The Research Blog

  • 17 Nov 2016

Working 9 till 5

A summer intern at MWR conducted security research on the Android game "Legion Hunters", uncovering multiple vulnerabilities in the game's login system. The research revealed unencrypted API calls, weak authentication mechanisms, and insecure account management that could allow unauthorized access to user accounts. The intern demonstrated how an attacker could potentially log in as any user by exploiting these security flaws.

One Template To Rule 'Em All

A presentation explored how Microsoft Office VBA and templates can be exploited as a persistent malware delivery mechanism. The talk demonstrated vulnerabilities in locked-down environments through a proof-of-concept tool called WePWNise. VBA-enabled files remain an attractive attack vector due to business requirements and human factors in targeted attacks.

  • 3 Nov 2016

A Penetration Tester’s Guide to the Azure Cloud

This presentation provides a comprehensive guide to security assessment of Microsoft Azure Cloud services. It explores key security components, controls, and configurations across Azure deployments. The talk introduces Azurite, a tool for collecting and visualizing Azure infrastructure information.

  • 3 Nov 2016

AVRop VM: A ROP based M/o/Vfuscator VM on a Harvard device

A novel virtual machine (VM) based on Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) was developed for an AVR microcontroller. The VM adapts the Movfuscator concept to a Harvard architecture device, implementing a single ROP chain that can execute different payloads through memory-mapped instruction interpretation. The approach allows for executing varied functionality using the same ROP chain on an embedded device with limited resources.

Needle: Finding Issues within iOS Applications

Needle is an iOS application security testing tool presented at OWASP AppSec USA 2016. The tool enables comprehensive vulnerability identification in iOS applications through both black-box and white-box testing methodologies. Marco Lancini's presentation detailed Needle's architecture and testing capabilities for finding security issues in mobile applications.

Static Analysis for Code and Infrastructure

Static analysis techniques for software development are explored in this presentation by Nick Jones at DevSecCon 2016. The talk covers methods like taint checking and control flow graph analysis for identifying software bugs early in the development cycle. Guidance is provided on integrating static analysis tools effectively into development environments and infrastructure.

  • 21 Oct 2016

A Hybrid Approach to ICS Intrusion Detection

SENAMI introduces a hybrid intrusion detection approach for Industrial Control Systems that combines passive network monitoring with selective active monitoring of critical Siemens S7 PLC variables. The method focuses on detecting value tampering attacks by monitoring three key memory locations with minimal performance impact. The approach achieves a 93% detection rate of active threats while avoiding overloading legacy PLC systems.

  • 18 Oct 2016

Securing the loading of dynamic code

This article explores the security risks associated with dynamic code loading through reflection in programming languages. It discusses methods to secure reflective code loading, including techniques like hashing, code signing, and file permissions to prevent unauthorized code execution and potential privilege escalation vulnerabilities.

Fuzzing the Windows kernel

A presentation by Yong Chuan Koh at HITB GSEC 2016 introduced a Python-based fuzzing framework for testing Windows kernel security. The framework is designed to be scalable and extensible for comprehensive kernel vulnerability detection. Presentation slides are available for download from the original source.

Windows Kernel Fuzzing

A distributed fuzzing technique was developed to target the Windows kernel and identify critical vulnerabilities. The approach focused on generating high-quality test cases to detect potential privilege escalation and sandbox breakout exploits. The fuzzing method scaled across hundreds of CPU cores to systematically assess the kernel's attack surface.

Accessing Internal Fileshares through Exchange ActiveSync

Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) can be exploited to access internal Windows file shares using only user mailbox credentials. The vulnerability was confirmed in Exchange 2013 and 2016 with near-default configurations. Attackers can list file share contents and download files by using specific EAS commands, potentially bypassing traditional access controls.

Popping my DoS Cherry at DerbyCon

DerbyCon 6 was a cybersecurity conference featuring notable offensive security talks and tool releases. Key presentations covered topics like privilege escalation, threat emulation, and Exchange/Outlook security. Several new offensive security tools were introduced, including Rotten Potato, Lucky Strike, MailSniper, and OWA-Toolkit.