Multiple Passcode Bypass Vulnerabilities Discovered in iOS 9

Threat: Multiple Passcode Bypass Vulnerabilities Discovered in iOS 9
Solution: Disable the Siri module and Events Calendar without passcode, along with the public Control Panel with the timer and world clock. Users should also activate the weather app to prevent the redirect.
URL: http://www.securityweek.com/multiple-passcode-bypass-vulnerabilities-discovered-ios-9

This is a pretty big vulnerability that requires very little technical knowledge to exploit. The last vulnerability of this type I remember only allowed access to pictures and contacts.

I also wonder if the FBI could could explot this to unlock the iPhone they want from Syed Farook and the few hundred ones they have from other suspects for lesser crimes.

In addition as I look at the steps needed to completely disable this exploit, I hope Apple pushes out a security update soon. I can’t imagine many users actually taking the steps to disable everything necessary to protect against this.

Multiple Passcode Bypass Vulnerabilities Discovered in iOS 9 Read Post »

DROWN attack places more than 11 million websites at risk.

drown-attack-openssl-vulnerabilityThreat: DROWN attack places more than 11 million websites at risk.

Solution: OpenSSL 1.0.2 users should upgrade to OpenSSL 1.0.2g and OpenSSL 1.0.1 should upgrade to OpenSSL 1.0.1s. If you are using another version of OpenSSL, you should move to the newer versions.
You should also ensure SSLv2 is disabled, as well as make sure that the private key isn’t shared across any other servers.

URL: http://thehackernews.com/2016/03/drown-attack-openssl-vulnerability.html

The DROWN attack targets servers that might not use SSL2 but still support it. Often this is done to support other servers that use it such as SMTP, IMAP, and POP mail servers. A DROWN attack could allow an attacker to decrypt HTTPS connections by sending specially crafted packets to a server or if the certificate is shared on another server, potentially performing a successful Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attack.

You can find out if your website is vulnerable to this critical security hole using the DROWN attack test site.

Like many of these attacks, the fix is already out there. Server admins need to perform updates immediately to protect against attacks. In addition confirming all servers that use the same certificates are updated is important as this attack can compromise one server and be used on a “secure” server that uses the same certificate.

DROWN attack places more than 11 million websites at risk. Read Post »

Pirated App Store client for iOS found on Apple’s App Store

ZergHelper-interfacesThreat: Pirated App Store client for iOS found on Apple’s App Store
Solution: Do not install software from unapproved third party app stores as the applications are riskware and some of the applications installed may contain malware.

URL: https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2016/02/22/pirated-app-store-client-ios-found-apples-app-store/

An app called “Happy Daily English” available in the Appale App Store has been revealed to be a fully functional third party app store client. This new discovery shows some techniques that can be used to fool app reviewers and the programing language also allowed the application to be updated without approval from Apple.

The app developer also analyzed Apple’s proprietary protocols to implement some functionalities of Apple’s Xcode IDE to automatically generate free personal development certificates. So far the application hasn’t stolen any account information but has used it for analytical purposes. I recommend avoiding cracked software app stores as they are both illegal and often introduce vulnerabilities.

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Vulnerability in the GNU C library

glibc-exploitThreat: A vulnerability in the GNU C library allows a buffer overflow attack to be performed on software compiled with glibc.
Solution: Install software updates for software compiled with glibc immediately.
URL: http://arstechnica.com/security/2016/02/extremely-severe-bug-leaves-dizzying-number-of-apps-and-devices-vulnerable/

Basically this vulnerability can be exploited when vulnerable devices or apps make queries to attacker-controlled domain names or domain name servers or when they’re exposed to man-in-the-middle attacks. Devices that are most likely to be vulnerable are Linux based servers and internet devices. The maintainers of glibc have already released an update that patches the vulnerability. So patching for a server admin should be a simple manner of performing updates.

Where the impact of this vulnerability is less clear is various Internet of things devices that often don’t receive a software update over the life of the device. Many of those devices may remain vulnerable until they are replaced. One device that is not vulnerable is Android, as it uses a glibc substitute called Bionic.

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