Press Release
PHP source code was given backdoors thanks to a compromise of the Git server.
The official PHP Git repository was breached in the most recent software supply chain attack, and the code base was modified.
Yesterday, two malicious commits were uploaded to the PHP team’s git.php.net server, which hosts the php-src Git repository.
Threat actors had verified these commits as if Rasmus Lerdorf and Nikita Popov, two well-known PHP developers and maintainers, had made them.
PHP Git server has an RCE backdoor installed.
Yesterday, two malicious contributions were uploaded to the official PHP Git repository in an effort to corrupt the PHP code base.
The event is concerning because 79% of websites on the Internet still use PHP as their server-side programming language.
The attackers released a mystery update upstream called “repair typo” in the malicious commits [1, 2] that BleepingComputer saw under the guise of a little typographical patch.
Looking closer at the newly added line 370, where the zend eval string function is used, reveals that the code in fact creates a backdoor for quickly achieving Remote Code Execution (RCE) on a website using this hacked version of PHP.
Developer Jake Birchall for PHP responded to Michael Voek, who had discovered the error originally, with the explanation, “This line executes PHP code from within the useragent HTTP header, if the string starts with ‘zerodium’.”
Nikita Popov, a PHP maintainer, explained the following to us via email:
“During a regular post-commit code review a few hours after the first commit, it was discovered. The modifications were immediately undone because they were blatantly malicious “According to Popov, BleepingComputer.
The malicious commit was also done under Rasmus Lerdorf’s identity, the person who created PHP.
But that should come as no surprise because with source code version control systems like Git, it is possible to sign off a change locally under a different identity [1, 2] and then upload the spoof commit to the remote Git server, where it appears to have been signed off by the person listed on it.
According to PHP maintainers, this malicious activity originated from the compromised git.php.net server rather than from the compromise of an individual’s Git account, despite the fact that a thorough investigation of the incident is still ongoing.
The official PHP codebase has been moved to GitHub.
Following this event, the PHP maintainers have chosen to move the official PHP source code repository to GitHub as a precaution.
We’ve made the decision to stop running the git.php.net server even though our investigation is still ongoing since we believe that keeping our own git infrastructure is an unnecessary security risk.
Popov stated that the GitHub repositories, which were previously merely mirrors, “would become canonical.”
After this modification, Popov demands that any future code updates be uploaded directly to GitHub rather than the git.php.net site.
Anyone who wants to contribute to the PHP project must now join the PHP organisation on GitHub.
The same security alert includes advice for doing that.
You would need to have two-factor authentication (2FA) set on your GitHub account in order to join the organisation.
Beyond the two commits that were mentioned, “We’re investigating the repositories for any corruption,” says Popov.
In order to learn the full scope of this attack and whether any code was transmitted downstream before the fraudulent commits were discovered, BleepingComputer contacted Popov and the PHP security team.
Although it might have been cloned or forked in the interim, no tags or release artefacts reflect the changes.
Popov added to BleepingComputer, “The changes were in the development branch for PHP 8.1, which is scheduled for release at the end of the year.
The PHP team has confirmed to BleepingComputer that they want to decommission their git server ultimately and switch to GitHub permanently in the coming days.
NVIDIA has released security upgrades to fix ten more bugs impacting the NVIDIA Virtual GPU (vGPU) management software in addition to six security holes discovered in Windows and Linux GPU display drivers.
The flaws make Windows and Linux systems vulnerable to attacks that could cause a denial of service, privilege escalation, data manipulation, or information disclosure.
Because all of these security flaws need local user access, potential attackers must first get access to susceptible targets via a different attack method.
Patching of eleven high severity vulnerabilities
Attackers can simply escalate privileges to obtain permissions above those provided by the OS after successfully exploiting one of the vulnerabilities fixed today.
Denial-of-service attacks or gaining access to otherwise inaccessible information can also be used to temporarily disable workstations running vulnerable drivers or software.
With the exception of the security flaws identified as CVE-2021-1052, CVE-2021-1053, and CVE-2021-1056 affecting the Linux GPU Display Driver for Tesla GPUs, which will start receiving an updated driver version on January 18, 2021, NVIDIA has patched all impacted software products and platforms.
The flaws have CVSS V3 base ratings ranging from 5.3 to 8.4, and NVIDIA has classified 11 of them as high-risk.
The risk assessment “is based on an average of risk across a broad set of deployed systems and may not represent the true risk of your local installation,” according to NVIDIA’s security alert.
To accurately assess the risk these vulnerabilities represent to your particular system configuration, the business further suggests speaking with an IT or security specialist.
The January 2021 Security Bulletin is a complete list of security problems that NVIDIA patched this month.
Several driver updates are accessible from hardware vendors.
NVIDIA advises users to use the security updates offered on the NVIDIA Driver Downloads page to upgrade their GeForce, NVIDIA RTX, Quadro, NVS, and Tesla GPU display drivers, as well as Virtual GPU Manager and guest driver software.
According to the business, certain consumers who choose not to manually fix the weaknesses might also get security upgrades bundled with Windows GPU display driver 460.84, 457.49, and 452.66 versions from their computer hardware vendors.
Users of the NVIDIA vGPU enterprise software must sign into the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub in order to download updates from the NVIDIA Licensing Center.
WordPress, the most well-known and widely used blogging platform, is thinking about removing support for Internet Explorer 11 when its usage falls below 1%.
WordPress has discovered that the cumulative usage of IE 11 is less than 1% using the following three metrics:
according to StatCounter’s GlobalStats, 0.71%.
from W3 Counter, 1.2%
from WordPress.com, 0.46%
When WordPress stopped supporting Internet Explorer 8, 9, and 10 in 2017, these usage figures were comparable.
WordPress plans to discontinue support for Internet Explorer 11 in the future due to the low number of users and the significant expense of maintaining the browser.
“Regarding the present WordPress user experience, the majority of WordPress users ought to be aware by now that a flag was introduced to BrowseHappy around 13 months ago to not recommend IE. In connection with this, the entire IE11 experience is subpar and comes with a significant maintenance cost for developers “Last week, WordPress clarified in a blog post.
WordPress is requesting feedback from individuals and organisations that still use the browser by March 18th in order to formulate their strategies for ceasing support.
WordPress is not the only platform to stop supporting IE 11.
Microsoft Teams’ web app will no longer be supported by Internet Explorer, and Microsoft 365 would stop supporting it on August 17, 2021, according to a 2020 August Microsoft announcement.
Major Canadian banks fell unavailable for several hours, denying consumers access to e-transfers, online and mobile banking, and other services.
The Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Scotiabank, Bank of Montreal, and Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) are among the institutions apparently affected by the outage (CIBC).
For many, online banking and e-Transfers are not working.
Yesterday, the main banks in Canada went offline, making it difficult for many people to access e-Transfers, online, and mobile banking services.
The number of reports of people experiencing problems accessing their online banking peaked on Wednesday between 5 and 6 p.m. Eastern time, while BleepingComputer is still receiving an influx of these reports today:
An RBC spokesman acknowledged that “we are currently having technical challenges with our online and mobile banking, as well as our phone services.”
“We have no ETA to offer at this time, but our specialists are looking into it and striving to fix it as soon as they can. We value your tolerance.”
Customers continued to report problems a few hours later, within 30 minutes of RBC declaring that all systems were operating normally:
Andrew Currie, an RBC client, stated that the disruption left him without “access to my money at the grocery store” and forced him to wait in line for the cash register for 30 minutes.
Customers of BMO also noticed that the bank’s “Global Money Transfer service” was unavailable “all day” and that transfers were being automatically denied without any apparent cause. Such customers were advised to contact customer care by a BMO representative.
Inconsistencies with their internet banking were not acknowledged by CIBC.
Customers were apparently locked out of the TD Bank mobile banking app, and customer support agents said they “haven’t been told of recent concerns with our online service through EasyWeb.”
According to a TD Bank representative speaking to BleepingComputer, the bank had no significant system issues or outages.
It’s unclear at this moment whether some people’s difficulties at the ATMs were caused by the outage. According to an RBC staffer, the customer experiencing ATM problems is using an old debit card:
Some transfers are subject to rules under the Emergencies Act.
Although the reason for the outage is unknown, its timing is very intriguing because it comes only a few days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau used the Emergencies Act in the midst of ongoing “Freedom Convoy” rallies.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland detailed the new rules that payment service providers must follow in accordance with the recently implemented Emergencies Act on Monday during a press briefing on Parliament Hill.
Additionally, without a court ruling and without risking civil liability, the Emergencies Act gives banks the power to freeze the accounts of people and companies they believe to be connected to the illegal blockades.
However, as the Deputy PM notes, since banks are currently required to report to FINTRAC, it is still unclear how new legislation will cause a planned or unanticipated outage.
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