Hackers have been exploiting a now-patched vulnerability in VMware Workspace ONE Entry in campaigns to put in numerous ransomware and cryptocurrency miners, a researcher at safety agency Fortinet mentioned on Thursday.
CVE-2022-22954 is a distant code execution vulnerability in VMware Workspace ONE Entry that carries a severity ranking of 9.8 out of a doable 10. VMware disclosed and patched the vulnerability on April 6. Inside 48 hours, hackers reverse-engineered the replace and developed a working exploit that they then used to compromise servers that had but to put in the repair. VMware Workspace ONE entry helps directors configure a set of apps staff want of their work environments.
In August, researchers at Fortiguard Labs noticed a sudden spike in exploit makes an attempt and a significant shift in ways. Whereas earlier than the hackers put in payloads that harvested passwords and picked up different knowledge, the brand new surge introduced one thing else—particularly, ransomware generally known as RAR1ransom, a cryptocurrency miner generally known as GuardMiner, and Mirai, software program that corrals Linux units into an enormous botnet to be used in distributed denial-of-service assaults.

FortiGuard
“Though the important vulnerability CVE-2022-22954 is already patched in April, there are nonetheless a number of malware campaigns attempting to use it,” Fortiguard Labs researcher Cara Lin wrote. Attackers, she added, had been utilizing it to inject a payload and obtain distant code execution on servers working the product.
The Mirai pattern Lin noticed getting put in was downloaded from http[:]//107[.]189[.]8[.]21/pedalcheta/cutie[.]x86_64 and relied on a command and management server at “cnc[.]goodpackets[.]cc. Moreover delivering junk site visitors utilized in DDoSes, the pattern additionally tried to contaminate different units by guessing the executive password they used. After decoding strings within the code, Lin discovered the next checklist of credentials the malware used:
hikvision |
1234 |
win1dows |
S2fGqNFs |
root |
tsgoingon |
newsheen |
12345 |
default |
solokey |
neworange88888888 |
visitor |
bin |
consumer |
neworang |
system |
059AnkJ |
telnetadmin |
tlJwpbo6 |
iwkb |
141388 |
123456 |
20150602 |
00000000 |
adaptec |
20080826 |
vstarcam2015 |
v2mprt |
Administrator |
1001chin |
vhd1206 |
assist |
NULL |
xc3511 |
QwestM0dem |
7ujMko0admin |
bbsd-client |
vizxv |
fidel123 |
dvr2580222 |
par0t |
hg2x0 |
samsung |
t0talc0ntr0l4! |
cablecom |
hunt5759 |
epicrouter |
zlxx |
pointofsale |
nflection |
xmhdipc |
|
icatch99 |
password |
daemon |
netopia |
3com |
DOCSIS_APP |
hagpolm1 |
klv123 |
OxhlwSG8 |
In what seems to be a separate marketing campaign, attackers additionally exploited CVE-2022-22954 to obtain a payload from 67[.]205[.]145[.]142. The payload included seven recordsdata:
- phpupdate.exe: Xmrig Monero mining software program
- config.json: Configuration file for mining swimming pools
- networkmanager.exe: Executable used to scan and unfold an infection
- phpguard.exe: Executable used for guardian Xmrig miner to maintain working
- init.ps1: Script file itself to maintain persistence through creating scheduled process
- clear.bat: Script file to take away different cryptominers on the compromised host
- encrypt.exe: RAR1 ransomware
Within the occasion RAR1ransom has by no means been put in earlier than, the payload would first run the encrypt.exe executable file. The file drops the legit WinRAR knowledge compression executable in a short lived Home windows folder. The ransomware then makes use of WinRAR to compress consumer knowledge into password-protected recordsdata.
The payload would then begin the GuardMiner assault. GuardMiner is a cross-platform mining Trojan for the Monero forex. It has been energetic since 2020.
The assaults underscore the significance of putting in safety updates in a well timed method. Anybody who has but to put in VMware’s April 6 patch ought to accomplish that without delay.