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Gap Analysis for Redback Operations Red Team

Overview​

Last year, Redback Operations addressed various security issues such as unauthorized access, denial of service, phishing, malware outbreaks, and more, establishing a solid foundation for incident response. However, no penetration testing was conducted last semester, and only some use cases were documented. This semester, a strong focus on vulnerability scanning and penetration testing is recommended, along with addressing authentication gaps and vulnerabilities on specific ports.

Current State of Redback Operations:​

Identified Gaps:​

No Authentication on MQTT:​

  • Gap: Lack of authentication and encryption mechanisms for MQTT topics. MQTT over SSL (port 8883) was filtered, indicating unavailability of secure communication which can lead to eavesdropping on messages and performing malicious activities such as publishing unwanted data to the broker.
  • Suggestion: Enforce authentication for MQTT, using username/password or certificate-based authentication, and secure communications over port 8883 with TLS.

Slowloris DoS Vulnerability on HTTP/HTTPS (Ports 80, 443, 8000):​

  • Gap: HTTP/HTTPS services are vulnerable to the Slowloris DoS attack, which can cause resource exhaustion by holding connections open indefinitely.
  • Suggestion: Limit the number of concurrent connections, reduce timeout settings, and implement web application firewalls (WAF) to mitigate this risk.

Vulnerable Ports (SSL/TLS Configuration):​

  • Gap: Several ports (such as 443, 9001, 9200) were found to be using weak Diffie-Hellman key exchange parameters (1024-bit), making them susceptible to passive eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.
  • Suggestion: Update the SSL/TLS configurations to use stronger key exchange algorithms, such as 2048-bit Diffie-Hellman or Elliptic Curve Diffie-Hellman (ECDH), to enhance encryption strength.

HTTP Verb Tampering (Authentication Bypass on Port 80):​

  • Gap: The web server on port 80 is vulnerable to HTTP verb tampering, which can allow attackers to bypass authentication and gain unauthorized access to protected resources.
  • Suggestion: Implement strict HTTP method validation on the web server, ensuring that only valid methods (GET, POST, etc.) are allowed. Misconfigured .htaccess files should be reviewed and corrected to prevent bypass attacks.

Lack of Phishing Simulation:​

  • Gap: Redback Operations has not conducted phishing simulations or employee awareness training regularly. This leaves the organization vulnerable to email-based phishing attacks.
  • Suggestion: Conduct regular phishing awareness training and deploy email filtering tools to block malicious emails before they reach users.

By addressing gaps in MQTT authentication, Slowloris DoS vulnerabilities, weak SSL/TLS configurations, HTTP verb tampering, and the lack of phishing simulations, Redback Operations will significantly strengthen its overall security.