Pierluigi Paganini April 04, 2018

Hackers compromised hundreds of Magento e-commerce websites to steal credit card numbers and install crypto-mining malware.

According to the security firm Flashpoint, hackers launched brute-force attacks against Magento installs, they used a dictionary composed of common and known default Magento credentials.

“Ecommerce websites running on the popular open-source Magento platform are being targeted by attackers who are using brute-force password attacks to access administration panels to scrape credit card numbers and install malware that mines cryptocurrency.” reads the analysis published by Flashpoint.

“The Magento sites are being compromised through brute-force attacks using common and known default Magento credentials.”

The security firms revealed that at hackers already compromised at least 1,000 Magento admin panels, most of the victims are in the US and Europe and operate in the education and healthcare industries.

The threat actors behind this campaign are also targeting other popular e-commerce-processing CMS such as Powerfront CMS and OpenCarts.

According to the experts, it quite easy to find discussions on crime forums about how to compromise CMS platforms

The lack of proper security measures makes it easy for crooks to compromise websites, sometimes just using a simple script.

“Brute-force attacks such as these are simplified when admins fail to change the credentials upon installation of the platform. Attackers, meanwhile, can build simple automated scripts loaded with known credentials to facilitate access of the panels.” continues the post.

When hackers successfully compromised a Magento installation, they can inject malicious code into the core file to perform a wide range of malicious activities, such as stealing payment card data from the website.

The attackers can also use the compromised Magento installs to mine cryptocurrency by using a malware such as the Rarog cryptocurrency miner.

The compromised sites return an exploit masquerades as a phony Adobe Flash Player update, once the victims will launch it a malicious JavaScript is executed, its function is to download malware from attacker-controlled servers on GitHub and other compromised sites onto the victim’s computer.

“Analysts said the infection chain begins with the installation of data-stealing malware called AZORult from a binary hosted on GitHub. AZORult then downloads additional malware; in this campaign, the additional malware is the Rarog cryptocurrency miner.” continues the analysis.

“The attackers are keen on avoiding detection and update the malicious files daily in order to sidestep signature- and behavior-based detection. Flashpoint said the accounts hosting these files have been active since 2017.”

Flashpoint, with the support of law enforcement, is notifying victims of the security breaches.

Magento admins are recommended to review CMS account logins and adopt mitigation measured against brute-force attacks, for example by limiting the number of attempts or enforcing two-factor authentication.

Pierluigi Paganini

(Security Affairs – Magento, hacking)

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