Risk actors have discovered a strategy to disable antivirus (opens in new tab) options and different endpoint (opens in new tab) safety instruments utilizing an more and more fashionable methodology.
Cybersecurity researchers from Sophos not too long ago detailed how the strategy, often known as referred to as Deliver Your Personal Susceptible Driver, works, and the hazards it brings to companies all over the world.
In line with the corporate’s analysis, ransomware operators BlackByte are abusing a vulnerability tracked as CVE-2019-16098. It’s present in RTCore64.sys and RTCore32.sys, drivers utilized by Micro-Star’s MSI AfterBurner 4.6.2.15658. Afterburner is an overclocking utility for GPUs, that provides customers extra management over the {hardware}.
Blocking the drivers
The vulnerability permits authenticated customers to learn and write to arbitrary reminiscence, consequently resulting in privilege escalation, code execution, and information theft – and on this case, helped BlackByte disable greater than 1,000 drivers that safety merchandise have to run.
“Likelihood is good that they’ll proceed abusing official drivers to bypass safety merchandise,” Sophos stated in a weblog publish (opens in new tab) outlining the menace.
To guard in opposition to this new assault methodology, Sophos suggests IT admins add these specific MSI drivers to an lively blocklist and ensure they aren’t operating on their endpoints. Moreover, they need to hold an in depth eye on all drivers being put in on their units, and audit the endpoints commonly to search for rogue injections with no {hardware} match.
Learn extra
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Deliver Your Personal Susceptible Driver may be a brand new methodology, however its reputation is rising, quick. Earlier this week, a infamous North Korean state-sponsored menace actor Lazarus Group was noticed utilizing the identical approach in opposition to Dell. Cybersecurity researchers from ESET have not too long ago seen the group strategy aerospace specialists and political journalists in Europe with faux job affords from Amazon. They might share faux job description pdfs, that are primarily previous, weak Dell drivers.
What makes this method notably harmful is the truth that these drivers aren’t malicious per se, and as such, usually are not flagged by antivirus options.
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By way of: BleepingComputer (opens in new tab)