• Articles
    • Editorial Articles
    • Research Articles
    • WatchGuard Articles
  • The 443 Podcast
  • Threat Landscape
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Contribute to Secplicity

Secplicity - Security Simplified

Powered by WatchGuard Technologies

Vulnerabilities in Multiple Vendors’ VPN Solutions

October 4, 2019 By Emil Hozan

On October 2, 2019, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) released a notice stating that Pulse Secure, Palo Alto, and Fortinet’s SSL VPN solutions are vulnerable. These vulnerabilities consist of retrieving arbitrary files, some including authentication credentials, as well as post-auth command injection. Unauthorized access into any network is a huge alarm and could allow second-stage attacks.

It is advised that customers investigate their logs for indicators of compromise, especially if the software wasn’t patched right away. Things to look for in the logs are unknown IP address and odd connection times. If users work from home, verifying their IP address is a start, but administrators should also look at all the IPs used to initiate connections. Of course, be sure to have all users change their passwords to error on the side of caution!

The NCSC’s post provided some data to look for in any available logs, granted logging was enabled and stored. For Pulse Connect Secure, NCSC suggests looking for logs containing “/dana/html5acc/guacamole/”. Fortigate doesn’t log web requests by default (which is a big deal when it comes to analysis; make sure to log relevant events!) but if administrators enabled logging, searching for file downloads of about 200 KB or so is suggested. The file is the sslvpn_websession file which contains active users’ usernames and passwords. As for Palo Alto, log detections have proven difficult, but it is suggested to look for any crash logs, which could be a sign of failed exploits.

 

Summary of Key Takeaways

Make sure logging is enabled and stored for a sufficient amount of time, should there be a need for analysis. There is no single answer for how long to store logs for, but 90 days is a start. Remember, compromises aren’t noticed right away. In fact, some organizations may never realize this! Some have taken more than 100 days to become aware. If you have a dedicated log analyst, then the detection rate may be faster. Proper training is key here as well as investigative work.

WatchGuard’s SSL VPN solution allows incorporation of AuthPoint, a multi-factor authentication (MFA) solution. Consider enabling MFA for any and all corporate logins, as lost passwords are useless without approval from the MFA solution. That said, get an MFA solution!

Lastly, after further investigation, make sure to wipe devices if needed. It’s better to wipe and restore from backups than continue on uncertain of the extent of the damages incurred. You are backing up, right?

Share This:

Related

Filed Under: Editorial Articles Tagged With: Mobile VPN, SSL VPN, SSL VPN Appliance, VPN

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The 443 Podcast

A weekly podcast featuring the leading white-hat hackers and security researchers. Listen Now
the 443 podcast

Threat Landscape

Filter and view Firebox Feed data by type of attack, region, country, and date range. View Now
threat landscape

Top Posts

  • Cybersecurity News: Free Cybersecurity Training, TrickBot Group Exposed, Major GoDaddy Breach, and Russia to Legalize cybercrime?!
  • US National Cybersecurity Strategy
  • Here Come The Regulations
  • Cybersecurity’s Toll on Mental Health

Email Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest security news and threat analysis delivered straight to your inbox

By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy.


The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of WatchGuard Technologies.

Stay in Touch

Recent Posts

  • Cybersecurity News: LastPass Incident Revealed, White House Issues Cybersecurity Strategy, FBI Purchases Leaked USHOR PII Data, and a Slew of Other Breaches
  • An Update on Section 230
  • Here Come The Regulations
  • US National Cybersecurity Strategy
  • Cybersecurity News: Free Cybersecurity Training, TrickBot Group Exposed, Major GoDaddy Breach, and Russia to Legalize cybercrime?!
View All

Search

Archives

Copyright © 2023 WatchGuard Technologies · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use