Cox Enterprises Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (COX53102453112425)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the Cox Enterprises breach identified under incident ID COX53102453112425.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of Cox Enterprises's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cox-automotive-inc-, the number of followers: 122740, the industry type: Technology, Information and Media and the number of employees: 34920 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 774 and after the incident was 774 with a difference of 0 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on Cox Enterprises and their customers.

On 30 September 2025, Cox Enterprises disclosed Data Breach, Zero-Day Exploit and Ransomware Attack issues under the banner "The Silent Siege: Cox Enterprises’ Oracle Breach and the Shadowy World of Zero-Day Exploits".

Cox Enterprises, a U.S.

The disruption is felt across the environment, affecting Oracle E-Business Suite, ERP Systems and Databases, and exposing Names, Addresses and Dates of Birth, with nearly 9,479 individuals records at risk.

In response, teams activated the incident response plan, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Patch application (Oracle emergency patch on 2025-10-04) and Network segmentation (assumed), and began remediation that includes Free credit monitoring for affected individuals and Ongoing forensic investigation, and stakeholders are being briefed through Notification letters to affected parties and Public disclosure via Maine Attorney General’s Office filing.

The case underscores how Ongoing (forensic investigation, potential third-party involvement), teams are taking away lessons such as Zero-day exploits in ERP systems pose severe risks due to their central role in operations, Delayed detection (weeks between breach and discovery) exacerbates impact and Supply chain vulnerabilities (e.g., Oracle software) require proactive patch management, and recommending next steps like Immediate patching of critical vulnerabilities (e.g., CVE-2025-61882), Adoption of zero-trust architectures and multi-factor authentication (MFA) and Enhanced vulnerability scanning and threat hunting capabilities, with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Notification letters to affected individuals and Public statements via regulatory filings.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190) with high confidence (95%), with evidence including zero-Day Exploit (CVE-2025-61882) in Oracle’s E-Business Suite, and unpatched critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.8) allowing unauthorized database access and Valid Accounts (T1078) with moderate to high confidence (85%), supported by evidence indicating multi-Stage Java Implants (implies post-exploit credential misuse). Under the Execution tactic, the analysis identified Command and Scripting Interpreter: Java (T1059.005) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating multi-Stage Java Implants. Under the Persistence tactic, the analysis identified Server Software Component: Web Shell (T1505.003) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating multi-Stage Java Implants (potential backdoor mechanism). Under the Privilege Escalation tactic, the analysis identified Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating critical Authentication Bypass in Oracle E-Business Suite (CVE-2025-61882). Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Obfuscated Files or Information (T1027) with moderate to high confidence (75%), supported by evidence indicating multi-Stage Java Implants (suggests obfuscation) and Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (T1562.001) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating delayed detection (weeks between breach and discovery) (implies evasion of monitoring). Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified OS Credential Dumping (T1003) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating multi-Stage Java Implants (post-exploit activity often includes credential theft) and Credentials from Password Stores (T1555) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating access to ERP databases, HR systems, Financial records (implies credential access). Under the Discovery tactic, the analysis identified System Information Discovery (T1082) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating targeting ERP databases, HR systems, Financial records (requires internal reconnaissance) and File and Directory Discovery (T1083) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating exfiltration of 1.6 TB of data (implies extensive file system exploration). Under the Collection tactic, the analysis identified Data from Local System (T1005) with high confidence (95%), supported by evidence indicating 1.6 TB of data exfiltrated including PII, internal documents, employee records and Data from Network Shared Drive (T1039) with moderate to high confidence (85%), supported by evidence indicating access to ERP databases (often network-shared). Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol: Exfiltration Over Unencrypted/Obfuscated Non-C2 Protocol (T1048.003) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating 1.6 TB of data leaked on the dark web and Automated Exfiltration (T1020) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating large-scale exfiltration (1.6 TB) suggests automated processes. Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Data Encrypted for Impact (T1486) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating cl0p ransomware group (though encryption not explicitly confirmed), Data Destruction (T1485) with lower confidence (30%), supported by evidence indicating no explicit evidence, but Cl0p typically combines exfiltration with threats of destruction, and Data Manipulation (T1659) with lower confidence (20%), supported by evidence indicating no direct evidence, but ERP access could enable manipulation. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.