• Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
MUST READ

LapDogs: China-nexus hackers Hijack 1,000+ SOHO devices for espionage

 | 

Taking over millions of developers exploiting an Open VSX Registry flaw

 | 

OneClik APT campaign targets energy sector with stealthy backdoors

 | 

APT42 impersonates cyber professionals to phish Israeli academics and journalists

 | 

Kai West, aka IntelBroker, indicted for cyberattacks causing $25M in damages

 | 

Cisco fixed critical ISE flaws allowing Root-level remote code execution

 | 

U.S. CISA adds AMI MegaRAC SPx, D-Link DIR-859 routers, and Fortinet FortiOS flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

 | 

CitrixBleed 2: The nightmare that echoes the 'CitrixBleed' flaw in Citrix NetScaler devices

 | 

Hackers deploy fake SonicWall VPN App to steal corporate credentials

 | 

Mainline Health Systems data breach impacted over 100,000 individuals

 | 

Disrupting the operations of cryptocurrency mining botnets

 | 

Prometei botnet activity has surged since March 2025

 | 

The U.S. House banned WhatsApp on government devices due to security concerns

 | 

Russia-linked APT28 use Signal chats to target Ukraine official with malware

 | 

China-linked APT Salt Typhoon targets Canadian Telecom companies

 | 

U.S. warns of incoming cyber threats following Iran airstrikes

 | 

McLaren Health Care data breach impacted over 743,000 people

 | 

American steel giant Nucor confirms data breach in May attack

 | 

The financial impact of Marks & Spencer and Co-op cyberattacks could reach £440M

 | 

Iran-Linked Threat Actors Cyber Fattah Leak Visitors and Athletes' Data from Saudi Games

 | 
  • Home
  • Cyber Crime
  • Cyber warfare
  • APT
  • Data Breach
  • Deep Web
  • Digital ID
  • Hacking
  • Hacktivism
  • Intelligence
  • Internet of Things
  • Laws and regulations
  • Malware
  • Mobile
  • Reports
  • Security
  • Social Networks
  • Terrorism
  • ICS-SCADA
  • POLICIES
  • Contact me
  • Home
  • APT
  • Breaking News
  • Malware
  • New iLOBleed Rootkit, the first time ever that malware targets iLO firmware

New iLOBleed Rootkit, the first time ever that malware targets iLO firmware

Pierluigi Paganini December 30, 2021

A previously unknown rootkit, dubbed iLOBleed, was used in attacks aimed at HP Enterprise servers that wiped data off the infected systems.

iLOBleed, is a previously undetected rootkit that was spotted targeting the HP Enterprise’s Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) server management technology to tamper with the firmware modules and wipe data off the infected systems.

The Integrated Lights-Out is a proprietary embedded server management technology from Hewlett-Packard Enterprise which provides out-of-band management facilities. The module has full access to all the firmware, hardware, software, and operating system installed on the server. 

The attacks were spotted by Iranian cybersecurity firm Amnpardaz, this is the first time ever that malware targets iLO firmware.

The experts explained that malware targeting iLO could be very insidious because it runs with high privileges (above any level of access in the operating system), very low-level access to the hardware, and it cannot be detected by admins and security software that doesn’t inspect iLO. The persistence achieved by tampering this module allows the malware to survive to the re-installation of the operating system.

The rootkit was employed in attacks since 2020, threat actors could use the iLOBleed rootkit to compromise organizations using HP servers.

“we analyze a rootkit discovered in-the-wild that hides inside the iLO, cannot be removed by firmware upgrades and can be hidden from the sight for a long time. This malware has been used by hackers for some time and we have been monitoring its performance. As far as we know, this is the first report of the discovery of real-world malware in iLO firmware in the world.” reads the report published by the expers.

According to the researchers, unlike other wiper, this one is designed to conduct stealthy operations for extended periods. One of the most outstanding capabilities of iLOBleed is the manipulation of the iLO firmware upgrade routine, when the system administrator tries to upgrade the iLO firmware, the malware simulates the version change while preventing the upgrade routine. 

The level of sophistication of these attacks suggests the involvement of an APT group.

“This alone shows that the purpose of this malware is to be a rootkit with maximum stealth and to hide from all security inspections,” the researchers said. “A malware that, by hiding in one of the most powerful processing resources (which is always on), is able to execute any commands received from an attacker, without ever being detected.” continues the report. “Naturally, the cost of performing such an attack puts it in the category of APTs.”

Experts concluded that the attackers could infect iLO both through the network and through the host operating system.

“This means that even if the iLO network cable is completely disconnected, there is still the possibility of infection with the malware. Interestingly, there is no way to turn off or disable iLO completely in case it is not needed.” concludes the report.

Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook

[adrotate banner=”9″][adrotate banner=”12″]

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, iLOBleed)

[adrotate banner=”5″]

[adrotate banner=”13″]


facebook linkedin twitter

Cybercrime hacking news HP iLOBleed information security news IT Information Security malware Pierluigi Paganini rootkit Security Affairs Security News

you might also like

Pierluigi Paganini June 28, 2025
LapDogs: China-nexus hackers Hijack 1,000+ SOHO devices for espionage
Read more
Pierluigi Paganini June 27, 2025
Taking over millions of developers exploiting an Open VSX Registry flaw
Read more

leave a comment

newsletter

Subscribe to my email list and stay
up-to-date!

    recent articles

    LapDogs: China-nexus hackers Hijack 1,000+ SOHO devices for espionage

    Malware / June 28, 2025

    Taking over millions of developers exploiting an Open VSX Registry flaw

    Hacking / June 27, 2025

    OneClik APT campaign targets energy sector with stealthy backdoors

    Hacking / June 27, 2025

    APT42 impersonates cyber professionals to phish Israeli academics and journalists

    APT / June 27, 2025

    Kai West, aka IntelBroker, indicted for cyberattacks causing $25M in damages

    Cyber Crime / June 26, 2025

    To contact me write an email to:

    Pierluigi Paganini :
    pierluigi.paganini@securityaffairs.co

    LEARN MORE

    QUICK LINKS

    • Home
    • Cyber Crime
    • Cyber warfare
    • APT
    • Data Breach
    • Deep Web
    • Digital ID
    • Hacking
    • Hacktivism
    • Intelligence
    • Internet of Things
    • Laws and regulations
    • Malware
    • Mobile
    • Reports
    • Security
    • Social Networks
    • Terrorism
    • ICS-SCADA
    • POLICIES
    • Contact me

    Copyright@securityaffairs 2024

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities...
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
    Non-necessary
    Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
    SAVE & ACCEPT