Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Cybercrime

BillQuick Billing Software Exploited to Hack U.S. Engineering Company

Hackers abused the BillQuick Web Suite billing software to compromise the network of an engineering company in the United States and deploy ransomware, threat detection firm Huntress reports.

Hackers abused the BillQuick Web Suite billing software to compromise the network of an engineering company in the United States and deploy ransomware, threat detection firm Huntress reports.

The attack exploited a critical vulnerability in BQE Software’s BillQuick Web Suite versions 2018 through 2021, before 22.0.9.1. Tracked as CVE-2021-42258, the issue is described as an SQL injection bug that could be exploited for unauthenticated remote code execution.

While attempting to recreate the attack in their lab, Huntress’ security researchers identified multiple SQL injection points. Without authentication, they were able to remotely leak sensitive employee information from the billing software’s databases.

Next, they also discovered that BillQuick Web Suite would create during installation a built-in sa account that provides full access to the backend database server, even if the software was set up with specific restrictions in place.

Using crafted SQL queries, an attacker could abuse the account to achieve arbitrary code execution.

The investigation into this attack led Huntress to the discovery of eight other vulnerabilities in BQE Software’s BillQuick and Core offerings, but the security firm refrained from sharing details on these security errors as of now.

“This incident highlights a repeating pattern plaguing SMB software: well-established vendors are doing very little to proactively secure their applications and subject their unwitting customers to significant liability when sensitive data is inevitably leaked and/or ransomed,” Huntress says.

Related: Russia-Linked SolarWinds Hackers Continue Supply Chain Attack Rampage

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Related: CISO Forum Panel: Navigating SBOMs and Supply Chain Security Transparency

Related: Codecov Bash Uploader Dev Tool Compromised in Supply Chain Hack

Written By

Ionut Arghire is an international correspondent for SecurityWeek.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Understand how to go beyond effectively communicating new security strategies and recommendations.

Register

Join us for an in depth exploration of the critical nature of software and vendor supply chain security issues with a focus on understanding how attacks against identity infrastructure come with major cascading effects.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Vulnerabilities

Less than a week after announcing that it would suspended service indefinitely due to a conflict with an (at the time) unnamed security researcher...

Cybercrime

The changing nature of what we still generally call ransomware will continue through 2023, driven by three primary conditions.

Cybercrime

As it evolves, web3 will contain and increase all the security issues of web2 – and perhaps add a few more.

Cybercrime

A recently disclosed vBulletin vulnerability, which had a zero-day status for roughly two days last week, was exploited in a hacker attack targeting the...

Cybercrime

Luxury retailer Neiman Marcus Group informed some customers last week that their online accounts had been breached by hackers.

Data Breaches

OpenAI has confirmed a ChatGPT data breach on the same day a security firm reported seeing the use of a component affected by an...

IoT Security

A group of seven security researchers have discovered numerous vulnerabilities in vehicles from 16 car makers, including bugs that allowed them to control car...

Vulnerabilities

A researcher at IOActive discovered that home security systems from SimpliSafe are plagued by a vulnerability that allows tech savvy burglars to remotely disable...