An unpatched vulnerability in the Magento e-commerce platform could allow hackers to upload and execute malicious code on web servers that host online shops . The flaw was discoveredVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityby researchers from security consultancy DefenseCode and is located inVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitya feature that retrieves preview images for videos hosted on Vimeo . Such videos can be added to product listings in Magento . The DefenseCode researchers determined that if the image URL points to a different file , for example a PHP script , Magento will download the file in order to validate it . If the file is not an image , the platform will return a `` Disallowed file type '' error , but wo n't actually remove it from the server . An attacker with access to exploit this flaw could achieve remote code execution by first tricking Magento to download an .htaccess configuration file that enables PHP execution inside the download directory and then downloading the malicious PHP file itself . Once on the server , the PHP script can act as a backdoor and can be accessed from an external location by pointing the browser to it . For example , attackers could use it to browse the server directories and read the database password from Magento 's configuration file . This can expose customer information stored in the database , which in the case of online shops , can be very sensitive . The only limitation is that this vulnerability can not be exploitedVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitydirectly because the video-linking functionality requires authentication . This means attackers need to have access to an account on the targeted website , but this can be a lower-privileged user and not necessarily an administrator . The authentication obstacle can also be easily overcome if the website does n't have the `` Add Secret Key to URLs '' option turned on . This option is intended to prevent cross-site request forgery ( CSRF ) attacks and is enabled by default . CSRF is an attack technique that involves forcing a user ’ s browser to perform an unauthorized request on a website when visiting a different one . `` The attack can be constructed as simple as < img src=… in an email or a public message board , which will automatically trigger the arbitrary file upload if a user is currently logged into Magento , '' the DefenseCode researchers said in an advisory . `` An attacker can also entice the user to open a CSRF link using social engineering . '' This means that by simply clicking on a link in an email or by visiting a specifically crafted web page , users who have active Magento sessions in their browser might have their accounts abused to compromise websites . The DefenseCode researchers claimVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitythat they 've reportedVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitythese issues to the Magento developers back in November , but received no information regarding patching plansVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilitysince then . Several versions of the Magento Community Edition ( CE ) have been released since November , the most recent one being 2.1.6 on Tuesday . According to DefenseCode , all Magento CE versions continue to be vulnerableVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerability, which is what prompted them to go publicVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityabout the flaw . “ We have been actively investigatingVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitythe root cause of the reported issue and are not aware of any attacks in the wild , ” Magento , the company that oversees development of the e-commerce platform , said in an emailed statement . “ We will be addressingVulnerability-related.PatchVulnerabilitythe issue in our next patch release and continue to consistently work to improve our assurance processes. ” `` All users are strongly advised to enforce the use of 'Add Secret Key to URLs ' which mitigates the CSRF attack vector , '' the DefenseCode researchers said . `` To prevent remote code execution through arbitrary file upload the server should be configured to disallow .htaccess files in affected directories . '' Magento is used by over 250,000 online retailers , making it an attractive target for hackers . Last year , researchers found thousands of Magento-based online shops that had been compromisedAttack.Databreachand infected with malicious code that skimmedAttack.Databreachpayment card details .
Security researchers from Pen Test Partners have discoveredVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitypretty glaring security flaws in Aga 's line of smart ovens . According to researchers , these flaws can be exploitedVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityvia SMS messages . The reason appears to be that Aga management opted to use a GSM SIM module to control its devices , instead of the classic option of using a Wi-Fi module . This SMS-based management feature allows Aga users to turn ovens on or off from remote locations by sending an SMS to their device . In this scenario , an attacker would need a victim 's oven SMS number , but Pen Test Partners researchers sayVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitythe web-based administration panel containsVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityflaws that allow attackers to scrape for all active SIM card numbers assigned to Aga ovens . There 's no authentication involved with the SMS management commands , meaning anyone could send them , and mess around with people 's `` smart '' ovens . Professional cooking ovens , like the Aga iTotal Control , need hours of warming before reaching optimal cooking temperatures . While attackers could annoy oven owners by turning their ovens off , Pen Test Partners say that an ill-intent miscreant could also turn all known Aga ovens on , and cause a spike in electric energy consumption within an area , albeit this could be an exaggerated claim , as there would need to be thousands of these devices laying around . Besides the non-authenticated SMS-based remote management feature , the research team also discoveredVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityother major problems with Aga 's smart ovens . For starters , the Aga web administration panel does n't use HTTPS and forces users to use a five-digit password , one that 's incredibly easy to brute-force . Second , the Aga mobile app also works via HTTP , but even if developers used HTTPS , the app disables certificate validation on purpose , meaning attackers could use any SSL certificate to intercept traffic coming in and to the app . After spending two weeks attempting to alert the UK-based IoT manufacturer , Pen Test Researchers decided to go publicVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilitywith their findings yesterday . Furthermore , Pent Test Partners say that the GSM SIM remote management module used for Aga 's iTotal Control smart oven was created by a company called Tekelek , which also ships similar SMS management components for oil storage tanks , heating systems , process control and medical devices . `` These appear to be monitored using SMS , so I wonder where else this bizarre unauthenticated text messaging process might lead , '' said Ken Munro , Pen Test Partners expert . At the time of writing , and following the public disclosureVulnerability-related.DiscoverVulnerabilityof the iTotal Control issues , Aga appears to have taken down its web-based administration portal , as Pen Test Partners initially suggested .