RE: AWSTATS Vulnerability!

Jeol,

I was just reading last night that the main phpBB site lost access to their
own servers through this little one!
If you search on the internet you will find loads of instances of people
getting hacked via this exploit!

cheers
Colin.W
 
Extension   5800
Direct dial   0870 429 5800


-----Original Message-----
From: Joel Cochran [mailto:jrc@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: 08 February 2005 12:49
To: Web
Subject: [WEB400] AWSTATS Vulnerability!


Hi All,

I just wanted to share an experience with you that we just went through.
Our Linux WebServer got hacked.  It isn't a Linux or Apache thing, but some
of the websites on that server use AWSTATS.  Apparently, there is a
vulnerability in AwStats versions 5.0 to 6.2, and only if you allow updates
from the web.

In a nut shell, the vulnerability allows the user to execute system commands
from an HTTP request.  This particular hack reads the Apache config file and
finds all the website root directories.  It only needs to find a single site
to exploit the vulnerability, so even other sites on the machine that do not
use AwStats will be affected!  It replaces all the index.* files with a
series of index files that look like this: http://www.twoguysthinking.com

And if that wasn't enough, it then deletes ALL files and directories in that
website directory tree that contain the letter combination "log". 
At first, I thought this meant just deleting the Apache log files, but then
I realized any graphics with the word "logo" in the name were gone.  Then
the real fun began: we host a number of BLOG sites.  Any web pages,
directories, program files, etc. with the term "blog" in their names were
also gone.  Needless to say, we had a great time fixing this little problem.

To patch the vulnerability, update AwStats to version 6.3 and/or dissallow
Update from the web by changing the AwStats config file.  If you are not
running AwStats or are running it but already do not allow update from the
web, then you should not be vulnerable.

Joel Cochran
http://www.rpgnext.com


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