The Research Blog

Huawei Mate 9 Pro Mobile Pwn2Own 2017

A whitepaper details vulnerabilities discovered in the Huawei Mate 9 Pro during Mobile Pwn2Own 2017. The document focuses on security issues found in the Huawei Reader and HIApp applications. Technical details of the vulnerabilities and exploitation methods are presented in the document.

Apple Safari - Wasm Section Exploit

A technical investigation was conducted into a vulnerability in Apple Safari's Web Assembly (Wasm) implementation discovered during Pwn2own 2018. The vulnerability (CVE-2018-4121) was found in the relatively new Wasm component of WebKit, which was likely less thoroughly tested. The paper details technical exploration of the exploit techniques on macOS 10.13.3.

  • 13 Apr 2018

Some Brief Notes on WebKit Heap Hardening

WebKit has implemented substantial heap hardening techniques to improve memory safety in browsers. The changes include Gigacages, which isolate different object types into separate heaps, and IsoHeap, which allocates objects in dedicated memory pages. Additional protections involve pointer poisoning to make type confusion attacks more difficult.

Investigating RF Controls with RTL-SDR

A presentation at BSidesNYC 2018 explored Software Defined Radio (SDR) techniques using RTL-SDR to investigate insecure wireless signals. The talk demonstrated how affordable SDR tools can capture and decode simple RF controls like remote switches and car fobs. It highlighted the ongoing vulnerabilities in wireless communication protocols and encouraged exploration of RF security.

Enumerating remote access policies through GPO

This article details techniques for enumerating remote access policies in Windows environments through Group Policy Objects. It explores how User Account Control (UAC) and User Rights Assignment (URA) settings impact remote authentication and lateral movement opportunities. PowerView extensions were introduced to help map computer objects with specific remote authentication configurations.

Finding the Low-Hanging Route

A critical vulnerability was discovered in Cisco's APIC-EM SDN controller that allows unauthorized access to internal network services. By adding a static route and exploiting IP routing configurations, an attacker can bypass network isolation and directly access sensitive internal services without authentication. The vulnerability enables potential compromise of system credentials and unauthorized access to critical infrastructure components like Apache Cassandra and RabbitMQ.

Corrupting Memory In Microsoft Office Protected-View Sandbox

This presentation explores vulnerabilities in Microsoft Office's Protected-View sandbox through fuzzing its Inter-Process Communication (IPC) attack surface. Two critical CVEs were discovered targeting the reduced functionality sandbox environment. The talk details the methodology for generating test cases and analyzing potential security weaknesses in Protected-View.

  • 3 Oct 2017

WebUSB - How a website could steal data off your phone

WebUSB is a JavaScript API in Chrome that allows websites to access USB devices with user permission. The API enables potential data theft from connected devices like Android phones by establishing unauthorized connections. Security considerations highlight risks such as file system access, installing APKs, and potential device compromise through a single user interaction.

Biting the Apple that feeds you - macOS Kernel Fuzzing

An automated kernel fuzzing framework was developed for the macOS XNU kernel using an in-memory fuzzer with static and dynamic analysis techniques. The framework targeted core subsystems to identify critical vulnerabilities in macOS. The approach aimed to address the limited existing automated kernel fuzzing solutions for the Apple platform.

"Tasking" Office 365 for Cobalt Strike C2

A novel Command and Control (C2) technique for Cobalt Strike was demonstrated using Office 365's Exchange Web Services. The technique leverages Outlook tasks as a communication channel to transmit malicious traffic through a legitimate service. The proof-of-concept shows how attackers can use the External C2 interface to create covert communication paths through enterprise collaboration tools.

Kernel Driver mmap Handler Exploitation

This whitepaper explores exploitation techniques for Linux kernel driver memory mapping vulnerabilities. The research addresses the lack of public documentation on identifying and exploiting security flaws in kernel driver development. The goal is to provide guidance for developers to understand and mitigate memory mapping issues in kernel drivers.

Land, Configure Microsoft Office, Persist

This presentation explores native Microsoft Office add-in mechanisms that can be exploited for persistence on compromised workstations. Various techniques for abusing Office add-ins are analyzed from a red teaming perspective. The talk examines deployment complexity, privilege requirements, and effectiveness in different computing environments.