Kitty Cryptocurrency Miner

An advanced cryptocurrency miner called Kitty has been observed exploiting the Drupal remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2018-7600), better known as Drupalgeddon 2.0.

Threat ID:: CC-2355
Category:: Ransomware
Threat Severity:: Medium
Threat Vector:: Exploit
Published:: 9 May 2018 12:00 AM

Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

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Summary

An advanced cryptocurrency miner called Kitty has been observed exploiting the Drupal remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2018-7600), better known as Drupalgeddon 2.0.

Threat details

CVE-2018-7600 is exploited to deliver a Bash script to the target device. This script will then install a PHP file called 'kdrupal' containing a Base 64 encoded backdoor as well as register a cronjob to maintain persistence. Once this is done a variant of the XMrig Monero miner, referred to as kkworker, is installed.

Alongside mining cryptocurrency directly on the compromised server, Kitty will also attempt to distribute another mining script called me0w.js to any hosts that connect to the server.

For further information:

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	CVE-2018-7600 has been rectified in later versions of Drupal Core. Users and administrators should update immediately using the links provided in Drupal's relevant security advisory. Additionally, to prevent and detect an infection ensure that: A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails. All operating systems, anti-virus and other security products are kept up-to-date. All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts. Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged. Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity. User accounts accessed from affected devices should be reset on a clean computer. Your organisation adopts a holistic all-round approach to Cyber Security as advocated by the 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

Type

Step

CVE-2018-7600 has been rectified in later versions of Drupal Core. Users and administrators should update immediately using the links provided in Drupal's relevant security advisory.

Additionally, to prevent and detect an infection ensure that:

A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails.
All operating systems, anti-virus and other security products are kept up-to-date.
All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged.
Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity.
User accounts accessed from affected devices should be reset on a clean computer.
Your organisation adopts a holistic all-round approach to Cyber Security as advocated by the 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

CVE Vulnerabilities

Status

CVE-2018-7600

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:46 pm