Analysis Summary

A zero-day vulnerability that was used in campaigns to propagate QakBot and other malware payloads on susceptible Windows systems has been patched by Microsoft.

This privilege escalation flaw tracked as CVE-2024-30051 is brought on by a heap-based buffer overflow in the core library of the Desktop Window Manager (DWM). After an attack is successful, the attacker can obtain SYSTEM privileges.

In Windows Vista, the Desktop Window Manager Windows service was added, enabling the OS to render graphical user interface elements like glass window frames and 3D transition animations using hardware acceleration. While looking into another Windows DWM Core Library privilege escalation flaw, listed as CVE-2023-36033 and also used as a zero-day attack, security researchers came upon this vulnerability.

As they were going through information about current exploits and related assaults, they came across a curious file that was posted to VirusTotal on April 1, 2024. The file's name suggested that information about a Windows vulnerability was stored within. They discovered that, despite describing a different vulnerability, the file contained information (in broken English) about a Windows Desktop Window Manager (DWM) vulnerability that could be used to escalate privileges to SYSTEM. The outlined exploitation processing perfectly mirrored the one used in the CVE-2023-36033 attacks.

The researchers verified the presence of a new zero-day privilege escalation vulnerability in the Windows DWM Core Library, despite the document's poor quality and some omissions regarding how the vulnerability may be exploited. During this month's Patch Tuesday, Microsoft fixed the vulnerability and assigned it the CVE-2024-30051 CVE ID. The researchers started actively monitoring the statistics in search of exploits and attacks that take advantage of this zero-day vulnerability after providing Microsoft with their findings. In mid-April, they found an exploit for this zero-day vulnerability. It may be in the hands of several threat actors because the researchers have observed it being deployed in conjunction with QakBot and other malware.

To perpetrate financial crime, QakBot, also known as QBot, began as a banking trojan in 2008 and was used to steal credit cards, website cookies, and banking credentials. As it developed, QakBot became a malware distribution network, collaborating with other threat groups to grant first access to residential and business networks to conduct ransomware attacks, espionage, or data theft. Although its infrastructure was taken down in August 2023 as part of a global law enforcement investigation coordinated by the FBI and dubbed investigation "Duck Hunt," the malware reappeared in December through phishing efforts aimed at the hotel sector.

Law authorities connected QakBot to at least 40 ransomware attacks that affected businesses, government organizations, and healthcare organizations globally. These assaults, by conservative estimates, resulted in damage of hundreds of millions of dollars. Over the years, several ransomware gangs and their affiliates, such as Conti, ProLock, Egregor, REvil, RansomExx, MegaCortex, and, most recently, Black Basta, used QakBot as their initial vector of infection.

Impact

• Privilege Escalation
• Buffer Overflow
• Financial Loss
• Sensitive Data Theft

Indicators of Compromise

CVE

• CVE-2024-30051

Affected Vendors

Remediation

• Use Microsoft Automatic Update to apply the appropriate patch for your system, or the Microsoft Security Update Guide to search for available patches.
• Use strong, unique passwords for sensitive accounts. Regularly change passwords for all accounts.
• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all accounts to add an extra layer of security to login processes.
• Organizations need to stay vigilant and follow best practices for cybersecurity to protect their systems and data from potential threats. This includes regularly updating software and implementing strong access controls and monitoring tools.
• Develop a comprehensive incident response plan to respond effectively in case of a security breach or data leakage.
• Maintain regular backups of critical data and systems to ensure data recovery in case of a security incident.
• Adhere to security best practices, including the principle of least privilege, and ensure that users and applications have only the necessary permissions.
• Establish a robust patch management process to ensure that security patches are evaluated, tested, and applied promptly.
• Conduct security audits and assessments to evaluate the overall security posture of your systems and networks.
• Implement network segmentation to contain and isolate potential threats to limit their impact on critical systems.
• Never trust or open links and attachments received from unknown sources/senders
• Improve communication with customers by providing timely and transparent updates about data breaches, including what information was compromised and the steps being taken to mitigate the impact.
• Ensure that all vendors and third-party partners adhere to stringent security protocols and regularly assess their cybersecurity practices to minimize the risk of data breaches originating from external sources.
• Provide affected customers with comprehensive support, including credit monitoring services, identity theft detection, and resolution assistance, to help mitigate the potential consequences of the breach.