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STEALIEN Presents

STEALIENEWS
Week -2 November 15th 2021 Issue #0211

Back-to-Back PlayStation 5
Hacks Hit on the Same Day

Cyberattackers stole PS5 root keys and exploited


the kernel, revealing rampant insecurity in gaming
devices.

In a subsequent tweet, the group claimed that “Hackers may have just made
BY: STEALIEN INDONESIA it “…got all (symmetric) ps5 root keys.” some big strides towards
FlailOverflow wrote, possibly jailbreaking the
A pair of PlayStation 5 breaches shows the “They can all be obtained from PlayStation 5 over the
consoles don’t have protection from attackers software — including per-console weekend,”
taking over its most basic functions. root key, if you look hard enough!” Schneier wrote about the breaches.
Both exploits were posted on Twitter on Nov. 7
without disclosure to Sony or specifics, but they
The message is practically a dare for other “Decrypted firmware which is
would-be hackers to try to access decrypted
nonetheless signal potential security problems to firmware files for themselves.
possible through
come for the gaming giant. PS5 Kernel Exploit FailOverFlow’s keys, would
FailOverFlow, which has already earned a The second hack was also posted on Twitter potentially allow for hackers to
reputation as a prolific PlayStation jailbreaker on Nov. 7 by Google security engineer Andy
group, posted a Nov. 7 tweet which appeared to further reverse-engineer the
Nguyen, who is also known widely in hacker
contain the PS5 firmware symmetric root keys: circles as TheFlow. He was apparently able to
PS5 software and potentially
access the PlayStation 5 “Debug Settings” develop the sorts of hacks that
menu, indicating he has a PS5 kernel exploit. allowed for things like installing
Wolo, which first reported on both breaches, Linux, emulators or even
pointed out this menu is typically only
on testkit devices and allows quality assurance pirated games on past Sony
and development teams to install package files consoles.”
on the Sony PlayStation 5. Schneier added that he doesn’t think
“But it can be enabled on retail consoles by a hack-proof computer system will ever
patching some flags, located at specific be a reality.
addresses in the firmware at Runtime,” “Especially when the system is
according to Wololo’s the Guardian.
Is Securing the PS5 Even Possible?
physically in the hands of the
Both breaches put threat actors well on their hackers,” Schneier said. “The
way to installing pirated games, running Sony Playstation 5 is the latest
emulators and more, according to public- example.”
interest technologist Bruce Schneier.

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Monday November 15, 2021 STEALIENEWS Issue #0211

Few Technical Details, Many Affected


Products
While Citrix didn’t release technical details
on the latest bugs, VulnDB noted on
Wednesday that for CVE-2021-22955, “the
exploitability is told to be difficult. The
attack can only be initiated within the local
network. The exploitation doesn’t require any
form of authentication.” It assigned a severity
score of 5.1 out of 10 to the bug, despite
Citrix’ internal rating of “critical.”
The site also reported that exploits are
calculated to be worth up to $5,000, and
noted that “manipulation with an unknown
input leads to a denial of service
vulnerability…This is going to have an
impact on availability.”

Critical Citrix DDoS Bug Shuts


The vendor said the vulnerabilities affect the
following supported versions:
Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway (CVE-2021-

Down Network, Cloud App 22955 and CVE-2021-22956):


 Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway 13.0
before 13.0-83.27

Access  Citrix ADC and Citrix Gateway 12.1


before 12.1-63.22
The distributed computing vendor patched the flaw, Tracked as CVE-2021-22956, the second  Citrix ADC and NetScaler Gateway
affecting Citrix ADC and Gateway, along with flaw allows temporary disruption of: a 11.1 before 11.1-65.23
another flaw impacting availability for SD-WAN  Citrix ADC 12.1-FIPS before 12.1-
appliances. device’s management GUI; the Nitro API for
configuring and monitoring NetScaler 55.257
appliances programmatically; and remote Citrix SD-WAN WANOP Edition (CVE-
BY: STEALIEN INDONESIA procedure call (RPC) communication, which 2021-22956):
is what essentially enables distributed  Models 4000-WO, 4100-WO, 5000-
computing in Citrix settings. WO and 5100-WO
A critical security bug in the Citrix  Version 11.4 before 11.4.2
Application Delivery Controller (ADC) and In terms of the impact of exploitation, all  Version 10.2 before 10.2.9c
Citrix Gateway could allow cyberattackers three products are widely deployed globally,  The WANOP feature of SD-WAN
to crash entire corporate networks without with Gateway and ADC alone installed in at Premium Edition is not impacted.
needing to authenticate. least 80,000 companies in 158 countries as of In the case of the first Citrix ADC and
The two affected Citrix products (formerly early 2020, according to an assessment from Gateway bug, appliances must be configured
the NetScaler ADC and Gateway) are used Positive Technologies at the time. as a VPN or AAA virtual server in order to
for application-aware traffic management be vulnerable.
and secure remote access, respectively. The Disruption to any of the appliances could In the case of the second bug, appliances
federated working specialist pushed out a prevent remote and branch access to must have access to NSIP or SNIP with
security patch on Tuesday for the corporate resources and general blocking of management interface access.
vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-22955, cloud and virtual assets and apps. Customers using Citrix-managed cloud
which allows unauthenticated denial of services are unaffected.
service (DoS), due to uncontrolled resource All of this makes them an attractive target for
consumption, according to the advisory. cybercriminals, and indeed, the Citrix ADC
Citrix also addressed a lower-severity bug and Gateway in particular are no spring
that is likewise due to uncontrolled resource chickens when it comes to the critical
consumption. It impacts both previous vulnerability scene.
products, as well as the Citrix SD-WAN
WANOP Edition appliance. The latter In the summer of 2020, multiple
provides optimization for Citrix SD-WAN vulnerabilities were discovered that would
deployments, which enable secure allow code injection, information disclosure
connectivity and seamless access to virtual, and denial of service, with many exploitable
cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) apps by an unauthenticated, remote attacker. And,
across enterprise and branch locations. in December of 2019, a critical RCE bug was
disclosed as a zero-day that took the vendor
weeks to patch.

IT SECURITY TIPS What makes social engineering so dangerous • Do not open any emails from untrusted
is that it preys on human error, much more of sources. Sound advice under any
a wild card—and much harder to track—than circumstances.
Social engineering refers to a broad taking advantage of vulnerabilities in software
and operating systems. • If an offer seems too good to be true,
spectrum of malicious activities using
assume it is.
psychological manipulation to trick users Social Engineering bad guys try to get at users
into giving away sensitive information. through human psychology and preying on • Lock your laptop whenever you are away
Perpetrators are particularly patient, curiosity. It’s important to go into all cyber- from your workstation.
waiting in the weeds, collecting data and situations with your eyes wide open because
background information on their intended only the users and employees can counter • Make sure your antivirus/malware software
victims. these attacks. is up to date.
Then they gain the victim’s trust and Here are several tips employees can keep in • Be vigilant about cyber security.
provide seemingly harmless reasons for mind to protect themselves (and your
their victims to give up sensitive business):
information.

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Monday November 15, 2021 STEALIENEWS Issue #0211

Indonesia religious council says


crypto trading forbidden for
Muslims Visualization of world’s largest capital market of
cryptocurrency, Bitcoin

BY STEALIEN INDONESIA BIG NUMBER Crypto transactions amounted to 370 trillion


232.3 million. That’s the approximate number rupiah ($26 billion) in the first five months of
of Muslims in Indonesia, where nearly nine in the year in Indonesia, still a fraction of the
ten of its population is Muslim, according to global market at around $3 trillion.
The Indonesian Ulema Council, a top body of the U.S. Department of State. Indonesia has The stance of Indonesia’s religious leaders
Islamic scholars, said Thursday the world’s fourth-largest population and the may diverge from their counterparts in other
cryptocurrency as a means of payment and a 10th largest economy by purchasing power Muslim-majority countries. The United Arab
commodity to trade is unlawful for Muslims parity, according to the World Bank. Emirates have allowed crypto trading in
in that country that has the world’s largest CONTRA Dubai’s free zone, while Bahrain have backed
Muslim population, according to multiple Other predominantly Muslim countries crypto assets since 2019.
reports, a ruling that could affect Muslims’ support cryptocurrency. In September, the The Ulema Council advises the country’s
financial decisions in that country though the United Arab Emirates’ financial regulators finance ministry and central bank on Islamic
council does not have legal powers. agreed to offer the trading of digital tokens in finance issues. It comprises many Indonesian
According to Fortune, the council advises Dubai’s free zone. In 2019, Bahrain became Muslim groups including Nahdlatul Ulama
Indonesia's government, including its finance the first Arab country to issue rules on crypto (NU), Muhammadiyah, and smaller groups
ministry, on finance and banking matters for and has since backed crypto. such as Syarikat Islam, Perti, Al Washliyah,
Muslims—around 87% of Indonesians follow KEY BACKGROUND Mathla’ul Anwar, GUPPI, PTDI, DMI, and
Islam. Though the council’s decree has no legal Al Ittihadiyyah.
The council’s head of religious decrees, authority, it could affect Muslims’ decisions The MUI decree is not legally binding and
Asrorun Niam Sholeh, said crypto has on spending and investing their money. The does not mean cryptocurrency is banned in
elements of uncertainty and harm, which council’s presence in Indonesia’s financial Indonesia. However, it could deter Muslims
forbids it as a payment option under Sharia sector has increased after the passage of a law from investing and local institutions from
law, Reuters reports. on Sharia Banking. Under that law, issuing or providing services in crypto assets.
Asrorun added the use of digital tokens as a Indonesian financial institutions are mandated In October, a provincial branch of one of the
commodity to trade is also forbidden, citing to have a division that abides by Islamic law, largest Islamic organizations in Indonesia,
their lack of a clear value and physical according to the East Asia Forum. Nahdlatul Ulama, similarly declared
structure. While the decision from MUI doesn’t mean cryptocurrency haram under religious law.
Crypto is traded and invested in Indonesia’s all cryptocurrency trading will be stopped in However, the Indonesian government has
commodities and futures market. Indonesia, the decree could deter Muslims indicated that the country will not impose an
Asrorun left room for change, saying the from investing in the assets and make local outright ban on cryptocurrency as China did.
council could approve cryptocurrency if institutions reconsider issuing crypto assets. Crypto assets are allowed to trade alongside
modifications are made to comply with Sharia Bank Indonesia has been mulling a central commodity futures in Indonesia but cannot be
law, according to Bloomberg. bank digital currency, with no decision used as a currency. Meanwhile, the
Total crypto transactions in Indonesia totaled announced as yet. government is pushing to set up a crypto
370 trillion rupiah, or $25.96 billion, between exchange by the end of the year and Bank
January and May this year, according to Indonesia has been exploring a central bank
Indonesia’s trade ministry. digital currency (CBDC).

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