask sensitive information in logs.

Error Logs as Targets: Hackers analyse error logs to find vulnerabilities and misconfigurations, crafting precise attacks to exploit these weaknesses.

Business Risk Management: Protecting logging systems is not just an IT issue—it’s a critical part of business risk management to prevent dangers.

The Log4Shell Vulnerability

In late 2021, a critical vulnerability known as Log4Shell (CVE-2021-44228) was discovered in Apache Log4j 2, a widely used Java logging library. This vulnerability allowed attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected systems by exploiting how logs were processed. The flaw was particularly dangerous because it was easy to exploit and affected a vast number of applications and services globally.

1. financial losses and safeguard company reputation.

Consequences of Compromised Logging Systems

When attackers exploit vulnerabilities in logging systems, the repercussions can be severe:

Data Breaches: Unauthorised access to sensitive information can lead to data theft and privacy violations.

Business Interruptions: System compromises can cause operational disruptions, affecting service availability and productivity.

Financial Losses: The costs associated with remediation, legal penalties, and loss of business can be substantial.

Reputational Damage: Loss of stakeholder trust and potential regulatory fines can harm a company's reputation and customer relationships.

Real-World Examples of Log Manipulation

Several high-profile incidents illustrate the impact of log manipulation:

Equifax Breach (2017): Attackers exploited a vulnerability in the Apache Struts framework and manipulated system logs to cover their activities.

SingHealth Breach (2018): Attackers used advanced techniques to hide their presence by altering log entries, delaying detection.

SolarWinds Attack (2020): Attackers disabled logging mechanisms and monitoring systems to avoid detection during their intrusion.

NotPetya Ransomware (2017): Attackers encrypted key system files, including logs, to hamper recovery efforts and obscure their actions.

Protecting logging systems is not merely a technical concern but a critical aspect of comprehensive business risk management. By understanding the risks associated with logging vulnerabilities and implementing robust security strategies, organisations can defend against these hidden dangers and safeguard their operations.

[govindhtech]

Understanding Different Types of Malware

A cyberthreat is a sign that a hacker or other malicious actor is trying to log into a network without authorization to launch a cyberattack.

Cyberthreats can be obvious, like an email from a foreign power offering a small fortune for your bank account information, or stealthy, like a line of malicious code that sneaks past cyberdefenses and causes a costly data breach for months or years. The more security teams and staff know about cybersecurity threats, the better they can defend, anticipate, and respond to cyberattacks.

Malware

Malware is “malicious software.”

Modern cyberattacks usually contain malware. Malware attacks allow threat actors to gain unauthorized access, disable infected systems, steal sensitive data, and delete system files and data.

Many types of malware exist

Unless the victim pays the ransom, Ransomware threatens to lock or leak the victim’s data or device. According to the IBM Security X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2023, 17% of cyberattacks in 2022 were ransomware.

Trojan horses trick users into downloading malicious code by posing as helpful programs or hiding in trusted software. Dropper Trojans install more malware after gaining access to the target system or network, and remote access Trojans (RATs) open a covert backdoor on the victim’s device.

Spyware steals usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal data and sends it to the attacker without the victim’s knowledge.

Worms automatically replicate on apps and hardware without human interaction.

Phishing and social engineering

Social engineering, also called “human hacking,�� involves coercing targets into compromising personal or organizational security, revealing confidential information, or putting them at financial risk.

Phishing is the most common social engineering method. Phishing uses phony emails, email attachments, texts, and phone calls to trick people into giving up personal information, login credentials, downloading malware, sending money to cybercriminals, or taking other actions that could expose them to cybercrimes.

Typical phishing schemes:

Spear phishing targets one person and uses their open social media profiles to deceive them.

Whale phishing targets wealthy or powerful people.

Cybercriminals pose as executives, vendors, or trusted business partners to trick victims into sending money or disclosing personal information in business email compromise (BEC) scams.

DNS spoofing, or domain name spoofing, is a common social engineering scam in which cybercriminals impersonate a real website or domain name (such as “applesupport.com” for support.apple.com) to steal sensitive information. Phishing emails often use spoofed sender domain names to appear more trustworthy.

Middleman attack

A man-in-the-middle attack involves a cybercriminal listening in on a network connection to steal data by relaying messages. Hackers love unprotected Wi-Fi networks for MITM attacks.

DDoS attack

A denial-of-service attack floods a website, application, or system with fraudulent traffic, making it unusable or slow for legitimate users. DDoS attacks use a network of internet-connected, malware-infected bots or devices called a “botnet.”

Zero-day bugs

Zero-day vulnerabilities are unknown, unresolved, or unpatched security holes in computer software, hardware, or firmware. Cyberattacks using zero-day exploits exploit this vulnerability. Malicious actors can already access vulnerable systems, so software and device vendors have “zero days” to fix them. This is a “zero day” vulnerability.

The popular Apache Log4j logging library contains Log4Shell, a zero-day vulnerability. When discovered in November 2021, the Log4Shell vulnerability affected 10% of all digital assets worldwide, including many web applications, cloud services, and physical endpoints like servers.

A password attack

As the name implies, cybercriminals try to guess or steal a user’s password or login credentials. Social engineering is used in many password attacks to get victims to reveal sensitive information. Hackers can also brute force passwords by trying popular password combinations until one works.

Cyberattack on IOT

Cybercriminals exploit vulnerabilities in IoT devices like smart home devices and industrial control systems to take over, steal data, or use the device as a botnet.

Injection Attacks

Hackers inject malicious code into a program or download malware to execute remote commands and read or modify databases or website data.

There are several injection attacks. Two popular ones are:

SQL injection attacks hackers use SQL syntax to spoof identity, expose, tamper, destroy, or make data unavailable, or become database server administrators.

Cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks, like SQL injection attacks, infect website visitors instead of extracting data from a database.

Threats to cybersecurity

Cyberthreat sources are almost as diverse as their types. Ethical hackers and unwitting insider threats have positive or neutral intentions, while many threat actors are malicious.

Understanding threat actors’ motivations and tactics is essential to stopping or exploiting them.

Famous cyber attackers include:

Cybercriminals

These people or groups commit cybercrimes for profit. Cybercriminals use ransomware and phishing scams to steal money, credit card information, login credentials, intellectual property, and other sensitive data.

Hackers

Hackers use technical skills to break into computer networks.

Not all hackers are cybercriminals or threat actors. Ethical hackers impersonate cybercriminals to help organizations and government agencies test their computer systems for cyberattack vulnerabilities.

Nation-state actors

Nation states often fund threat actors to steal sensitive data, gather confidential information, or disrupt critical infrastructure. Espionage and cyberwarfare are common, well-funded threats that are hard to detect.

Threats from inside

Unlike most cybercriminals, insider threats are not always malicious. Many insiders harm their companies by unknowingly installing malware or losing a company-issued device that a cybercriminal uses to access the network.

However, malicious insiders exist. Disgruntled employees may abuse access privileges for financial gain (e.g., cybercrime or nation state payment) or revenge.

Anticipating cyberattacks

Antivirus, email security, and strong passwords are essential cyberthreat defenses.

Firewalls, VPNs, multi-factor authentication, security awareness training, and other advanced endpoint and network security solutions protect organizations from cyberattacks.

However, no security system is complete without real-time threat detection and incident response capabilities to identify cybersecurity threats and quickly isolate and remediate them to minimize or prevent damage.

IBM Security  QRadar SIEM uses machine learning and UBA to detect threats and remediate faster using network traffic and logs. QRadar SIEM identified false positives, reduced investigation time by 90%, and reduced security breach risk by 60%, saving security analysts more than 14,000 hours over three years, according to a Forrester study. QRadar SIEM gives resource-constrained security teams the visibility and analytics they need to quickly detect threats and take informed action to mitigate an attack.

News source:

[joy-jules]

Log4Shell Quick Lab Setup for Testing

Log4Shell Quick Lab Setup for Testing

Last month, On December 09 2021, The release of a Remote Code Execution POC over twitter involving exploitation of Apache’s log4j2 logging class took everyone’s peace away. The attack was pretty simple and the fact that it can be easily exploited by anyone is what made this more terrifying. The first edition of this attack which was exploited in the wild was based on exploitation of JNDILookup…

[orbitbrain]

Iranian Government Hackers Exploit Log4Shell in SysAid Apps for Initial Access

Iranian Government Hackers Exploit Log4Shell in SysAid Apps for Initial Access

Home › Cyberwarfare Iranian Government Hackers Exploit Log4Shell in SysAid Apps for Initial Access By Eduard Kovacs on August 26, 2022 Tweet A threat group linked to the Iranian government appears to be the first to exploit the Log4Shell vulnerability in SysAid applications for initial access to the targeted organizations. The Log4Shell vulnerability affecting the Apache Log4j logging utility…

[dollsahoy]

Minecraft's patch was released today

[mainsju]

Ubiquiti device discovery tool contains malware

Ubiquiti device discovery tool contains malware update#

Ubiquiti device discovery tool contains malware software#

The security hole was reported to Ubiquiti via its HackerOne bug bounty program and it earned the individual who found it $18,000. We are also recommending restricting all access to management interfaces via firewall filtering,” Ubiquiti warned. “Simply having a radio on outdated firmware and having it's http/https interface exposed to the Internet is enough to get infected. The weakness leveraged by the worm is an arbitrary file upload vulnerability that allows an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to the device via HTTP/HTTPS. A separate worm removal tool has also been released by the vendor. The vendor has now released version 5.6.5, which contains additional security improvements and removes the malware from devices. The flaw in question was patched in July 2015 with the release of airOS 5.6.2. Ubiquiti says it has seen two different versions of the worm and they both leverage the same vulnerability to infect the company’s products. Please contact Hologic Service for assistance in removing this program.Ubiquiti Networks has warned its customers about a worm that has been targeting the company’s products by exploiting a critical vulnerability that was patched nearly one year ago.Īccording to the wireless networking product manufacturer, the malware is designed to target routers, access points and other devices running outdated versions of the airOS firmware, including airMAX M (airRouter), AirMAX AC, airOS 802.11G, ToughSwitch, airGateway and airFiber. This utility program does not run on startup and is not required for system operation.

Ubiquiti device discovery tool contains malware software#

While the Hologic software itself does not utilize Java/Log4J, there is a utility program installed that may utilize Java and Log4J.

Faxitron CT Specimen Radiography System.

APC is still assessing its PowerChute software to determine if it is vulnerable. While the Hologic software itself does not utilize Java/Log4J, the optionally installed APC PowerChute UPS with Business Edition v9.5 software installed may. Out of an abundance of caution, Hologic recommends uninstalling the APC PowerChute software until APC provides further guidance, which Hologic is monitoring at While the Hologic software itself does not utilize Java/Log4J, the installed APC PowerChute UPS with Business Edition v9.5 software installed may. If you require any assistance with our products, please contact Hologic Support.

Ubiquiti device discovery tool contains malware update#

Hologic will update this guidance for Breast & Skeletal Health products as more information is obtained. For more information, please visit the Apache logging services log4j security page. Apache has released an update for Log4J, first v2.15 and then v2.16, to address this vulnerability. Versions 1.x of Log4J are not deemed at risk at this time. Log4J is a popular open-source logging framework for Java applications.Ĭurrently, versions 2.0 to 2.14 of Log4J are deemed to be at risk by researchers. This is a serious vulnerability affecting systems across the world, has remote execution potential, low skill requirements for exploit, and has received a rating of critical (10). Hologic is closely monitoring the situation known as Log4Shell, impacting Apache Log4J as part of CVE-2021-44228.

[ddevices]

June 2022: The Most Wanted Malware: MaliBot, New Banking, and Poses Danger to Users of Mobile Banking

The latest Global Threat Index June 2022 shows that MaliBot, a new Android banking malware, is now third in the list of most dangerous mobile malwares. It emerged after the takedown FluBot at May's end.

MaliBot pretends to be cryptocurrency mining apps under different names. It targets mobile banking users in order to steal financial data. MaliBot is similar to FluBot and uses phishing SMS messages (smishing), to lure victims to click on malicious links that will redirect them to a fake application.

Emotet, the most widespread malware overall, remains the most popular malware this month. Snake Keylogger is now in third place after an increase in activity from last month's eighth position. Snake Keylogger's primary function is to track keystrokes of users and send collected data to threat agents. Snake Keylogger was first delivered to us via PDF files in May. However, it has now been distributed through email attachments with Word attachments that are tagged as requests of quotations. Researchers also reported on a new variant of Emotet that targets Chrome browser users and has credit card theft capabilities.

Although it is always a good thing to see law enforcement succeed in taking down cybercrime groups and malwares such as FluBot, it wasn't long before a new mobile malware took its place. Cybercriminals know the importance of mobile devices in people's lives and they are constantly adapting their strategies to meet this reality. Mobile malware poses a serious threat to both enterprise and personal security. A robust mobile threat prevention solution is essential.

We also revealed this month that "Apache Log4j remote code execution" is the most exploited vulnerability. It affects 43% of all organizations globally. Web Server Exposed Git Repository information disclosure has a 42.3% global impact. With a global impact at 42.1%, "Web Servers Malicious URL Directory Traversal” is third.

Top Malware Family

*The arrows indicate the change in rank relative to the previous month.

Emotet continues to be the most widely used malware, with 14% global impact. Formbook and Snake Keylogger each have 4.4% impact on organizations around the world.

Emotet     Emotet is a modular, advanced and self-propagating Trojan. Emotet was     originally used to distribute banking Trojans, but it is now used to     distribute other malware and malicious campaigns. Emotet uses     multiple methods to maintain persistence and evade detection. It can     also be spread via phishing spam email attachments and links.

– Formbook - Formbook is an Infostealer     that targets the Windows OS. It was first discovered in 2016. For its     strong evasion techniques, low price and high market appeal, it is called     Malware-as-a-Service or MaaS (Malware-as-a-Service) in underground hacking     forums. FormBook collects credentials from different web browsers,     logs keystrokes, monitors and logs them, and can then download and execute     files according its C&C.

Snake     Keylogger - Snake is a modular .NET keylogger and credential stealer first     spotted in late November 2020. It records keystrokes of users and     sends the collected data to threat actors. The malware is extremely     persistent and evasive, and can steal sensitive information from users.

Agent     Tesla - Agent Tesla is an advanced RAT functioning as a keylogger and     information stealer, which is capable of monitoring and collecting the     victim's keyboard input, system keyboard, taking screenshots, and     exfiltrating credentials to a variety of software installed on a victim's     machine (including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and the Microsoft     Outlook email client).

XMRig -     XMRig is open-source CPU mining software used to mine the Monero     cryptocurrency. This open-source software is often used by threat     actors to illegally mine victims' computers.

Remcos -     Remcos is a RAT that first appeared in the wild in 2016. Remcos     spreads itself via malicious Microsoft Office documents that are attached     to SPAM email. It is designed to bypass Microsoft Windows UAC security to     execute malware with high-level privileges.

Phorpiex -     Phorpiex is a botnet (aka Trik) and has been since 2010. It     controlled over a million infected hosts at its peak. It is     well-known for spreading other malware families via spam attacks, as well     as fueling large spam and sextortion operations.

Ramnit -     Ramnit is a modular banking Trojan first discovered in 2010. Ramnit     uses web session information to steal victim account credentials. This     includes corporate and social network accounts as well as bank     accounts. To contact the C&C server, and to download additional     modules, the Trojan uses both hardcoded domains and domains generated     using a DGA (Domain Generation Algorithm).

Glupteba -     Glupteba is a backdoor which gradually matured into a botnet. It had     a C&C address updating mechanism via public Bitcoin lists, a browser     stealer capability, and a router exploiter by 2019.

NJRat -     NJRat is a remote accesses Trojan, used both by Crimeware and State     attackers. The Trojan was first discovered in 2012 and can capture     keystrokes, view the victim's desktop, steal credentials from browsers,     download and upload files, perform file manipulations and process     them. NJRat spreads via phishing attacks, drive-by downloads and     other means. It also has the ability to infect victims through infected     USB keys and networked drives with the help of Command & Control     software.

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[biogychamp]

Major vulnerability found in open source dev tool for Kubernetes

Join today's leading executives online at the Data Summit on March 9th. Register here. Researchers today disclosed a zero day vulnerability in Argo CD, an open source developer tool for Kubernetes, which carries a “high” severity rating. The vulnerability (CVE-2022-24348) was uncovered by the research team at cloud-native application protection firm Apiiro. The company says it reported the vulnerability to the open source Argo project before disclosing the flaw on its blog today. Patches are now available, Apiiro said. Argo CD is a continuous delivery platform for developers that use Kubernetes, the dominant container orchestration system. Exploits of the vulnerability in Argo CD could allow an attacker to acquire sensitive information—including passwords, secrets, and API keys—through utilization of malicious Kubernetes Helm Charts, said Moshe Zioni, vice president of security research at Apiiro, in the blog post. Helm Charts are YAML files used to manage Kubernetes applications. Zioni said the vulnerability has been given a severity rating of “high” (7.7), though as of this writing, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) website had not yet posted the rating. In an email to VentureBeat, Zioni said the vulnerability could potentially have a “very significant impact on the industry” since Argo CD is used by thousands of organizations. The open source project has more than 8,300 stars on GitHub. The Argo CD platform enables declarative specifications for applications as well as automated deployments leveraging GitHub, according to Intuit. The company donated the project to the Cloud Native Computing Foundation in 2020 after acquiring its creator, Applatix, in 2018.

Potential threats

The newly disclosed flaw in Argo CD “allows malicious actors to load a Kubernetes Helm Chart YAML file to the vulnerability and ‘hop’ from their application ecosystem to other applications’ data outside of the user’s scope,” Zioni said in the Apiiro blog post. Thus, attackers “can read and exfiltrate secrets, tokens, and other sensitive information residing on other applications,” he said. Exploits of the vulnerability could lead to privilege escalation, lateral movement, and disclosure of sensitive information, Zioni said in the post. Application files “usually contain an assortment of transitive values of secrets, tokens, and environmental sensitive settings,” he said. “This can effectively be used by the attacker to further expand their campaign by moving laterally through different services and escalating their privileges to gain more ground on the system and target organization’s resources.” Zioni said that the Argo CD team provided a “swift” response after being informed about the vulnerability.

Open source insecurity

The disclosure of the vulnerability in Argo CD comes amid growing concerns about the prevalence of insecure software supply chains. High-profile incidents have included the SolarWinds and Kaseya breaches, while overall attacks involving software supply chains surged by more than 300% in 2021, Aqua Security reported. Meanwhile, open source vulnerabilities such as the widespread flaws in the Apache Log4j logging library and the Linux polkit program have underscored the issue. On Monday, The Open Source Security Foundation announced a new project designed to secure the software supply chain, backed by $5 million from Microsoft and Google. “We are seeing more advanced persistent threats that leverage zero day and known, unmitigated vulnerabilities in software supply chain platforms, such as Argo CD,” said Yaniv Bar-Dayan, cofounder and CEO at cybersecurity risk management vendor Vulcan Cyber, in an email to VentureBeat. “We need to do better as an industry before our cyber debt sinks us,” Bar-Dayan said. “IT security teams must collaborate and do the work to protect their development environments and software supply chains from threat actors.” VentureBeat's mission is to be a digital town square for technical decision-makers to gain knowledge about transformative enterprise technology and transact. Learn More Source link Read the full article

[arshnet]

Fewer-Than-Expected Log4j Attacks, but Mirai Joins the Fray

Fewer-Than-Expected Log4j Attacks, but Mirai Joins the Fray

Log4Shell, the critical unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability identified in early December 2021 in the Apache Log4j logging utility, hasn’t seen the mass exploitation that many expected, but an exploit for it is now part of the Mirai botnet’s arsenal, researchers warn. read morehttp://dlvr.it/SHlyG8

[vsecurelabs]

What is Log4j Vulnerability & How Can You Protect Your Business?

The Log4j vulnerability has sounded the cyber-security alarms around the globe.

This is a part of the Apache Logging Services, a project of the Apache Software Foundation.

Log4J is used by companies like Google, Microsoft, and Apple and is a huge journal that provides a view of all past activities of an application.

On December 9, 2021, security experts discovered a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Apache Log4j 2 software library, which is likely to affect 100 million instances worldwide.

This library is widely used for logging into various software and applications around the world.  

The vulnerability permits remote code execution by simply adding a specified string into a textbox.

CPR (Check Point Research) researchers discovered attacks exploiting this vulnerability, in more than 44% of corporate networks around the world.

The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS), scores this vulnerability as 10 out of 10 based on the potential impact this might have globally if exploited by attackers.

Know more: https://vsecurelabs.co/what-is-log4j-vulnerability-and-how-can-you-protect-your-business/

[aheliotech]

What You Should Know About the Log4j Security Issues Impacting Millions of People

New Post has been published on https://www.aheliotech.com/blog/log4j-security-issues/

What You Should Know About the Log4j Security Issues Impacting Millions of People

It seems you can’t open your browser anymore without seeing a headline about a major new security vulnerability. The threat landscape continues to get more complicated. This is both due to the pace of technology advancements that can cause software developers to miss security flaws, and the fact that large criminal organizations continue to optimize attack delivery.

This continuing evolution also includes network security, which needs to evolve to keep up with more sophisticated threats.   

The latest vulnerability in the news has to do with Apache’s Log4J. This is a code that many cloud service and app providers use within the structure of their code. For example, some of the services/apps that use Log4J are:

Apple’s cloud computing service

Amazon

Microsoft Azure

Minecraft

Cisco

Fortinet

Oracle, Red Hat, VMware

And many others

What Does Vulnerability Mean?

When we talk about code and software vulnerability it means that there is a mistake or “loophole” in the code that allows a hacker to exploit it to gain access to a system. The type of access they gain can vary according to the vulnerability.

When a criminal hacking group finds a vulnerability like the one in Log4J, they will often write several exploits that take advantage of it. An exploit would be malicious code designed to use that vulnerability to gain some type of system access.

This access could be the ability to send commands to a device or the ability to see data that a device holds. There can be multiple exploits written that take advantage of one code vulnerability.

What is Log4J & Why Is It Dangerous?

Log4J was developed by Apache and is a Java-based logging utility that is used widley in enterprise and consumer services, apps, and websites. Without getting too much in the weeds of technical jargon, a logging utility is a specific type of tool that allows programmers to keep track of log files. Log files are messages of events that happen in a computer system (including in the operating system and other software).

Because logging is one of those core functions in many different services and programs, a code vulnerability in the tool that does the logging has far-reaching consequences for system security.

If using a cloud service that has developed their platform using the Apache Log4J utility, your computer or mobile device could be at risk of a breach. 

What Kind of Things Can Happen from Exploiting Log4J?

You can review the Apache Log4J Vulnerability Guidance page to see a full list of resources and recommenations related to this vulnerability. We’ll include some of the most dangerous types of things that hackers can do when exploiting the Log4J vulnerability.

Remote Code Execution (Critical Severity)

At the top of the severity level is the ability to remotely execute code. This can allow a hacker to take over a device and run other types of attacks. For example, they could run code that plants ransomware or malware using this exploit. Or create another administrative user for the device and gain full access to all your data.

Denial of Service (High Severity)

A distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack is the act of flooding a service or site with so much traffic that it becomes overwhelmed and can no longer operate. DDoS attacks are common against websites and cloud services.

Improper Validation of Certificate (Low Severity)

Lower on the severity scale, but still dangerous is the ability to impact certificate validation. This could allow a hacker to gain access to unprotected data being sent through log messages.

What Should We Do About This Vulnerability?

Upate All Devices

Many software developers and cloud services providers, and Apache itself, have issued patches to address the code vulnerability. But it’s up to users to apply those patches, which will come in the form of a software update.

Make sure all devices, including those used by remote employees, have all updates applied.

Monitor Your Network & Cloud Applications

It’s important to have ongoing monitoring in place that can alert you to any anomalies in data traffic or access patterns. Be sure to watch for any potential breaches or irregular logins to any of your internet-facing systems.

Reach Out to Impacted Vendors You Use for Guidance

You can find a list here of vendors impacted by the Log4J vulnerability. Review the list to see if there are any vendors that you use included. If so, reach out to them for specific guidance on any updates that need to be made to secure your use of their platform.

Automate Your Security Updates to Improve Protection

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