The Research Blog

Why Bother Assessing Popular Software?

A presentation at BSides London 2015 examined software security vulnerabilities through a case study of Adobe Reader. The analysis focused on investigating the attack surface of the software by examining its JavaScript API, PDF Rendering Engine, and Sandbox. High-risk security vulnerabilities were identified during the detailed technical assessment.

Android Wear Security Analysis

A security analysis of Android Wear reveals robust security controls in WearableListenerService and WearableService. The research examined how Android Wear applications communicate and found strict checks preventing unauthorized message delivery between applications. Security mechanisms effectively block low-privileged malware from interfering with inter-application communication on wearable devices.

How to own any Windows network with group policy hijacking attacks

Group policy hijacking attacks can compromise Windows networks by intercepting and manipulating group policy traffic. The attacks exploit vulnerabilities in SMB signing and Kerberos authentication to gain SYSTEM-level access on domain-joined systems. Multiple attack vectors allow attackers to modify group policy settings and execute arbitrary code on target networks.

  • 27 Mar 2015

Disgusting Code: GeoIP lookups in Excel

A blog post describes an unconventional method for performing GeoIP lookups in Excel using native formulas and Maxmind's GeoIP database. The technique involves complex nested Excel formulas to convert IP addresses to decimal and perform lookups without external dependencies or macros. The approach is designed for use on locked-down corporate machines with limited computational resources.

GitLab User Enumeration

A user enumeration vulnerability was discovered in GitLab versions 5.0.0 to 7.5.0 that allows anonymous discovery of usernames through an unauthenticated internal API. The vulnerability enables attackers to potentially exploit source code repositories by enumerating valid usernames and targeting authentication systems. Metasploit modules were developed to demonstrate and exploit this security issue.

  • 16 Mar 2015

HackFu Challenge 2015

MWR's HackFu Challenge 2015 is an invitation-only hacking event offering 10 free tickets to cybersecurity professionals. The challenge involves a sci-fi themed mission to save the planet from an intergalactic threat by solving complex cybersecurity puzzles. Participants must complete challenges by April 30th, 2015, with the opportunity to attend the event in the UK in June.

Watch You Lookin' At?

A security presentation at Securi-Tay 2015 examined vulnerabilities in Android Wear wearable devices. The research by Jahmel Harris and Owen Evans revealed potential malware risks for extracting sensitive information from these platforms. Security weaknesses in Android Wear's implementation were discussed as part of the investigation.

Practically Exploiting MS15-014 and MS15-011

The article details two Microsoft vulnerabilities (MS15-011 and MS15-014) that enable remote code execution on domain-joined Windows systems. These vulnerabilities can be exploited through a two-stage attack method to gain SYSTEM-level access by manipulating group policy and SMB signing configurations. A video demonstration shows how these vulnerabilities can be chained together to compromise hardened domain environments.

  • 12 Feb 2015

Popping alert(1) in Flash

This article explores cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash applications. It details how ActionScript can be exploited through unvalidated FlashVars, ExternalInterface calls, and remote content loading techniques. Multiple attack vectors are demonstrated, including manipulating URL parameters, loading malicious XML, and abusing URI schemes in Flash applications.

CVE-2014-8272: A Case of Weak Session-ID in Dell iDRAC

A vulnerability in Dell iDRAC's IPMI v1.5 implementation allows unauthenticated attackers to predict session IDs. The weak session ID generation mechanism enables attackers to inject arbitrary commands into privileged sessions by exploiting predictable session identification. The vulnerability potentially allows privilege escalation across different IPMI communication channels.

Digging into MS14-068, Exploitation and Defence

MS14-068 is a critical Windows vulnerability in Kerberos authentication that allows any authenticated domain user to forge a Privilege Attribute Certificate (PAC) and escalate privileges to domain administrator. The vulnerability enables an attacker to manipulate PAC signatures and bypass authentication controls on domain controllers running Windows 2008 and earlier. Exploitation requires only a standard domain user account and can be performed using tools like PyKEK and Impacket.

Faster fuzzing with Python

This article explores performance optimization techniques for executing external processes in Python. By investigating process spawning methods like subprocess, fork, and posix_spawn, the performance of small binary executions was analyzed. The investigation revealed that using posix_spawn with vfork can significantly improve execution speed compared to traditional subprocess methods.