Hackers are actively capitalizing on a severe vulnerability in Openfire messaging servers to carry out malicious activities, including encrypting servers with ransomware and deploying cryptocurrency miners.
Openfire, a popular Java-based open-source chat server utilized for secure, cross-platform chat communications, has been downloaded extensively. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-32315, is an authentication bypass affecting Openfire’s administration console, permitting unauthenticated attackers to create new admin accounts on vulnerable servers. These malicious actors then employ these accounts to install malevolent Java plugins (JAR files) that execute commands via HTTP requests.
The vulnerability is widespread, impacting Openfire versions dating back to 2015, from 3.10.0 to 4.6.7 and from 4.7.0 to 4.7.4. While Openfire addressed the issue with versions 4.6.8, 4.7.5, and 4.8.0 released in May 2023, a significant number of servers remained vulnerable as of mid-August 2023, according to VulnCheck.
Active exploitation has been reported, with the first case identified in June 2023 when a server ransomware attack exploited CVE-2023-32315. Attackers leveraged the flaw to create new admin accounts, ultimately installing a malicious JAR plugin capable of running arbitrary code.
In addition to ransomware attacks, attackers have utilized the vulnerability to conduct crypto-mining campaigns using malicious plugins. Dr. Web, a security firm, observed several distinct attack scenarios, highlighting the urgency of applying available security updates.
Furthermore, multiple reports have emerged of Openfire servers being encrypted with ransomware, appending the .locked1 extension to files. The ransom demands, while relatively small, suggest that threat actors are not exclusively targeting Openfire servers but any vulnerable web servers. Consequently, timely security updates are essential for safeguarding servers against these multifaceted threats.
