“Smoker Backdoor” is a PHP webshell backdoor that uses hexadecimal and decimal obfuscation in conjunction with the PHP function goto to evade detection from malware scanners. The hexadecimal/decimal obfuscation is clear to see when viewing the file’s PHP code. For instance, this section of the PHP code is obfuscated using this method: if ($_GET[“x72145156x61155x65”] == […]
Tag Archives: Website Security
How SSL Works with a Website Firewall
It’s no secret that a secure sockets layer (SSL) encrypts data as it moves between a visitor’s browser and the site host. For many people, a single SSL appears to be sufficient for protecting data exchanged between visitors and their website. But what happens to your SSL protection when you add a web application firewall […]
String Concatenation: Obfuscation Techniques
While string concatenation has many valuable applications in development — such as making code more efficient or functions more effective — it is also a popular way for attackers to obfuscate code and try to make it more difficult to detect. Let’s dig into how bad actors are leveraging this technique to conceal their malware. […]
PHP Binary Downloader
When possible, an attacker will want to avoid using specific functions in their PHP code that they know are more likely to be flagged by a scanner. Some examples of suspicious functions commonly detected include system and file_put_contents. In this malware dropper file we recently found on a compromised website, the attacker chose to create […]
PHP Backdoor Obfuscated One Liner
In the past, I have explained how small one line PHP backdoors use obfuscation and strings of code in HTTP requests to pass attacker’s commands to backdoors. Today, I’ll highlight another similar injection example and describe some of the malicious behavior we’ve seen recently on compromised websites. Obfuscated PHP Backdoor Discovered by our Remediation team, […]
Vulnerabilities Digest: July 2020
Relevant Plugins and Vulnerabilities: Plugin Vulnerability Patched Version Installs Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Authenticated XSS 1.4.6.7 80000 Quiz And Survey Master Authenticated Stored XSS 7.0.0 30000 Comments – wpDiscuz 7.0.0 – Arbitrary File Upload 7.0.5 70000 Real Estate 7 Reflected XSS 3.0.4 8000 CarePlus Reflected XSS — 5000 WooCommerce Subscriptions Unauthenticated Stored XSS 2.6.3 10000 […]
SEO Hacktool: Sitemap Generator
An XML sitemap is an important part of a website’s SEO and exists to help search engine crawlers index new URLs on your website. For example, if a site has a large number of pages that were recently updated and the owner wants Google to index their latest content, they could utilize a sitemap.xml containing […]
Reverse String WooCommerce WordPress Credit Card Swiper
As 2020 continues to be the worst year in almost anybody’s lifetime, allow me to take this opportunity to stoke the fires of your existential dread even further. As a sequel to my last blog post earlier this year about the credit card swiper that I found on a WordPress ecommerce website using WooCommerce, today […]
Skimmers in Images & GitHub Repos
MalwareBytes recently shared some information about web skimmers that store malicious code inside real .ico files. During a routine investigation, we detected a similar issue. Instead of targeting .ico files, however, attackers chose to inject content into real .png files — both on compromised sites and in booby trapped Magento repos on GitHub. Googletagmanager.png Our […]
Malicious Magento User Creator
We recently found a simple malicious script leveraging Magento’s internal functions to create a new admin user with the admin role “Inchoo” — probably referring to a Croatian Magento consulting company. The script is simple but very effective and can easily be overlooked as another Magento file without closer inspection. It’s based on a sample […]
