KARACHI: A security alert has been issued for WordPress based sites after reports that a new Linux Malware has been exploiting over two dozens CMS flaws.
Experts say WordPress sites are being targeted by a previously unknown strain of Linux malware that exploits flaws in over two dozen plugins and themes to compromise vulnerable systems.
“If sites use outdated versions of such add-ons, lacking crucial fixes, the targeted web pages are injected with malicious JavaScripts,” Russian security vendor Doctor Web said in a report published last week. “As a result, when users click on any area of an attacked page, they are redirected to other sites.”
The attacks involve weaponizing a list of known security vulnerabilities in 19 different plugins and themes that are likely installed on a WordPress site, using it to deploy an implant that can target a specific website to further expand the network.
It’s also capable of injecting JavaScript code retrieved from a remote server in order to redirect the site visitors to an arbitrary website of the attacker’s choice.
Doctor Web said it identified a second version of the backdoor, which uses a new command-and-control (C2) domain as well as an updated list of flaws spanning 11 additional plugins, taking the total to 30.
