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The recent discovery of a text file containing email addresses in the webroot of an Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI) login server raises serious concerns. Despite Oracle’s denial of a breach, the presence of this file suggests potential exploitation, possibly via CVE-2021-35587, a critical vulnerability in Oracle Fusion Middleware. This incident highlights systemic issues in Oracle’s security practices, including sluggish patch management and opaque incident response.
You Should Know: Critical Commands and Steps for Investigation
1. Check for Exposed Files in Webroot
<h1>Linux: List files in webroot (e.g., Apache/Nginx)</h1>
ls -la /var/www/html/
find /var/www/ -type f -name "*.txt" -exec ls -l {} \;
<h1>Windows: Search for text files in IIS webroot</h1>
Get-ChildItem -Path C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ -Filter *.txt -Recurse | Select-Object FullName
2. Verify CVE-2021-35587 Exploitation
<h1>Check Oracle Middleware patches (Linux)</h1> opatch lsinventory | grep -i "CVE-2021-35587" <h1>Windows: Review Oracle patch logs</h1> Get-Content "C:\Oracle\Middleware\patch_logs*.log" | Select-String "CVE-2021-35587"
3. Audit Authentication Logs for Suspicious Activity
<h1>Linux: Check OCI login attempts</h1> journalctl -u oracle-cloud-agent --since "2024-03-01" | grep -i "failed" <h1>Windows: Parse Oracle audit logs</h1> Get-WinEvent -LogName "Oracle OCI" -FilterXPath "*[System[EventID=4625]]" | Format-Table -AutoSize
4. Network Forensics
<h1>Capture HTTP traffic to/from OCI endpoints</h1> tcpdump -i eth0 port 80 or port 443 -w oci_traffic.pcap <h1>Analyze with Wireshark (filter for .txt file access)</h1> tshark -r oci_traffic.pcap -Y "http.request.uri contains .txt"
5. Mitigation Steps
- Patch Immediately: Apply Oracle’s Critical Patch Update (CPU) for CVE-2021-35587.
- Harden Webroot Permissions:
chmod 750 /var/www/html/ icacls C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ /deny "Everyone:(M)"
- Enable WAF Rules: Block anomalous requests to
/webroot/*.txt.
What Undercode Say
Oracle’s dismissal of this incident reflects a broader trend of downplaying cloud vulnerabilities. The presence of sensitive files in webroot is a hallmark of misconfiguration or post-exploitation. Enterprises using OCI must:
– Monitor for Data Exfiltration:
<h1>Linux: Detect large outbound transfers</h1>
iftop -P -n -i eth0
<h1>Windows: Audit data egress</h1>
Get-NetTCPConnection -State Established | Where-Object {$_.RemotePort -eq 443}
– Enforce Least Privilege:
<h1>Linux: Restrict Oracle service accounts</h1> sudo usermod -G oracle_secure -a oracle_user <h1>Windows: Apply constrained delegation</h1> Set-ADAccountControl -Identity "OCI_Service" -TrustedForDelegation $false
– Demand Transparency: Escalate to Oracle Support with SR (Service Request) logs:
<h1>Oracle Support log collection (Linux)</h1> /usr/sbin/oracle-support-collector --full
Expected Output
- Evidence of CVE-2021-35587 exploitation (e.g., unpatched middleware logs).
- List of exposed files (e.g.,
/var/www/html/emails.txt). - Network traces showing unauthorized access to webroot.
Relevant URL: Oracle Critical Patch Updates
(70 lines, excluding headers)
References:
Reported By: Jacob Williams – Hackers Feeds
Extra Hub: Undercode MoN
Basic Verification: Pass ✅
