利用公开应用程序漏洞(T1190)是攻击者通过互联网-facing系统的软件缺陷获取初始访问权限的关键技术,涉及对Web服务、数据库、网络设备等的漏洞利用。传统防御依赖漏洞特征检测(如CVE匹配)、协议异常识别(如SQL注入模式)以及请求频率监控等手段,通过Web应用防火墙、入侵检测系统实施防护。
现有匿迹技术的核心在于构建漏洞利用的"合法化交互界面"。零日漏洞隐蔽利用通过未知攻击面绕过特征检测,形成防御真空期;加密C2通信链将攻击过程深度嵌入加密业务流,阻断内容层分析;分布式低强度攻击通过时空维度解构行为特征,规避阈值告警;协议合规化载荷注入则在语法与语义层面实现攻击流量与合法流量的不可区分性。四类技术的共性在于突破传统漏洞利用的"高噪声"特征,通过攻击面的精准控制、协议交互的深度模拟、执行环境的动态适配,将恶意行为转化为系统预期的"合法"操作流程,使得基于单点检测或静态规则的安全体系难以有效应对。
| 效应类型 | 是否存在 |
|---|---|
| 特征伪装 | ✅ |
| 行为透明 | ✅ |
| 数据遮蔽 | ✅ |
| 时空释痕 | ✅ |
攻击者通过协议合规化载荷构造和业务交互模拟,使漏洞利用流量在协议格式、交互时序、参数结构等维度与合法流量完全一致。例如将SQL注入语句嵌入符合数据库语法规范的嵌套查询,或利用应用程序预期的数据反序列化流程传递恶意对象,实现攻击流量的深度伪装。
零日漏洞的利用使得攻击过程完全规避已知特征检测机制,防御方缺乏有效检测签名。结合内存驻留技术,攻击在系统运行时层面不留痕迹,传统日志审计与文件扫描难以捕获攻击证据,形成"可见不可知"的透明化攻击效果。
加密C2通信链技术通过端到端加密和动态密钥管理,遮蔽漏洞利用载荷的传输内容与攻击链关联关系。即使防御方截获加密流量,也无法解析攻击指令与回传数据的实际内容,阻断基于流量内容分析的检测路径。
分布式低强度攻击将漏洞探测行为分散到全球节点并延长攻击周期,单次请求强度低于检测阈值,整体攻击特征被稀释在长时空维度的正常业务流量中。防御方难以通过局部流量分析或短期日志审计发现攻击规律。
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G1030 | Agrius |
Agrius exploits public-facing applications for initial access to victim environments. Examples include widespread attempts to exploit CVE-2018-13379 in FortiOS devices and SQL injection activity.[1] |
| G0007 | APT28 |
APT28 has used a variety of public exploits, including CVE 2020-0688 and CVE 2020-17144, to gain execution on vulnerable Microsoft Exchange; they have also conducted SQL injection attacks against external websites.[2][3] |
| G0016 | APT29 |
APT29 has exploited CVE-2019-19781 for Citrix, CVE-2019-11510 for Pulse Secure VPNs, CVE-2018-13379 for FortiGate VPNs, and CVE-2019-9670 in Zimbra software to gain access.[4][5] |
| G0087 | APT39 | |
| G0096 | APT41 |
APT41 exploited CVE-2020-10189 against Zoho ManageEngine Desktop Central through unsafe deserialization, and CVE-2019-19781 to compromise Citrix Application Delivery Controllers (ADC) and gateway devices.[7] APT41 leveraged vulnerabilities such as ProxyLogon exploitation or SQL injection for initial access.[8] APT41 exploited CVE-2021-26855 against a vulnerable Microsoft Exchange Server to gain initial access to the victim network.[9] |
| G1023 | APT5 |
APT5 has exploited vulnerabilities in externally facing software and devices including Pulse Secure VPNs and Citrix Application Delivery Controllers.[10][11][12] [13] |
| G0001 | Axiom |
Axiom has been observed using SQL injection to gain access to systems.[14][15] |
| G0135 | BackdoorDiplomacy |
BackdoorDiplomacy has exploited CVE-2020-5902, an F5 BIP-IP vulnerability, to drop a Linux backdoor. BackdoorDiplomacy has also exploited mis-configured Plesk servers.[16] |
| G0098 | BlackTech |
BlackTech has exploited a buffer overflow vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0, CVE-2017-7269, in order to establish a new HTTP or command and control (C2) server.[17] |
| G0108 | Blue Mockingbird |
Blue Mockingbird has gained initial access by exploiting CVE-2019-18935, a vulnerability within Telerik UI for ASP.NET AJAX.[18] |
| C0017 | C0017 |
During C0017, APT41 exploited CVE-2021-44207 in the USAHerds application and CVE-2021-44228 in Log4j, as well as other .NET deserialization, SQL injection, and directory traversal vulnerabilities to gain initial access.[19] |
| C0018 | C0018 |
During C0018, the threat actors exploited VMWare Horizon Unified Access Gateways that were vulnerable to several Log4Shell vulnerabilities, including CVE-2021-44228, CVE-2021-45046, CVE-2021-45105, and CVE-2021-44832.[20] |
| C0027 | C0027 |
During C0027, Scattered Spider exploited CVE-2021-35464 in the ForgeRock Open Access Management (OpenAM) application server to gain initial access.[21] |
| G1021 | Cinnamon Tempest |
Cinnamon Tempest has exploited multiple unpatched vulnerabilities for initial access including vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange, Manage Engine AdSelfService Plus, Confluence, and Log4j.[22][23][24][25] |
| S1105 | COATHANGER |
COATHANGER is installed following exploitation of a vulnerable FortiGate device. [26] |
| C0029 | Cutting Edge |
During Cutting Edge, threat actors exploited CVE-2023-46805 and CVE-2024-21887 in Ivanti Connect Secure VPN appliances to enable authentication bypass and command injection. A server-side request forgery (SSRF) vulnerability, CVE-2024-21893, was identified later and used to bypass mitigations for the initial two vulnerabilities by chaining with CVE-2024-21887.[27][28][29][30][31] |
| G0035 | Dragonfly |
Dragonfly has conducted SQL injection attacks, exploited vulnerabilities CVE-2019-19781 and CVE-2020-0688 for Citrix and MS Exchange, and CVE-2018-13379 for Fortinet VPNs.[32] |
| G1006 | Earth Lusca |
Earth Lusca has compromised victims by directly exploiting vulnerabilities of public-facing servers, including those associated with Microsoft Exchange and Oracle GlassFish.[33] |
| G1003 | Ember Bear |
Ember Bear gains initial access to victim environments by exploiting external-facing services. Examples include exploitation of CVE-2021-26084 in Confluence servers; CVE-2022-41040, ProxyShell, and other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange; and multiple vulnerabilities in open-source platforms such as content management systems.[34][35] |
| G1016 | FIN13 |
FIN13 has exploited known vulnerabilities such as CVE-2017-1000486 (Primefaces Application Expression Language Injection), CVE-2015-7450 (WebSphere Application Server SOAP Deserialization Exploit), CVE-2010-5326 (SAP NewWeaver Invoker Servlet Exploit), and EDB-ID-24963 (SAP NetWeaver ConfigServlet Remote Code Execution) to gain initial access.[36][37] |
| G0046 | FIN7 |
FIN7 has compromised targeted organizations through exploitation of CVE-2021-31207 in Exchange.[22] |
| G0117 | Fox Kitten |
Fox Kitten has exploited known vulnerabilities in Fortinet, PulseSecure, and Palo Alto VPN appliances.[38][39][40][41][42] |
| G0093 | GALLIUM |
GALLIUM exploited a publicly-facing servers including Wildfly/JBoss servers to gain access to the network.[43][44] |
| G0115 | GOLD SOUTHFIELD |
GOLD SOUTHFIELD has exploited Oracle WebLogic vulnerabilities for initial compromise.[45] |
| G0125 | HAFNIUM |
HAFNIUM has exploited CVE-2021-44228 in Log4j and CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26857, CVE-2021-26858, and CVE-2021-27065 to compromise on-premises versions of Microsoft Exchange Server.[46][47][48][49][23] |
| S0224 | Havij | |
| C0038 | HomeLand Justice |
For HomeLand Justice, threat actors exploited CVE-2019-0604 in Microsoft SharePoint for initial access.[51] |
| G1032 | INC Ransom |
INC Ransom has exploited known vulnerabilities including CVE-2023-3519 in Citrix NetScaler for initial access.[52][53] |
| G0004 | Ke3chang |
Ke3chang has compromised networks by exploiting Internet-facing applications, including vulnerable Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint servers.[54] |
| G0094 | Kimsuky |
Kimsuky has exploited various vulnerabilities for initial access, including Microsoft Exchange vulnerability CVE-2020-0688.[55] |
| G0059 | Magic Hound |
Magic Hound has exploited the Log4j utility (CVE-2021-44228), on-premises MS Exchange servers via "ProxyShell" (CVE-2021-34473, CVE-2021-34523, CVE-2021-31207), and Fortios SSL VPNs (CVE-2018-13379).[56][57][58][59][60][23] |
| G0045 | menuPass |
menuPass has leveraged vulnerabilities in Pulse Secure VPNs to hijack sessions.[61] |
| G1009 | Moses Staff |
Moses Staff has exploited known vulnerabilities in public-facing infrastructure such as Microsoft Exchange Servers.[62] |
| G0069 | MuddyWater |
MuddyWater has exploited the Microsoft Exchange memory corruption vulnerability (CVE-2020-0688).[63] |
| C0002 | Night Dragon |
During Night Dragon, threat actors used SQL injection exploits against extranet web servers to gain access.[64] |
| C0012 | Operation CuckooBees |
During Operation CuckooBees, the threat actors exploited multiple vulnerabilities in externally facing servers.[65] |
| C0014 | Operation Wocao |
During Operation Wocao, threat actors gained initial access by exploiting vulnerabilities in JBoss webservers.[66] |
| G1040 | Play |
Play has exploited known vulnerabilities for initial access including CVE-2018-13379 and CVE-2020-12812 in FortiOS and CVE-2022-41082 and CVE-2022-41040 ("ProxyNotShell") in Microsoft Exchange.[67][68] |
| G0106 | Rocke |
Rocke exploited Apache Struts, Oracle WebLogic (CVE-2017-10271), and Adobe ColdFusion (CVE-2017-3066) vulnerabilities to deliver malware.[69][70] |
| G0034 | Sandworm Team |
Sandworm Team exploits public-facing applications for initial access and to acquire infrastructure, such as exploitation of the EXIM mail transfer agent in Linux systems.[71][72] |
| S0623 | Siloscape |
Siloscape is executed after the attacker gains initial access to a Windows container using a known vulnerability.[73] |
| C0024 | SolarWinds Compromise |
During the SolarWinds Compromise, APT29 exploited CVE-2020-0688 against the Microsoft Exchange Control Panel to regain access to a network.[74][4] |
| S0516 | SoreFang |
SoreFang can gain access by exploiting a Sangfor SSL VPN vulnerability that allows for the placement and delivery of malicious update binaries.[75] |
| S0225 | sqlmap |
sqlmap can be used to automate exploitation of SQL injection vulnerabilities.[76] |
| G0027 | Threat Group-3390 |
Threat Group-3390 has exploited the Microsoft SharePoint vulnerability CVE-2019-0604 and CVE-2021-26855, CVE-2021-26857, CVE-2021-26858, and CVE-2021-27065 in Exchange Server.[77] |
| G1022 | ToddyCat |
ToddyCat has exploited the ProxyLogon vulnerability (CVE-2021-26855) to compromise Exchange Servers at multiple organizations.[78] |
| C0039 | Versa Director Zero Day Exploitation |
Versa Director Zero Day Exploitation involved exploitation of a vulnerability in Versa Director servers, since identified as CVE-2024-39717, for initial access and code execution.[79] |
| G0123 | Volatile Cedar |
Volatile Cedar has targeted publicly facing web servers, with both automatic and manual vulnerability discovery.[80] [81] |
| G1017 | Volt Typhoon |
Volt Typhoon has gained initial access through exploitation of multiple vulnerabilities in internet-facing software and appliances such as Fortinet, Ivanti (formerly Pulse Secure), NETGEAR, Citrix, and Cisco.[82][83] |
| G1035 | Winter Vivern |
Winter Vivern has exploited known and zero-day vulnerabilities in software usch as Roundcube Webmail servers and the "Follina" vulnerability.[84][85] |
| S0412 | ZxShell |
ZxShell has been dropped through exploitation of CVE-2011-2462, CVE-2013-3163, and CVE-2014-0322.[86] |
| ID | Mitigation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| M1048 | Application Isolation and Sandboxing |
Application isolation will limit what other processes and system features the exploited target can access. |
| M1050 | Exploit Protection |
Web Application Firewalls may be used to limit exposure of applications to prevent exploit traffic from reaching the application. |
| M1030 | Network Segmentation |
Segment externally facing servers and services from the rest of the network with a DMZ or on separate hosting infrastructure. |
| M1026 | Privileged Account Management |
Use least privilege for service accounts will limit what permissions the exploited process gets on the rest of the system. |
| M1051 | Update Software |
Update software regularly by employing patch management for externally exposed applications. |
| M1016 | Vulnerability Scanning |
Regularly scan externally facing systems for vulnerabilities and establish procedures to rapidly patch systems when critical vulnerabilities are discovered through scanning and through public disclosure.[87] |
| ID | Data Source | Data Component | Detects |
|---|---|---|---|
| DS0015 | Application Log | Application Log Content |
Detecting software exploitation may be difficult depending on the tools available. Software exploits may not always succeed or may cause the exploited process to become unstable or crash. Web Application Firewalls may detect improper inputs attempting exploitation. Web server logs (e.g., |
| DS0029 | Network Traffic | Network Traffic Content |
Use deep packet inspection to look for artifacts of common exploit traffic, such as SQL injection strings or known payloads. For example, monitor for successively chained functions that adversaries commonly abuse (i.e. gadget chaining) through unsafe deserialization to exploit publicly facing applications for initial access.[88] In AWS environments, monitor VPC flow logs and/or Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) logs going to and from instances hosting externally accessible applications. |