SELECTED BY THE TALOS SECURITY INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH GROUP
Title: Microsoft disclosed 83 vulnerabilities, 10 critical, in monthly security update
Description: Microsoft released its monthly security update Tuesday, disclosing 83 vulnerabilities across its suite of products to kick off 2021. There are only 10 critical vulnerabilities as part of this release, while there are two moderate-severity exploits, and the remainder are considered "important." Users of all Microsoft and Windows products are urged to update their software as soon as possible to avoid possible exploitation of all these bugs. The security updates cover several different products and services, including the Microsoft Defender antivirus software, the Microsoft Remote Procedure Call tools and Bluetooth communication with Windows devices. One of the most serious vulnerabilities exists in Microsoft Defender. CVE-2021-1647 affects some versions of Windows dating back to Windows 2008. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code on the victim machine. No action is required to install this update and protect against this vulnerability, according to Microsoft, as the fix is part of Microsoft's regular updates to its anti-malware products.
References: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2021/01/microsoft-patch-tuesday-for-jan-2021.html
Snort SIDs: 56849 - 56860, 56865
Title: Lokibot adds new dropper to its arsenal
Description: Lokibot is one of the most well-known information stealers on the malware landscape. The actors behind Lokibot usually can steal multiple types of credentials and other sensitive information. This new campaign utilizes a complex, multi-stage, multi-layered dropper to execute Lokibot on the victim machine. The attack starts with a malicious XLS attachment, sent in a phishing email, containing an obfuscated macro that downloads a heavily packed second-stage downloader. The second stage fetches the encrypted third stage, which includes three layered encrypted Lokibot. After a privilege escalation, the third stage deploys Lokibot. The Image below shows the infection chain.
Reference: https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2021/01/a-deep-dive-into-lokibot-infection-chain.html
Snort SIDs: 56577, 56578