Hackercool Magazine

Researchers at Elastic Security Labs have identified a novel attack technique being used by hackers in the wild that exploitd Microsoft Management Console in Windows to evade defenses and gain access. Elastic Security Labs have codenamed this technique “Grim Resource”. In this month’s Issue, our readers will learn about this attack technique in detail. What is Microsoft Management Console? Microsoft Management Console (MMC) is a component present by default in Microsoft Windows that provides system administrators an interface for configuring and monitoring of systems. It was first introduced in 1998 with the option pack for windows NT 4.0 but later came pre-installed with Windows 2000 and its successors. It is usually used for administration of the Windows systems. Examples of popular mmc files are “Computer Management” and “Group Policy Editor”. What are Snap-Ins? Snap-Ins are…

Google has unveiled new privacy and security features coming to Android 15. Let’s take a look at the innovations in the upcoming operating system update. New Security and Privacy Features in Android 15 At the recent I/O 2024 developer conference in California, Google presented the second beta version of its Android 15 operating system — codenamed Vanilla Ice Cream. The company also gave us a closer look at the new security and privacy features coming with the update. While the final release of Android 15 is still a few months away — slated for the third quarter of 2024 — we can already explore the new security features this operating system has in store for Android users. Al-Powered Smartphone Theft Protection The most significant security upgrade is a suite of new features designed to protect…

In this month’s vulnerability for beginners, keeping in line with the latest trends of vulnerabilities being detected in processors and components of processors, researchers of supply chain security firm Eclypsium disclosed a vulnerability with a reported CVSS rating of 7.5 in the UEFI firmware designed by Phoenix Technologies. Where is this firmware used? This firmware runs on multiple families of Intel Core Desktop and mobile processors. Now, you can pay with Direct Bank transfer and cards along with PayPal while renewing or subscribing to Hackercool Magazine What is the actual vulnerability? The vulnerability is a buffer overflow vulnerability due to use of an unsafe variable in the Trusted platform Module (TPM) configuration. A trusted platform module is a physical or embedded security technology that is used to store critical information on PC’s to enable platform…

Recently two security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in open source mail server called MailCow mail server. Mail Cow is a Docker based email server. Where it is used? MailCow, like any other mail server is used inside the network of organizations who prefer their own mail server. This is used to send and receive emails. What are the vulnerabilities? Two vulnerabilities were disclosed in all versions of MailCow mail server prior to version 2024-04. This version was released on April 4, 2024. But the vulnerabilities are rated moderate. Let’s learn about each of them. 1)CVE-2024-30270 (CVSS score: 6.7) This is a directory traversal vulnerability that could result in the execution of arbitrary commands on the mail server by the attackers. 2) CVE-2024-31 204 (CVSS score: 6.8) This is a Cross Site Scripting vulnerability via the exception handling mechanism…

Kevin Saric Computer Scientist & Mechatronic Engineer, CSIRO Our latest research has found that clickable links on websites can often be redirected to malicious destinations. We call these “hijackable hyperlinks” and have found them by the millions across the whole of the web, including on trusted websites. Our paper, published at the 2024 Wb Conference, shows that cybersecurity threats on the web can be exploited at a drastically greater scale than previously thought. Concerningly, we found these hijackable hyperlinks on the websites of large companies, religious organisations, financial firms and even governments. The hyperlinks on these websites can be hijacked without triggering any alarms. Only vigilant – some might say paranoid – users would avoid falling into these traps. If we were able to find these vulnerabilities across the web, so can others. Here’s what…

Introduction to Kali Linux Kali Linux is a Linux distribution operating system that is used among cyber security professiols, ethical hackers, and penetration testers. Kali Linux, developed and maintained by Offensive Security is a Debian distribution and it is termed the most widely used because it has the largest collection of tools that are used to perform a variety of information security tasks, from Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing to Digital Forensics and Reverse Engineering. What sets Kali Linux apart, however, is that it is oriented to offer a very robust security-testing platform. It comes preloaded with hundreds of tools, so this is the one-stop shop for any professional charged with the duty to secure a network or system. What makes Kali Linux such an extremely valuable tool is its ability to…