US-Cert Current Activity

Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC) released updates to #StopRansomware: BianLian Ransomware Group on observed tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) and indicators of compromise attributed to data extortion group, BianLian.

The advisory, originally published May 2023, has been updated with additional TTPs obtained through FBI and ASD’s ACSC investigations and industry threat intelligence as of June 2024.

BianLian is likely based in Russia, with Russia-based affiliates, and has affected organizations in multiple U.S. critical infrastructure sectors since June 2022. They have also targeted Australian critical infrastructure sectors, professional services, and property development.

CISA and partners encourage infrastructure organizations and small- to medium-sized organizations implement mitigations in this advisory to reduce the likelihood and impact of BianLian and other ransomware incidents. These mitigations align with the Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals developed by CISA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

This advisory is part of CISA’s ongoing #StopRansomware effort. 

Apple released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple Apple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply necessary updates:

• iOS 18.1.1 and iPadOS 18.1.1
• macOS Sequoia 15.1.1
• iOS 17.7.2 and iPadOS 17.7.2
• visionOS 2.1.1
• Safari 18.1.1

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in collaboration with the Homeland Security Systems Engineering and Development Institute (HSSEDI), operated by MITRE, has released the 2024 CWE Top 25 Most Dangerous Software Weaknesses. This annual list identifies the most critical software weaknesses that adversaries frequently exploit to compromise systems, steal sensitive data, or disrupt essential services.

Organizations are strongly encouraged to review this list and use it to inform their software security strategies. Prioritizing these weaknesses in development and procurement processes helps prevent vulnerabilities at the core of the software lifecycle.

Addressing these weaknesses is integral to CISA’s Secure by Design and Secure by Demand initiatives, which advocate for building and procuring secure technology solutions:

• Secure by Design: Encourages software manufacturers to implement security best practices throughout the design and development phases. By proactively addressing common weaknesses found in the CWE Top 25, manufacturers can deliver inherently secure products that reduce risk to end users. Learn more about Secure by Design here.
• Secure by Demand: Provides guidelines for organizations to drive security improvements when procuring software. Leveraging the CWE Top 25, customers can establish security expectations and ensure that their software vendors are committed to mitigating high-risk weaknesses from the outset. Explore how you can integrate Secure by Demand principles here.

Recommendations for Stakeholders:

• For Developers and Product Teams: Review the 2024 CWE Top 25 to identify high-priority weaknesses and adopt Secure by Design practices in your development processes.
• For Security Teams: Incorporate the CWE Top 25 into your vulnerability management and application security testing practices to assess and mitigate the most critical weaknesses.
• For Procurement and Risk Managers: Use the CWE Top 25 as a benchmark when evaluating vendors, and apply Secure by Demand guidelines to ensure that your organization is investing in secure products.

By following CISA’s initiatives, organizations can reduce vulnerabilities and strengthen application and infrastructure security. Incorporating the 2024 CWE Top 25 into cybersecurity and procurement strategies will enhance overall resilience.

For further details, refer to the full 2024 CWE Top 25 list here.

CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.

• CVE-2024-38812 VMware vCenter Server Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
• CVE-2024-38813 VMware vCenter Server Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.

Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information.

Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.

Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released Phishing-Resistant Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Success Story: USDA’s FIDO Implementation. This report details how USDA successfully implemented phishing-resistant authentication for its personnel in situations where USDA could not exclusively rely on personal identity verification (PIV) cards. 

USDA turned to Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) capabilities, a set of authentication protocols that uses cryptographic keys on user devices, to offer a secure way to authenticate user identities without passwords. USDA’s adoption of FIDO highlights the importance of organizations moving away from password authentication and adopting more secure MFA technologies. 

This report offers examples to help organizations strengthen their cybersecurity posture through use cases, recommended actions, and resources. USDA successfully implemented MFA by adopting a centralized model, making incremental improvements, and addressing specific use cases. Organizations facing challenges with phishing-resistant authentication are encouraged to review this report. 

For more information about phishing-resistant MFA, visit Phishing-Resistant MFA is Key to Peace of Mind and Implementing Phishing-Resistant MFA. 

CISA released one Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisory on November 19, 2024. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

• ICSA-24-324-01 Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC iQ-F Series

CISA encourages users and administrators to review newly released ICS advisories for technical details and mitigations.

CISA has added three new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.

• CVE-2024-1212 Progress Kemp LoadMaster OS Command Injection Vulnerability
• CVE-2024-0012 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Management Interface Authentication Bypass Vulnerability
• CVE-2024-9474 Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS Management Interface OS Command Injection Vulnerability

Users and administrators are also encouraged to review the Palo Alto Threat Brief: Operation Lunar Peek related to CVE-2024-0012 for additional information. 

These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.

Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information.

Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.

CISA has added two new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.

• CVE-2024-9463 Palo Alto Networks Expedition OS Command Injection Vulnerability
• CVE-2024-9465 Palo Alto Networks Expedition SQL Injection Vulnerability

These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.

Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information.

Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.

CISA released nineteen Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on November 14, 2024. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

• ICSA-24-319-01 Siemens RUGGEDCOM CROSSBOW
• ICSA-24-319-02 Siemens SIPORT
• ICSA-24-319-03 Siemens OZW672 and OZW772 Web Server
• ICSA-24-319-04 Siemens SINEC NMS
• ICSA-24-319-05 Siemens Solid Edge
• ICSA-24-319-06 Siemens SCALANCE M-800 Family
• ICSA-24-319-07 Siemens Engineering Platforms
• ICSA-24-319-08 Siemens SINEC INS
• ICSA-24-319-09 Siemens Spectrum Power 7
• ICSA-24-319-10 Siemens TeleControl Server
• ICSA-24-319-11 Siemens SIMATIC CP
• ICSA-24-319-12 Siemens Mendix Runtime
• ICSA-24-319-13 Rockwell Automation Verve Asset Manager
• ICSA-24-319-14 Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk Updater
• ICSA-24-319-15 Rockwell Automation Arena Input Analyzer
• ICSA-24-319-16 Hitachi Energy MSM
• ICSA-24-319-17 2N Access Commander
• ICSA-24-291-01 Elvaco M-Bus Metering Gateway CMe3100 (Update A)
• ICSMA-24-319-01 Baxter Life2000 Ventilation System

CISA encourages users and administrators to review newly released ICS advisories for technical details and mitigations.

Palo Alto Networks (PAN) has released an important informational bulletin on securing management interfaces after becoming aware of claims of an unverified remote code execution vulnerability via the PAN-OS management interface.

CISA urges users and administrators to review the following for more information, follow PAN’s guidance for hardening network devices, review PAN’s instruction for accessing organization’s scan results for internet-facing management interfaces, and take immediate action if required:

• PAN-SA-2024-0015 Important Informational Bulletin: Ensure Access to Management Interface is Secured
• Tips & Tricks: How to Secure the Management Access of Your Palo Alto Networks Device

Fortinet has released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple products, including FortiOS. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following advisories and apply necessary updates:

• FG-IR-23-396 ReadOnly Users Could Run Some Sensitive Operations
• FG-IR-23-475 FortiOS - SSLVPN Session Hijacking Using SAML Authentication
• FG-IR-24-144 Privilege Escalation via Lua Auto Patch Function
• FG-IR-24-199 Named Pipes Improper Access Control

Microsoft released security updates to address vulnerabilities in multiple products. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following and apply necessary updates:

• Microsoft Security Update Guide for November

Adobe released security updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in Adobe software. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.    

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following Adobe Security Bulletins and apply the necessary updates:  

• Security update available for Adobe Bridge | APSB24-77
• Security update available for Adobe Audition | APSB24-83
• Security update available for Adobe After Effects | APSB24-85
• Security update available for Adobe Substance 3D Painter | APSB24-86
• Security update available for Adobe Illustrator| APSB24-87
• Security update available for Adobe InDesign | APSB24-88
• Security update available for Adobe Photoshop | APSB24-89
• Security update available for Adobe Commerce | APSB24-90

Ivanti released security updates to address vulnerabilities in Ivanti Endpoint Manager (EPM), Ivanti Avalanche, Ivanti Connect Secure, Ivanti Policy Secure, and Ivanti Security Access Client.

CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following Ivanti security advisories and apply the necessary guidance and updates:

• Ivanti Security Advisory EPM
• Ivanti Security Advisory Avalanche
• Ivanti Security Advisory Connect Secure, Ivanti Policy Secure, and Ivanti Security Access Client

CISA has added five new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation.

• CVE-2021-26086 Atlassian Jira Server and Data Center Path Traversal Vulnerability
• CVE-2014-2120 Cisco Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Vulnerability
• CVE-2021-41277 Metabase GeoJSON API Local File Inclusion Vulnerability
• CVE-2024-43451 Microsoft Windows NTLMv2 Hash Disclosure Spoofing Vulnerability
• CVE-2024-49039 Microsoft Windows Task Scheduler Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

These types of vulnerabilities are frequent attack vectors for malicious cyber actors and pose significant risks to the federal enterprise.

Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 22-01: Reducing the Significant Risk of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities established the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog as a living list of known Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) that carry significant risk to the federal enterprise. BOD 22-01 requires Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies to remediate identified vulnerabilities by the due date to protect FCEB networks against active threats. See the BOD 22-01 Fact Sheet for more information.

Although BOD 22-01 only applies to FCEB agencies, CISA strongly urges all organizations to reduce their exposure to cyberattacks by prioritizing timely remediation of Catalog vulnerabilities as part of their vulnerability management practice. CISA will continue to add vulnerabilities to the catalog that meet the specified criteria.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), through the Joint Cyber Defense Collaborative (JCDC), enabled proactive coordination and information sharing to bolster cybersecurity ahead of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris. Recognizing the potential for cyber threats targeting the Games, CISA worked to strengthen U.S. private sector ties and facilitate connections with key French counterparts to promote collective defense measures.

Utilizing its role as a key facilitator between public and private sector partners, JCDC established monitoring channels and launched cyber threat information-sharing forums to prepare for significant incidents. Throughout the Games, JCDC industry partners remained vigilant, promptly alerting CISA to any potential impacts on Olympic and Paralympic activities. This allowed CISA to provide prompt updates and share critical information with the French Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information to aid swift response efforts.

This collaboration underscores JCDC’s essential role in uniting global partners to defend against cyber challenges that threaten national security and international events. The partnership highlights the value of voluntary information sharing to build trust and strengthen the protection of critical infrastructure in an evolving threat landscape. For more information about JCDC’s initiatives, visit the JCDC Success Stories webpage and CISA.gov/JCDC. 

Citrix released security updates to address multiple vulnerabilities in NetScaler ADC, NetScaler Gateway, and Citrix Session Recording. A cyber threat actor could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of an affected system.  

 CISA encourages users and administrators to review the following and apply necessary updates:   

• NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway Security Bulletin for CVE-2024-8534 and CVE-2024-8535

• Citrix Session Recording Security Bulletin for CVE-2024-8068 and CVE-2024-8069

CISA released five Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on November 12, 2024. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

• ICSA-24-317-01 Subnet Solutions PowerSYSTEM Center
• ICSA-24-317-02 Hitachi Energy TRO600
• ICSA-24-317-03 Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk View ME
• ICSA-23-306-03 Mitsubishi Electric MELSEC Series (Update A)
• ICSA-23-136-01 Snap One OvrC Cloud (Update A)

CISA encourages users and administrators to review newly released ICS advisories for technical details and mitigations.

Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Security Agency (NSA), and international partners released joint Cybersecurity Advisory, 2023 Top Routinely Exploited Vulnerabilities.

This advisory supplies details on the top Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) routinely exploited by malicious cyber actors and their associated Common Weakness Enumeration(s) (CWE) to help organizations better understand the impact of exploitation. International partners contributing to this advisory include:

• Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre
• Canadian Centre for Cyber Security
• New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre and New Zealand Computer Emergency Response Team
• United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre

The authoring agencies urge all organizations to review and implement the recommended mitigations detailed in this advisory. The advisory provides vendors, designers, and developers a guide for implementing secure by design and default principles and tactics to reduce the prevalence of vulnerabilities in their software and end-user organizations mitigations. Following this guidance will help reduce the risk of compromise by malicious cyber actors.

Vendors and developers are encouraged to take appropriate steps to provide products that protect their customers’ sensitive data. To learn more about secure by design principles and practices, visit CISA’s Secure by Design.

CISA released three Industrial Control Systems (ICS) advisories on November 7, 2024. These advisories provide timely information about current security issues, vulnerabilities, and exploits surrounding ICS.

• ICSA-24-312-01 Beckhoff Automation TwinCAT Package Manager
• ICSA-24-312-02 Delta Electronics DIAScreen
• ICSA-24-312-03 Bosch Rexroth IndraDrive

CISA encourages users and administrators to review newly released ICS advisories for technical details and mitigations.

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