posted on Dec, 21 2004 @ 06:05 PM
A new Internet Worm is using Google to seek out and identify vulnerable PHP based bulletin boards. This worm maybe a first in two areas, because uses
Google to find a specific vulnerability and it also uses Google to identify the victims for the attack. The flaw that the worm exploits was found a
week ago where a patch for 4.3.10 and 5.0.3 corrects the PHP problem. The worm exploits a common community forum software known as phpBB. Almost
40,000 sites maybe already infected. The up side of the report is that the infection does not affect an individual user's computer when viewing an
infected site.
news.zdnet.com
The worm sends Google a specific search request, essentially asking for a list of vulnerable sites. Armed with the list, the worm then attempts to
spread to those sites using a PHP request designed to exploit the phpBB bulletin board software.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Many ATS members frequent other community forums outside of ATS. While most INTERNET users don't understand the workings of web sites, a quick check
of your INTERNET browser address bar can give clues to the type of site you are viewing. For example, while viewing this article, look in the address
bar for the part of the address that end in or contains " .php " as a part of the URL. You will see that ATS also uses PHP type web pages.
So while surfing the net on your favorite boards, if you encounter some strange page reactions in your browser, or find that a bookmark to a specific
post thread no longer works, it could be a result of this latest worm. Not necessarily something you are doing wrong. I am sure the ATS admins are up
to speed on most situations that may affect the ATS community site.
SO...we OK?
Related News Links:
Patches slapped on serious PHP flaws
Google a favorite among hackers, too
[edit on 21-12-2004 by ZeddicusZulZorander]