Microsoft Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (MIC5132151112625)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the Microsoft breach identified under incident ID MIC5132151112625.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of Microsoft's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/microsoft-cloud-platform, the number of followers: 26897413, the industry type: Software Development and the number of employees: 220893 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 751 and after the incident was 751 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 Microsoft and their customers.

A newly reported cybersecurity incident, "Indirect-Shellcode-Executor: Novel EDR Bypass Technique via Windows API Exploitation", has drawn attention.

A new offensive security tool developed in Rust, named Indirect-Shellcode-Executor, demonstrates a novel method for bypassing modern Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) systems by exploiting an overlooked behavior in the Windows API.

Impact assessments are still underway, so the full scope is not yet clear.

In response, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Review and update API monitoring rules for ReadProcessMemory calls, especially those targeting executable memory sections.

The case underscores how Ongoing research; PoC tool released for defensive testing, teams are taking away lessons such as The Windows API's vastness and flexibility allow legitimate functions (e.g., ReadProcessMemory) to be repurposed for evasion. Security vendors must expand monitoring beyond traditional 'write' functions (e.g., WriteProcessMemory) to include 'read' functions with pointer manipulation capabilities. Open-source PoCs like this highlight the need for proactive defensive updates and red teaming to identify blind spots in detection mechanisms, and recommending next steps like Review and update EDR/AV rules to detect unusual ReadProcessMemory calls, particularly those writing to executable memory sections via pointer manipulation, Monitor for indirect memory injection techniques that bypass traditional hooks (e.g., WriteProcessMemory, memcpy) and Conduct red team exercises using tools like Indirect-Shellcode-Executor to test defensive postures.

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 Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Process Injection (T1055) with high confidence (95%), with evidence including manipulates the *lpNumberOfBytesRead pointer in ReadProcessMemory to write malicious shellcode into process memory, and memory Injection via Read Function, Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools (T1562.001) with high confidence (90%), with evidence including bypass modern Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) and Antivirus (AV) systems, and evades heuristic analysis by constructing payloads byte-by-byte under the guise of a legitimate API call, and Obfuscated Files or Information (T1027) with moderate to high confidence (85%), with evidence including fetching shellcode from a C2 server disguised in files like PNGs, and payloads concealed in local files. Under the Execution tactic, the analysis identified Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell (T1059.001) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating terminal injection (direct shellcode input via CLI), Command and Scripting Interpreter: Windows Command Shell (T1059.003) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating terminal injection (direct shellcode input via CLI), and User Execution: Malicious File (T1204.002) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating file-based execution (extracting payloads from local documents). Under the Persistence tactic, the analysis identified Process Injection: Process Hollowing (T1055.012) with moderate to high confidence (75%), supported by evidence indicating write malicious shellcode into process memory without triggering traditional detection mechanisms. Under the Command and Control tactic, the analysis identified Ingress Tool Transfer (T1105) with moderate to high confidence (85%), supported by evidence indicating remote payload execution (fetching shellcode from a C2 server) and Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols (T1071.001) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating fetching shellcode from a C2 server disguised in files like PNGs. Under the Privilege Escalation tactic, the analysis identified Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068) with moderate to high confidence (70%), with evidence including exploits a previously overlooked vulnerability in the Windows API, and legitimate Windows API functions can be weaponized for stealthy attacks. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.