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Exploit Public-Facing Application
Sub-techniques (7)
MITRE ATT&CK Content
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a software bug, a temporary glitch, or a misconfiguration.
Exploited applications are often websites/web servers, but can also include databases (like SQL), standard services (like SMB or SSH), network device administration and management protocols (like SNMP and Smart Install), and any other system with Internet-accessible open sockets. On ESXi infrastructure, adversaries may exploit exposed OpenSLP services; they may alternatively exploit exposed VMware vCenter servers. Depending on the flaw being exploited, this may also involve Exploitation for Defense Evasion [MITRE] or Exploitation for Client Execution [MITRE] .
If an application is hosted on cloud-based infrastructure and/or is containerized, then exploiting it may lead to compromise of the underlying instance or container. This can allow an adversary a path to access the cloud or container APIs (e.g., via the Cloud Instance Metadata API [MITRE] ), exploit container host access via Escape to Host [MITRE] , or take advantage of weak identity and access management policies.
Adversaries may also exploit edge network infrastructure and related appliances, specifically targeting devices that do not support robust host-based defenses.
For websites and databases, the OWASP top 10 and CWE top 25 highlight the most common web-based vulnerabilities.
Detection
| ID | Data Source | Data Component | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| DS0015 | Application Log | Application Log Content | Detecting software exploitation may be difficult depending on the tools available. Software exploits may not always succeed or may cause the exploited process to become unstable or crsash. Web Application Firewalls may detect improper iputs attempting exploitation. Web Application Firewalls may detect improper inputs attempting exploitation. Web server logs (e.g., /var/log/httpd or /var/log/apache for Apache web servers on Linux) may also record evidence of exploitation. |
| DS0029 | Network Traffic | Network Traffic Content | Use deep packet inspection to look for artifacts of common exploit traffic, such as SQL injection strings or known payloads. For example, monitor ofr successively chained functions that adversaries commonly abuse (i.e. gadget chaining) through unsafe deserialization to exploit publicly facing application for initial access. In AWS environments, monitor VPC flow logs and/or Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) logs going to and from instances hosting externally accessible applications. |