On August 23rd, the FBI issued a flash warning about a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2023-2868) in the Barracuda Network's Email Security Gateway (ESG).  The vulnerability in Barracuda Network's ESG (Email Security Gateway) allows unauthorized execution of system commands with administrator privileges through a remote command injection exploit, triggered when maliciously formatted TAR file attachments are sent to an email address connected to a domain with an ESG appliance. The scanning process is then exploited, leading to malicious command execution within the ESG.

Your network gateway, whether it be your firewall or router, is the common network element for all internet traffic. Most security tools, including those running on the gateway, focus on protecting the assets behind the gateway, but not the gateway itself. This leaves the gateway as a very juicy target, since it sees all traffic from and to the Internet (and often between different trust zones internally). 

Earlier this year, Ars Technica released an article highlighting the growing threat malware attacks on business-grade routers, another network gateway device. Advanced malware that targets these devices allows threat actors to gain unauthorized access to a network gateway, which give them visibility into all traffic in and out of the network, and can be used to compromise the devices behind it. The malware is capable of:

  • Passively capturing traffic, including IMAP, SMTP, and POP email
  • Backdooring routers with a remote access Trojan
  • Downloading files and running various commands of their choice (including packet capture commands, which are usually available for troubleshooting on routers and firewalls)
  • Funneling data from other servers through the gateway

The consequences of such breaches range from compromised sensitive data and loss of intellectual property to financial losses and reputational damage.

This serves as a stark reminder of the importance of protecting your network gateway against cyber threats. Routers and firewalls are the first line of defense against inbound attacks, and the last gatekeeper for data exfiltration. ThreatSTOP IP Defense filters all traffic to and from the interfaces it is activated on, protecting not just the network behind the gateway, but the gateway itself.

Not a ThreatSTOP customer yet? Want to see ThreatSTOP instantly eliminate attacks on your network while protecting your gateway, or how it can effectively grow your MSP services?

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