Palo Alto Networks security researchers have discovered a Linux-based cryptocurrency-mining botnet that being delivered via PostgreSQL.
Dubbed PGMiner, the botnet exploits a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in PostgreSQL to compromise database servers and then abuse them for mining for the Monero cryptocurrency. However, the malware attempts to connect to a mining pool that is no longer active.
An open source relational database management system (RDBMS) widely used in production environments, PostgreSQL has a “copy from program” feature that was labeled as a vulnerability (CVE-2019-9193), something that the PostgreSQL security team quickly disputed.
The newly discovered PGMiner, which is believed to be the first crypto-mining botnet delivered via PostgreSQL, targets that disputed vulnerability to propagate.
The attack begins with scans for PostgreSQL servers and attempts to brute-force the password for the user “postgres”, which is present by default on the database. Next, the malware leverages the “copy from program” feature to deploy coin-mining scripts.
Introduced in PostgreSQL 9.3 in 2013, the feature allows a superuser (either local or remote) to run shell scripts on the server. Controversial right from the start, the feature was assigned a CVE in 2019, but the PostgreSQL community challenged it, which resulted in the CVE being considered “disputed.”
The argument is that superuser privileges are required to use the feature and that it won’t be a risk if the access control and authentication system works as expected, but researchers fear that it opens PostgreSQL to remote exploitation and code execution directly on the server.
The malware was observed constantly reproducing itself through recursively downloading certain modules. Furthermore, the researchers identified similarities between the dropped crypto-miner and the SystemdMiner malware family.
On the infected ..
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