MITRE Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (SPOMITSPL1767777752)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the MITRE breach identified under incident ID SPOMITSPL1767777752.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of MITRE's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mitre, the number of followers: 234635, the industry type: Research Services and the number of employees: 9312 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 775 and after the incident was 770 with a difference of -5 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 MITRE and their customers.

Spotipy (Spotify Web API Python Library) recently reported "GitHub Repositories Vulnerable to Hijacking via Insecure pull_request_target Workflows", a noteworthy cybersecurity incident.

Sysdig researchers warned that developers and maintainers could leave their GitHub repositories open to hijacking due to inadequately secured workflows, specifically the misuse of the pull_request_target trigger event in GitHub Actions.

The disruption is felt across the environment, affecting GitHub repositories with misconfigured workflows, and exposing Repository secrets (e.g., GITHUB_TOKEN), potentially other sensitive data.

In response, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Flaws were fixed by the respective maintainers (Spotify, Mitre, Splunk), and began remediation that includes Correcting misconfigured GitHub Actions workflows to prevent secret exfiltration.

The case underscores how Ongoing (additional findings to be disclosed after remediation), teams are taking away lessons such as Maintainers must fully understand the security implications of GitHub Actions workflows, particularly pull_request_target, and use them with caution. Misconfigurations can lead to severe security risks, including repository takeover, and recommending next steps like Audit GitHub Actions workflows for insecure use of pull_request_target, Limit GITHUB_TOKEN permissions to the minimum required and Use pull_request_target only when absolutely necessary and with proper safeguards.

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 Supply Chain Compromise: Compromise Software Dependencies and Development Tools (T1195.001) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating misconfigured GitHub Actions workflows (pull_request_target) exploited and Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating gitHub repositories with misconfigured workflows targeted. Under the Execution tactic, the analysis identified Serverless Execution (T1648) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating malicious code executed via GitHub Actions workflows (pull_request_target). Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files (T1552.001) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating repository secrets (e.g., GITHUB_TOKEN) exfiltrated via misconfigured workflows. Under the Privilege Escalation tactic, the analysis identified Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism: Setuid and Setgid (T1548.001) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating gITHUB_TOKEN with write permissions exploited for elevated access. Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Hide Artifacts: Hidden Window (T1564.003) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating malicious code injected via pull_request_target executed in base branch context. Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over C2 Channel (T1041) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating secrets exfiltrated via proof-of-concept attacks on vulnerable workflows. Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Resource Hijacking (T1496) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating potential repository takeover via compromised GITHUB_TOKEN and Data Manipulation: Stored Data Manipulation (T1565.001) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating unauthorized code modifications possible in main branch. These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.