Kaspersky website suffers SQL vulnerability

Hackers gain access to tables, no user data stolen.

A security flaw in a local website of security firm

Kaspersky Lab

was spotted by hackers over the weekend, with an SQL infection attack potentially leading to exposure of customer details. No details were in fact extracted from the vulnerable databases, and the flaw was quickly corrected, according to

Kaspersky

.

The flaw affected the support area of the security firm’s US website. Hackers posted details of their coup online after giving

Kaspersky

a brief warning of the issue, but some confusion over the severity of the flaw was apparent in initial reports. The hackers claimed to have acted ethically, merely proving the viability of exploitation before passing on details, and it was also suggested that the vulnerability remained unfixed for several days. However, later reports from

Kaspersky

imply that attempts to gather sensitive data were made, and failed, prior to notification being sent, and that the hole was blocked within hours.

The initial disclosure of the flaw is

here

, with rebuttal and clarification from

Kaspersky

analysts involved in the cleanup

here

, and a string of reports in

The Register


here

,

here

and

here

.

Posted on 10 February 2009 by

Virus Bulletin