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Mysql.com Hacked, Made To Serve Malware

Posted by Soulskill on from the high-profile-problems dept.

Orome1 writes "Mysql.com was compromised today, redirecting visitors to a page serving malware. Security firm Armorize detected the compromise through its website malware monitoring platform HackAlert, and has analyzed how the compromise of the site's visitors unfolded. The mysql.com website was injected with a script that generates an iFrame redirecting the visitors to a page where the BlackHole exploit pack is hosted." According to Brian Krebs, the exploit used to compromise the site was being shopped around last week for $3,000.

44 of 81 comments (clear)

  1. I, for one, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Blame Oracle.

    1. Re:I, for one, by Trilkin · · Score: 1

      Nah, it's just the Russians again. It isn't Anonymous trying to make it a point this time around, unfortunately.

      --
      Nobody cares what the CAPTCHA for your post was.
    2. Re:I, for one, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I for one blame poor security.

    3. Re:I, for one, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Dude, you really have never heard of LBD? (Larry Bagina Database)

    4. Re:I, for one, by JonJ · · Score: 2

      The fuck are you doing running Fedora in a enterprise environment?

      --
      -- Linux user #369862
  2. Wait, let me get this straight by blair1q · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Someone, a week ago, before anything bad actually happened, was openly selling the fact that mysql was cracked, and anyone seeing the ad knew it, but HackAlert is taking credit for "discovering" the cracking after something bad actually happened?

    How about if HackAlert, instead of crawling the web looking for whatever pattern of deviation defines its detection of a hack, crawls the blackhat markets for ads for open access to presumed secure sites.

    If they aren't doing that already, and crocking their detection speed...

  3. [generic topic] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    little Bobby Tables is disappointed.

  4. No user interaction by Synerg1y · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If the website redirects to an iframe (I thought these got phased out in like HTML4???) and tries to install malware, and there is no user interaction involved... what exactly is the browser doing?

    Being really stupid...
    http://antivirus.about.com/od/virusdescriptions/p/Blackhole-Exploit-Kit.htm

    On that note, noscript, greasemonkey w/ script, and any addon that allows the blocking of the iframe tag should keep you safe, but then again how often do you visit mysql.com? :)

    1. Re:No user interaction by Synerg1y · · Score: 1

      Forgot to mention TOR blocks these kinds of redirects.

    2. Re:No user interaction by LordLucless · · Score: 2

      If the website redirects to an iframe (I thought these got phased out in like HTML4???)

      You're thinking of framesets. Iframes are used far, far more now in conjunction with AJAXy stuff and embedding third-party crap than they were last decade.

      --
      Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face
  5. More details on the exploit specifics? by ThisIsSaei · · Score: 1

    If SQLi took down MySQL there's a pun about "hackception" here somewhere.

    1. Re:More details on the exploit specifics? by VJmes · · Score: 1

      We need to go deeper...

      Seriously though, this looks like the work of someone who found the root login prompt and then proceeded to guess/bute-force the password.

    2. Re:More details on the exploit specifics? by Robert+Zenz · · Score: 1

      I hate to spoil the fun, but...

  6. Already Fixed by InvisibleSoul · · Score: 3, Informative

    http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/240609/mysqlcom_hacked_to_serve_malware.html Article says the site was already fixed as of 11am PST.

    1. Re:Already Fixed by sphix42 · · Score: 1

      Yea, as good an idea as it is to send more traffic to a hacked site, I appreciate /. handling. And since it's fixed and after 5 on the east coast that means a lot of dumb users won't deliberately go to a hacked site. That isn't to say the east coast is sub-prime, there's just a higher density.

  7. Watch the video on the page, informative by mrflash818 · · Score: 1

    I watched the video on the page, showing the step-by-step of the exploit working, and the trace of what it did.

    Informative and interesting.

    Seems if a person did _not_ have java enabled in their browser, then the attack would have failed.

    --
    Uh, Linux geek since 1999.
    1. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by mclearn · · Score: 4, Informative

      I believe it was a multi-tiered attack in that Java, Flash, and PDF exploits were all tried. What is shown in the video is that the Java attack was successful.

    2. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by rodgster · · Score: 1

      A while back, I decided I don't need java, adobe acrobat or flash on my work machines (too much attack surface).

      --
      Who will guard the guards?
    3. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      A while back, I decided I don't need java, adobe acrobat or flash on my work machines (too much attack surface).

      My philosophy is that you disable/uninstall everything and the switch it back on when you need it. Sometimes it is a pain, but it is better than browsing the net with a big "kick me" sign on your virtual back.

      I found it strange that the Krebs on Security site linked in the summary would state that we should avoid using Java for security reasons, but then assume that we would be able to view an embedded youtube video on his page. Surely anyone interested in security would just link to the youtube page rather than hope we all allow flash to run on unknown websites.

      If I hacked a website, and knew that it would eventually be exposed, I would announce the infection myself with a helpful flash video that was also a virus exploit. You could double the infection rate with such a scam.

    4. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 2

      You don't need java to view the youtube video, it uses javascript.

      It actually required Adobe Flash in my browser. All I got was a black square because I locked down my security settings to only allow Flash on whitelisted sites.

      I was not suggesting that YouTube uses Java, but that his comment was an indication that we should eliminate use of software with known security problems and that expecting his audience to run plug-ins on his site went against his advice. I should have been more clear about that point.

      All he needed to do was include a link to the YouTube page along with the embedded video so that people who care about security could see the video without having to view the source to grab the address.

    5. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by Gutboy · · Score: 3

      Good thing HTML5 won't need all those things to run code on your machine.

    6. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by ttong · · Score: 1

      That's odd, I was able to view the video in perfect webm just fine without having anything Adobe installed.

      http://www.youtube.com/html5

      Also, if you're on MS-Windows and using Oracle Java JRE, you can remove webstart and the netscape/msie plugins after install. To check, visit about:plugins or Plugincheck Make sure jnlp files are opened with notepad and jar files with an archiver (or anything except "java.exe -jar"). Any programs written in Java you've installed will still work.

    7. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by lamber45 · · Score: 1
      If you can do that, more power to you. In my case, I need the Java plugin for a number of core work functions:
      • The corporate expense-reporting application
      • The desktop/webcam/slide-sharing portion of the corporate standard audio/video-conferencing platform
      • The corporate standard e-learning platform (which was used to deliver "data security and privacy" training 4Q last year)
      • The download-assistant at the internal site where I obtain official copies of our software products (customers use a different interface to the same site, with the same Java applet to download "images")
      • The drag-and-drop-to-upload function of one of our document-management products

      My employer is a Java licensee, we have our own VM, I would hope that makes our Java plugin less vulnerable.

      I might be able to get away with disabling the Acrobat plugin, but I need some sort of PDF viewer because a lot of the documents I have to read are only available to me in PDF. I might be able to get away with disabling Flash, although other divisions' salesmen have been publishing some videos they want me to watch on YouTube, and the old version of a system I'm helping write a replacement for uses Flash on its front page. (You didn't mention QuickTime, but the above-mentioned audio-video-conferencing platform exports recorded conferences as either QuickTime or Windows Media, which means I need a player for at least one of those formats.)

      I guess I could run a pluginless browser (say Konqueror?) in a low-privilege account in a VM, or on a remote server, and use only that to access third-party vendor and customer websites... but Java was supposed to solve the "running code in a browser" problem when it first came out, right?

      Really this is a black mark for Oracle, even though they didn't write the MySQL database: they've been owners of that website for over a year now, and they were selling "unbreakable Linux" way before that; what kind of system-administration process is in place that allows an unknown party root access to one of a company's high-profile front pages?

    8. Re:Watch the video on the page, informative by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 1

      I'd assume someone as security conscious as you would have already opted in to the html5 trial on youtube.

      Actually, I consider HTML5 video to be an immature and untrusted entity. The authors of browser plug-ins could not write secure code, so there is no reason that browser writers should not give us exploitable bugs too. Just because the video is part of the HTML language does not instantly make it safe.

      It may prove to be fine eventually, but it is still something that would not instantly trust to every single website I happen to come across. Besides, I prefer my webpages to stay still.

  8. Re:s/hacked/cracked/ by afabbro · · Score: 1

    All three members of the FSF appreciate the correction.

    --
    Advice: on VPS providers
  9. Re:Browser Java Plugin by logjon · · Score: 1

    If you've disabled plugins, then how would you be compromised by that plugin?

    --
    The stories and info posted here are artistic works of fiction and falsehood.
    Only fools would take it as fact.
  10. Nobody said MySQL was cracked by MacGyver2210 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Someone was shopping around the exploit used to hack the company's website - I am sure it had little to do with MySQL software unless it was an injection that got them access to change the site.

    --
    If the only way you can accept an assertion is by faith, then you are conceding that it can't be taken on its own merits
    1. Re:Nobody said MySQL was cracked by EdIII · · Score: 1

      I am sure it had little to do with MySQL software unless it was an injection that got them access to change the site

      No, it wasn't anything to do with a SQL injection attack. Levels of Irony that high actually warp space/time and I am sure some scientists would have registered it somewhere and reported it.

    2. Re:Nobody said MySQL was cracked by blair1q · · Score: 1

      From the bottom link I got that the ad mentioned mysql. Maybe I misread it.

      Nope.

      The seller, ominously using the nickname “sourcec0de,” points out that mysql.com is a prime piece of real estate for anyone looking to plant an exploit kit: It boasts nearly 12 million visitors per month — almost 400,000 per day — and is ranked the 649th most-visited site by Alexa (Alexa currently rates it at 637).

      He offered to sell remote access to the first person who paid him at least USD $3,000, via the site’s escrow service, which guarantees that both parties are satisfied with the transaction before releasing the funds.

      He'd opened that site up and was selling the access to it.

      My question is, why is mysql.com's traffic that high?

  11. Obligation by Fnord666 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The disclosure caught my eye because just a few days ago I saw evidence that administrative access to mysql.com was being sold in the hacker underground for just $3,000.

    At what point should Mr. Krebs have felt some sort of obligation to inform the owners of mysql.com that their root login was being actively shopped?

    --
    'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
    1. Re:Obligation by Qzukk · · Score: 1

      When mysql.com's admins offer to pay him $3050 so he'd make a profit?

      --
      If I have been able to see further than others, it is because I bought a pair of binoculars.
    2. Re:Obligation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

      As someone who's done ... even... gentle research. I hate to say...I resent the implication of your comment.

      It's mysql, so they aren't exactly a bunch of clowns... but the moment you tell people--you get suspicion thrown on you. If you tell them anonymously, you get *even more* suspicion thrown on you. For further examples, you need only look at the classic tuttle/centos story...
      http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/03/24/tuttle_centos/ . Now imagine what happens if you /actually/ report a real issue.

      As somebody who feels *fortunate* to have not been investigated in the past due to no small measure of proxy use--I have to say...by asking Krebbs to disclose this, you're asking him to accept undue risk. The last time I reported a /large/ issue with a private server, the server I used was scanned within 50 minutes from IP's originating within the FBI. Sorry... fuck you all--there's no free advice given ever again.

      Quite frankly, other people's problems aren't our job. They nearly aren't our business either save when they lie and advertise they're safe and there's a client curious, or we're looking to spot something... At which point they can pony up for the advice like every other consumer in the market.

      TLDR: There is no obligation. It's at best a generous act of good will that most people really don't deserve anyway.

    3. Re:Obligation by mug+funky · · Score: 1

      no, it's like a passer-by telling someone leaving their car that the door is unlocked, then getting stabbed by that person.

      it's gotta be a car analogy.

      also, don't confuse rape with software. it's sorta like Godwinning.

    4. Re:Obligation by thunderclap · · Score: 1

      No, reporting the issue gets you assumed to be the problem and scanned by the FBI.

    5. Re:Obligation by quacking+duck · · Score: 1

      More like an adult male passerby noticing a young girl playing near a dangerously fast-flowing river, but choosing not to intervene because the risk of being accused of a child molester or attempted abductor is too great (tell her it's dangerous and to move away from the river, and she'd run off screaming to her distant parents that there's a big bad man trying to kidnap her). After that, good luck proving that she *would* have fallen in if he hadn't intervened.

      Sadly, this exact scenario happened in the UK a few years back--the girl fell in and drowned shortly after the man walked away. And the guy got roasted for not intervening. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

  12. One thing for sure... by Tasha26 · · Score: 1

    I ain't taking any security certification from them... the MySQL 1&2 was enough.

  13. inevitable by sjames · · Score: 1

    It was really just a matter of time before Oracle started trying to force MySQL users to move to their expensive proprietary solutions. It just happened a bit....What's that? ........

    Oh, NEVERMIND!

    1. Re:inevitable by lennier1 · · Score: 1

      It was really just a matter of time before Oracle started trying to force MySQL users to move to their expensive proprietary solutions.

      The one where you need to add additional objects to the database just to auto-increment a fucking primary key?

  14. MySQL hack... by InitHello · · Score: 3, Funny

    I would laugh (hard) if the exploit involved SQL injection.

    --
    If I hadn't been modded down, you'd be reading this right now.
    1. Re:MySQL hack... by styrotech · · Score: 1

      Nah, that would be more appropriate if (just for example) Hibernates website was exploited via SQL injection.

      SQL injection isn't generally regarded as a database flaw.

    2. Re:MySQL hack... by Bill,+Shooter+of+Bul · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but you'd think a database company with SQL in its name would be aware of common intrusion attempts using SQL.

      --
      Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
    3. Re:MySQL hack... by lennier · · Score: 1

      SQL injection isn't generally regarded as a database flaw.

      It should be. The design of SQL itself promotes injection attacks. A decently secure database wouldn't support plain-text SQL query strings as an API.

      Even a simple S-expression translation of SQL using parentheses instead of quotes would be more secure, because you could verify that the parens balanced before accepting an expression. SQL's syntax is an artifact of the 1970s COBOL-era idea that "if a mathematical expression sort of looks halfway like English, it will be simple to use". In fact, it isn't, and all we got was a half-baked syntax that isn't either mathematically elegant or linguistically intuitive.

      If we keep propping up broken interfaces, like an abused spouse making apologies for the drunken rages, we'll keep getting hurt. It's time we did the right thing and moved on.

      --
      You are not a brain: http://books.google.com/books?id=2oV61CeDx-YC
  15. mysql.net by crutchy · · Score: 1

    ... has been hacked by Amazon

    slashdot frenzy erupts in 3... 2... 1...

  16. Re:lesson learned, don't expose mysql over the int by thunderclap · · Score: 1

    just wanted to make a dirty joke about exposing mysql over the intern but it was lost.