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Weekly roundup · Mon 26 Oct – Sun 1 Nov

Exploited flaws hit WordPress, PHP, servers and network gear

This week brought a wave of fixes for flaws confirmed as exploited, including WordPress core, a PHP and Linux kernel chain, GitLab, Magento, Ivanti and Cisco. Anyone running WordPress or PHP sites, and agencies managing their own servers, VPNs or firewalls, should check their update status this week.

Key stories

  1. 1
    DOUBLE YELLOW FLAG

    WordPress core flaw allows remote takeover; update now, attacks seen

    A flaw in WordPress core lets attackers run code on the server during an update, and attempts were seen right after disclosure. You need to confirm your automatic update completed.

  2. 2
    RED FLAG

    Linux kernel flaw chained with PHP bugs lets attackers take over servers

    Chained with two earlier exploited PHP flaws, the Linux kernel bug can lead from a web shell to root-level commands. Anyone running PHP sites on Linux needs both updates.

  3. 3
    DOUBLE YELLOW FLAG

    Japan's government urges fast fix of PHP vulnerability; sites may be taken offline

    Japan's digital minister urged companies to apply the PHP fixes and consider taking sites offline if they cannot. The government stepping in shows how urgent this is.

  4. 4
    RED FLAG

    WordPress sites can be crashed via Brotli flaw in libcurl; patch the OS

    A single unauthenticated request to xmlrpc.php can crash WordPress workers, and exploitation is confirmed. The fix is updating libbrotli1 at the OS level.

  5. 5
    RED FLAG

    GitLab flaw lets outsiders run code on servers; exploited in the wild

    For self-hosted GitLab, an unauthenticated attacker can take over the server and expose source code. Exploitation is confirmed.

  6. 6
    RED FLAG

    Adobe Commerce and Magento flaw is being exploited; update now

    Magento and Adobe Commerce stores can be taken over through malicious file uploads, so prompt updating is needed.

Your checklist

  • Check in the WordPress dashboard that core is on a fixed version such as 7.1.4
  • Check your PHP version and update to a fixed release
  • Ask your hosting provider whether Linux kernel fixes are available
  • Look for unfamiliar files such as PHP web shells
  • Apply fixes to self-hosted GitLab, Magento, and Ivanti and Cisco devices
  • Check whether your WordPress plugins and themes have unfixed vulnerabilities

Summarised by AI from this week's 21 stories.