malicious javascript injected into 100,000 websites

Summary

The video discusses a critical supply chain attack known as 'Polyfill' or 'Poly Kill', affecting over 100,000 websites. It delves into how the polyfill.io library, essential for modern JavaScript compatibility in older browsers, was compromised by a Chinese company. The attack involved injecting obfuscated code into the library, potentially exploiting browser vulnerabilities to execute malicious code on users' computers. The video raises concerns about the security of widely-used software components and the implications for the future of open-source and third-party code reliance.

Takeaways

• 🔒 Supply chain security is often overlooked, yet vulnerabilities can have widespread impacts across the internet.
• 🌐 The 'polyfill' or 'poly kill' attack affected over 100,000 websites and is an ongoing issue.
• 🛠️ Polyfilling is a technique used to enable modern JavaScript features in older browsers, ensuring compatibility.
• 📚 CDNs or Content Delivery Networks are relied upon to host and serve code for websites, making them a potential point of exploitation.
• 🚫 A vulnerability in the polyfill library was posted on GitHub and suspiciously removed, raising concerns about its nature.
• 🏢 The polyfill.io domain was acquired by a Chinese company, which has been serving a compromised version of the polyfill library.
• 🤔 The compromised polyfill included obfuscated code that redirected to a fake 'Googy analytics', a variant of the legitimate Google Analytics.
• 🛑 The JavaScript served from the compromised CDN may contain browser exploits designed to escape the V8 sandbox and execute malicious code.
• 🔮 Browser exploits take advantage of vulnerabilities in JavaScript engines, like V8, to perform memory corruption and gain unauthorized access.
• 🗣️ There is ongoing speculation and investigation into the exact nature and purpose of the JavaScript code served by the compromised CDN.
• 📡 The acquisition of the polyfill.io domain and the subsequent serving of potentially malicious JavaScript raises questions about the security of open-source and third-party code dependencies.

Q & A

What is the primary focus of the video script?

The primary focus of the video script is on supply chain security, specifically discussing a supply chain attack called polyfill or poly kill that affected over 100,000 websites.

Why is supply chain security often overlooked?

Supply chain security is often overlooked because people tend to trust the origin of their software and run it without much scrutiny, not realizing that supply chain vulnerabilities can have widespread impacts.

What is polyfill, and why was it significant in older browsers?

Polyfill is a library used to inject modern JavaScript features into older browsers that do not support them, ensuring that all browsers have a consistent level of functionality.

How did the polyfill attack occur?

The polyfill attack occurred when a Chinese company acquired the polyfill.io domain and injected obfuscated, malicious JavaScript code into the polyfill library, which then got executed on users' browsers.

What is V8, and why is it important in this context?

V8 is an open-source, high-performance JavaScript and WebAssembly engine written in C++. It is important because it interprets and runs JavaScript code in the browser, and vulnerabilities in V8 can be exploited to gain control over the user's computer.

Why did the issue with polyfill raise suspicions when a vulnerability was reported?

Suspicion arose because a reported vulnerability in the polyfill library was immediately deleted off GitHub, and the domain had been recently acquired by a Chinese company, which later served malicious code through the library.

What role do CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) play in this attack?

CDNs host JavaScript code for websites to pull down and execute. In this attack, the compromised polyfill library was served through a CDN, which allowed the malicious code to be widely distributed to many websites.

What is Googy analytics, and how was it used in this attack?

Googy analytics is a spoofed version of Google Analytics, used in the attack to deceive users and deliver malicious JavaScript code that could exploit browsers.

What does the obfuscated JavaScript code in the polyfill attack do?

The obfuscated JavaScript code in the polyfill attack was designed to load malicious scripts, potentially leading to memory corruption vulnerabilities and allowing attackers to gain execution on the remote host computer.

Why is the polyfill attack considered particularly dangerous?

The polyfill attack is considered dangerous because it can affect hundreds of thousands of websites, allowing attackers to exploit browsers on a massive scale without requiring users to download or install anything manually.