May 23, 2016 By Larry Loeb 2 min read

Ubiquiti Networks issued a security alert this week that advised users to update their airOS router firmware. This was in response to reports that the company’s routers had seen infections performed by a worm.

The alert noted that two different payloads are operating with the same exploit. However, the exploit in question was reported and patched in July 2015.

Updating the Ubiquiti OS

The company released version 5.6.5 of the airOS, which features some additional security improvements. These improvements include disabling custom scripts usage and enabling syslog by default.

The new OS version will remove the worm from devices. Ubiquiti also released a separate worm removal tool in the form of a Java JAR file.

The worm targets routers, access points and other devices running outdated versions of the airOS firmware. The underlying problem appears to be an arbitrary file upload vulnerability that can allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to the device through HTTP/HTTPS.

What the Worm Does

The worm functions by creating a self-replicating virus that gains entry through the use of the ogin.cgi file. The malware uses the default credentials for Ubiquiti devices to log into these routers.

It first leaves a copy of itself as well as a backdoor account on the device. Then it adds rules entries that prevent an admin user from accessing the administration panel through the Web interface and gains persistence on the system.

Finally, the worm downloads a copy of the open-source cURL utility, which it uses to spread to other routers, either on an internal network or the Internet.

Symantec thinks that the worm is not doing any actual damage — for now. “So far this malware doesn’t seem to perform any other activities beyond creating a backdoor account, blocking access to the device and spreading to other routers,” the firm wrote. “It’s likely that the attackers behind this campaign may be spreading the worm for the sheer challenge of it. It could also be evidence of an early, exploratory phase of a larger operation.”

Lessons Learned

The takeaway here is how difficult network security is, particularly with regard to the Internet of Things (IoT).

Even though the exploit used by the worm was previously fixed, many routers are still unpatched and vulnerable. The secure maintenance of all the disparate elements of common networks will require a level of vigilance that many may not yet appreciate.

More from

SoaPy: Stealthy enumeration of Active Directory environments through ADWS

10 min read - Introduction Over time, both targeted and large-scale enumeration of Active Directory (AD) environments have become increasingly detected due to modern defensive solutions. During our internship at X-Force Red this past summer, we noticed FalconForce’s SOAPHound was becoming popular for enumerating Active Directory environments. This tool brought a new perspective to Active Directory enumeration by performing collection via Active Directory Web Services (ADWS) instead of directly through Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) as other AD enumeration tools had in the past.…

Smoltalk: RCE in open source agents

26 min read - Big shoutout to Hugging Face and the smolagents team for their cooperation and quick turnaround for a fix! Introduction Recently, I have been working on a side project to automate some pentest reconnaissance with AI agents. Just after I started this project, Hugging Face announced the release of smolagents, a lightweight framework for building AI agents that implements the methodology described in the ReAct paper, emphasizing reasoning through iterative decision-making. Interestingly, smolagents enables agents to reason and act by generating…

4 ways to bring cybersecurity into your community

4 min read - It’s easy to focus on technology when talking about cybersecurity. However, the best prevention measures rely on the education of those who use technology. Organizations training their employees is the first step. But the industry needs to expand the concept of a culture of cybersecurity and take it from where it currently stands as an organizational responsibility to a global perspective.When every person who uses technology — for work, personal use and school — views cybersecurity as their responsibility, it…

Topic updates

Get email updates and stay ahead of the latest threats to the security landscape, thought leadership and research.
Subscribe today