Malware & Threats

Hackers Target Poorly Patched Oracle WebLogic Flaw

Hackers have been scanning the Internet for Oracle WebLogic Server installations that can be taken over using a recently addressed vulnerability. While patched systems should be protected against attacks, experts claim the fix implemented by Oracle can be bypassed.

Eduard Kovacs

April 30, 2018

One of the 254 issues resolved by Oracle with its April 2018 CPU is CVE-2018-2628, a critical remote command execution flaw affecting versions 10.3.6.0, 12.1.3.0, 12.2.1.2 and 12.2.1.3 of the Oracle WebLogic Server (Fusion Middleware) Java EE application server. Oracle has credited Liao Xinxi of the NSFOCUS Security Team and an individual who uses the online moniker loopx9 for reporting this security hole to the company.

Unauthenticated attackers can exploit this vulnerability remotely via the T3 transport protocol on TCP port 7001 and the task is made easy by the fact that proof-of-concept (PoC) code has already been made available.

One of the first people to disclose details of the vulnerability was Liao Xinxi himself. Developer Davide Tampellini used that information along with PoC code released by others to create a weaponized exploit that can be used to spawn a remote shell.

GreyNoise Intelligence reported seeing a “large spike” in devices scanning the Web for port 7001 shortly after the first PoCs surfaced. GreyNoise’s reports are backed by data from other companies, including SANS and Qihoo 360.

While there have not been any reports of servers actually being hacked using CVE-2018-2628, Oracle WebLogic Server has been known to be targeted by malicious actors. For instance, FireEye revealed in February that cybercriminals had been exploiting CVE-2017-10271, a WebLogic Server flaw patched by Oracle in October 2017, to deliver cryptocurrency miners. A possibly related threat group was also spotted recently exploiting the Drupal vulnerability known as Drupalgeddon2.

While users should in theory be protected against attacks exploiting CVE-2018-2628 if they have applied Oracle’s patch, a China-based security researcher who uses the online moniker Pyn3rd claims the fix can be easily bypassed.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Researcher Kevin Beaumont confirmed that bypassing the patch is possible and advised users to block port 7001 to mitigate attacks.

Oracle WebLogic flaw exploited in the wild

SecurityWeek has reached out to Oracle for comment and will update this article if the company responds.

Written By Eduard Kovacs

Eduard Kovacs (@EduardKovacs) is a contributing editor at SecurityWeek. He worked as a high school IT teacher for two years before starting a career in journalism as Softpedia’s security news reporter. Eduard holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial informatics and a master’s degree in computer techniques applied in electrical engineering.

Latest News

Click to comment

Virtual Event: Threat Detection and Incident Response Summit

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

SecurityWeek’s Threat Detection and Incident Response Summit brings together security practitioners from around the world to share war stories on breaches, APT attacks and threat intelligence.

Virtual Event: CISO Forum Virtual Summit

June 13-14, 2023

Securityweek’s CISO Forum will address issues and challenges that are top of mind for today’s security leaders and what the future looks like as chief defenders of the enterprise.

Security Pros: Before You Do Anything, Understand Your Threat Landscape

Regardless of the use case your security organization is focused on, you’ll likely waste time and resources and make poor decisions if you don’t start with understanding your threat landscape. (Marc Solomon)

Today’s Cyber Defense Challenges: Complexity and a False Sense of Security

Industry standard frameworks and guidelines often lead organizations to believe that deploying more security solutions will result in greater protection against threats. (Torsten George)

Cutting Through the Noise: What is Zero Trust Security?

With proactive steps to move toward Zero Trust, technology leaders can leverage an old, yet new, idea that must become the security norm. (Marie Hattar)

Triple Threat: Insecure Economy, Cybercrime Recruitment and Insider Threats

A wave of layoffs, coupled with increased recruitment efforts by cybercriminals, could create the perfect conditions for insider threats to flourish (Derek Manky)

This New Era of Security Requires Secure Networking, Vendor Consolidation, and Focus on OT

The convergence of networking and security, the consolidation of technology vendors, and a focus on OT security are essential underpinnings of any organization's success. (John Maddison)

Vulnerabilities

Full Disclosure List Gets a Fresh Start – Reborn Under New Operator

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

SecurityWeek NewsMarch 26, 2014

Data Breaches

ChatGPT Data Breach Confirmed as Security Firm Warns of Vulnerable Component Exploitation

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

Eduard KovacsMarch 28, 2023

Cybercrime

Cyber Insights 2023 | Ransomware

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

Kevin TownsendFebruary 2, 2023

Cybercrime

Comodo Forums Hacked via Recently Disclosed vBulletin Vulnerability

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...

Eduard KovacsOctober 1, 2019

Risk Management