Nation-state hackers exploit Cisco firewall 0-days to backdoor government networks

Hackers backed by a powerful nation-state have been exploiting two zero-day vulnerabilities in Cisco firewalls in a five-month-long campaign that breaks into government networks around the world, researchers reported Wednesday.

The attacks against Cisco’s Adaptive Security Appliances firewalls are the latest in a rash of network compromises that target firewalls, VPNs, and network-perimeter devices, which are designed to provide a moated gate of sorts that keeps remote hackers out. Over the past 18 months, threat actors—mainly backed by the Chinese government—have turned this security paradigm on its head in attacks that exploit previously unknown vulnerabilities in security appliances from the likes of Ivanti, Atlassian, Citrix, and Progress. These devices are ideal targets because they sit at the edge of a network, provide a direct pipeline to its most sensitive resources, and interact with virtually all incoming communications.

Cisco ASA likely one of several targets

On Wednesday, it was Cisco’s turn to warn that its ASA products have received such treatment. Since November, a previously unknown actor tracked as UAT4356 by Cisco and STORM-1849 by Microsoft has been exploiting two zero-days in attacks that go on to install two pieces of never-before-seen malware, researchers with Cisco’s Talos security team said. Notable traits in the attacks include: