The Research Blog

Generative AI - An Attacker's View

Generative AI is increasingly being used by threat actors for cyber attacks. Attackers can leverage AI for reconnaissance, gathering personal information quickly and creating targeted phishing emails. The technology enables sophisticated social engineering through deepfakes, voice cloning, and malicious code generation, with potential for more advanced attacks in the near future.

Exploiting the AWS Client VPN on macOS for Local Privilege Escalation (CVE-2024-30165)

A local privilege escalation vulnerability was discovered in AWS Client VPN 3.9.0 for macOS. The flaw stemmed from an XPC service lacking proper client verification, allowing an attacker to uninstall the application and execute malicious scripts with root privileges. The vulnerability enabled unauthorized root-level actions through the XPC service's insufficient validation of message origins.

Abusing search permissions on Docker directories for privilege escalation

A privilege escalation vulnerability was discovered in Docker environments where the /var/lib/docker directory has search permissions for other users. Low-privileged attackers can access container filesystems by exploiting these permissions. By modifying container startup scripts and leveraging host reboot capabilities, attackers can potentially gain root access on the host system.

Domain-specific prompt injection detection

A domain-specific machine learning approach was developed to detect prompt injection attacks in job application contexts using a fine-tuned DistilBERT classifier. The model was trained on a custom dataset of job applications and prompt injection examples, achieving approximately 80% accuracy in identifying potential injection attempts. The research highlights the challenges of detecting prompt injection in large language models and emphasizes that such detection methods are just one part of a comprehensive security strategy.

Binary Exploitation for SPECIAL Occasions: Privilege Escalation in z/OS

This article explores a privilege escalation technique in z/OS mainframe systems by manipulating the Accessor Environment Element (ACEE). The technique involves creating an APF-authorized assembly program that modifies user flags in memory to gain SPECIAL privileges. The exploit demonstrates how low-level memory structures and system internals can be leveraged to escalate system access.

The Hidden Depths of Mainframe Application Testing: More Than (Green) Screen-Deep

Mainframe application security testing requires looking beyond surface-level "green screen" interfaces. The article explores three key vulnerability areas in mainframe environments: application breakouts that allow unauthorized transaction access, surrogate chaining that can bypass environment segregation controls, and downstream misconfigurations in database and system components. Comprehensive security assessments must take a holistic approach to mainframe application testing.

Should you let ChatGPT control your browser?

This article explores the security risks of granting Large Language Models (LLMs) control over web browsers. Two attack scenarios demonstrate how prompt injection vulnerabilities can be exploited to hijack browser agents and perform malicious actions. The article highlights critical security challenges in LLM-driven browser automation and proposes potential defense strategies.

Multiple vulnerabilities in eLinkSmart padlocks

Multiple vulnerabilities were found in the eLinkSmart smart lock range. Flaws in the implementation of the locks' Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication and the back-end API enable an attacker to unlock any lock within Bluetooth range, identify the location of any lock in the world, and compromise user credentials. This blog post describes the vulnerabilities, as well as the process followed to identify them, and demonstrates the issues in action.

runc working directory breakout (CVE-2024-21626)

A critical vulnerability in runc (CVE-2024-21626) allows attackers to break out of container filesystems by exploiting a file descriptor leak. The flaw enables setting a container's working directory to the host filesystem, potentially granting unauthorized access to host systems in Kubernetes and containerized environments. Attackers can leverage this vulnerability to access host filesystems, execute malicious code, and potentially compromise multi-tenant Kubernetes clusters.

Synthetic Recollections

The article explores prompt injection techniques that can manipulate LLM agents with multi-chain reasoning systems. Two primary attack vectors are presented: thought/observation injection and thought-only injection. These attacks can potentially compromise the integrity of LLM-powered agents by tricking them into performing unintended actions through carefully crafted prompts.

  • 11 Oct 2023

Enumerating Cognito Clients Exposed to the internet

This article details a methodology for discovering and enumerating potential misconfigurations in AWS Cognito at scale. The approach involves finding ways to identify vulnerable Cognito instances using SEO backlink tools, AWS CLI commands, and systematic scanning techniques. The project highlights the challenges of cloud service security and the potential for large-scale vulnerability discovery through programmatic scanning.

  • 13 Sep 2023

Guiding black-box CAN fuzzing with electromagnetic side-channel analysis

An electromagnetic side-channel analysis technique is introduced for guiding black-box CAN fuzzing in automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs). The method helps identify valid CAN message IDs by analyzing electromagnetic emissions during message processing. This approach improves fuzzing effectiveness when detailed system documentation is unavailable.