ChicagoVPS hacked, bunch of VPS customers offline

pubcrawler

Got an email 2+ hours ago directly from ChicagoVPS (am a customer):

[CRITICAL UPDATE]

re: Chicago VPS11, Chicago VPS12, Chicago VPS14, Chicago VPS16, Chicago VPS17, Chicago VPS26, Chicago VPS28, Chicago VPS29, Chicago VPS30, Chicago VPS31

ChicagoVPS experienced a brute force on the SolusVM API for the administrative section. This caused the above affected nodes to become compromised before we were able to stop the attack.

What does this mean? Currently the VM's on these nodes are being recovered to the fullest ability of Chicago VPS staff from the incomplete data destruction process and from central backups. Any VM's unable to be recreated from the remaining data or from backups will be created fresh.

ChicagoVPS is committed to customer satisfaction and any way in our ability will do what we can to get everyone back up and going as fast and as best as we can.

We will post additional updates on twitter and facebook and from time to time send out an email regarding the current status of the progress.

If you have any questions in the mean time, feel free to directly email me at [email protected]

Sincerely,

Jeremiah L. Shinkle
Chief Networking Officer
ChicagoVPS

ShardHostSarah

Thats a pretty crappy thing to happen for both client and provider. Is this an exploit in SolusVM or something not locked down correctly?

Taz

Karma is a bitch. Hope it is not too bad and they can recover.

jar

Anyone have a working theory that immediately comes to mind as to what happened here? Admin API would be the API used to connect billing software would it not? Is it not restricted by IP?

pubcrawler

Karma aside, I am wondering where the exploit is and if it's a SolusVM issue. An exploit in SolusVM could impact tons of folks.

ihatetonyy

@Taz said: Karma is a bitch.

Even if their.. marketing, I guess, ruffled some feathers, I don't think it deserves one node getting nearly-trashed, let alone ten.

With that said, still up over in LA.

Taz

@Liam @infinity please remove /hide ths thread. If this is a solusvm exploit, this can have hugee affect.

jar

@Taz Nope. If there's an exploit and someone is targeting LEB providers this is the place it should be exposed.

Taz

But before solus releases a patch, you are welcoming more skiddies.

CVPS_Chris

@Taz said: But before solus releases a patch, you are welcoming more skiddies.

Your problem, should probably go deal with that.

jar

@Taz said: But before solus releases a patch, you are welcoming more skiddies.

Nope, you're warning LEB providers to watch their butts. Otherwise you're keeping the info from them to let them get targeted if this is going to continue through the night.

NateN34

@Taz said: Liam @infinity please remove /hide ths thread. If this is a solusvm exploit, this can have hugee affect.

Not an exploit (according to ChicagoVPS):

"ChicagoVPS experienced a brute force on the SolusVM API for the administrative section. This caused the above affected nodes to become compromised before we were able to stop the attack."

jar

@NateN34 said: Not an exploit:

But isn't that API locked to IP?

ShardHostSarah

@jarland said: But isn't that API locked to IP?

I know ours is, or at least SolusVM tells us it is, which is why I am asking about exploit

Taz

API can only be accessed from whmcs IP I assume . Since someone was able to.bruteforce, something might not be right?

jar

I'm sure when @CVPS_Chris gets this mess sorted he'll fill us in on whether the rest of us should be worried about it. Gonna be a long night for those guys.

CVPS_Chris

Confirmed that another host had the same issue. Everyone should be concerned.

Dont ask who, it is up to them to release it and not my job to tell.

seikan

Luckily my VPS with them are not affected. But this is real scary! Backup, backup, backup guys!

concerto49

Which version of SolusVM are we talking about? The latest?

PhilND

@CVPS_Chris

Ego aside, I hope you are being serious about what you have just posted?

CVPS_Chris

@PhilND said: Ego aside, I hope you are being serious about what you have just posted?

Serious. I guess I can do one nice thing.

jar

@Jack said: Just spoke to Jeremiah via email this sounds nasty.

What are your preliminary thoughts on the effect of revoking the API keys used for billing software? Assuming he explained more detail to you than we know. That's what I've done, as well as reduced stock to 0. I don't take chances.

miTgiB

@jarland said: That's what I've done, as well as reduced stock to 0. I don't take chances.

I think you'd be safe selling stock, just revoke terminations and do those manually if there are any after the cron run

kbeezie

Though I'm wondering if an actual exploit occurred and if it's not say some kind of hardware failure at fault? I mean a brute force attack? Didn't have something as simple as Fail2Ban installed? Just curious cuz it doesn't seem to be adding up.

UGVPS

Yeah i have also followed up on this... This is BADD NEWS right now!

jar

@kbeezie said: Didn't have something as simple as Fail2Ban installed?

I don't know if fail2ban or LFD would cover SolusVM API access without some tweaks that most people would probably consider overkill prior to knowledge of such an exploit.

CVPS_Chris

@kbeezie said: hardware failure

Hardware failure on 10 nodes at the exact same time lol? It was an exploit and when this is all over will reveal more.

pubcrawler

Time to isolate offending IPs and start a distributed monitoring and ban of the activity. That's what providers need to band together to do in general.

kbeezie

@jarland true without some form of configuration, depends on how the API talks to the system after login failures, but I would think there would be some kind of adjustment you could do, especially limiting access to trusted IPs (depending on who exactly they're extending the API to, or if it's just for their own apps).

@CVPS_Chris good point, a hardware failure wouldn't knock out 10 physical nodes, but it would knock out a solus master, and if that data goes bad then it'd be a hard time re-creating the accounts (though the VPSes themselves would have still stayed up even if solus itself went down).

CNJeremy

Pubcrawler any suggestions on how to prevent it or temp workarounds to prevent others from being exploited till a fix is released? Since we don't know the actual details of the exploit.

marcm

@CVPS_Chris said: Hardware failure on 10 nodes at the exact same time lol? It was an exploit and when this is all over will reveal more.

@CVPS_Chris Considering how many of us, if not all of us are using SolusVM I guess we all wish that this wasn't an exploit. The good thing is that OpenVZ is easy to back up and I know that you guys have backup servers in the data center. Best of luck with the restoration, I hope it goes well.

netomx

Can you please check my accoubt chris? Mine says i got blacklisted

LAKid

@netomx You're so funny...

UGVPS

Lol No im not the other host thank god.

Randy

maybe someone could get in touch with Phill @ SolusVM and ask?

marcm

@Randy I am sure that SolusVM would be extremely forthcoming with that information...

Randy

@Jack said: Already done.

Great, keep us updated

@marcm said: @Randy I am sure that SolusVM would be extremely forthcoming with that information...

lol

Zetta

@Jack
Subject: URGENT EXPLOIT
Priority: Medium

Nice.

marcm

@Randy said: @marcm said: @Randy I am sure that SolusVM would be extremely forthcoming with that information...

lol

Would you be in a hurry to tell the world that your closed source software has a major vulnerability like this?

Randy

i am sure it will not hurt to ask right? just to check with them, but if they do not want to release any info about the vulnerability then its their problem.

kbeezie

@Randy usually they don't say anything until they have a fix for it, and when they do they send out the emails to upgrade to the next version.

Corey

Thank you for this thread, we have disabled API access.

marcm

Well, if they are at fault then they owe ChicagoVPS some kind of monetary compensation for this because SolusVM is commercial software, closed source nonetheless. Am I right @CVPS_Chris?
I doubt that they would be in a hurry to pay...

netomx

@lakid why?

zhuanyi

Bornin.asia is still alive...guess I managed to escape from this...

MonsteR

It could be an exploit in the actual WHMCS Module itself, Hope it gets fixed soon.

Randy

@zhuanyi said: Bornin.asia is still alive...guess I managed to escape from this..

LOL. hosted on chicagovps?

lzp

Well, if they are at fault

They aren't at fault. If you are going to say idiotic things like that, then sue the people who write every program used in a commercial environment that's ever had an exploit or bug. Sue everyone who writes the software for Linux and Windows and MacOS, because their bugs supposedly make their "commercial software" "at fault."

At fault would be SolusVM sending out an update that deletes everything. At fault would be SolusVM using a backdoor to login and delete everything. At fault is not some guy brute forcing a software exploit.

marcm

@Randy said: LOL. hosted on chicagovps?

All of this isn't funny. In about a month when Solus decides to fix it we'll know. Don't worry, they aren't in a hurry to tell anyone anything.

Something like this can happen to anyone, so I wouldn't poke fun at ChicagoVPS. I'm sure that @CVPS_Chris and his team are doing their best to fix this situation.

Randy

@mercm yeah, hope they fix it soon

Randy

@Jack said: You think Chris is doing anything?

@JShinkle will be doing all the work , Chris will be on a beach somewhere in right @CVPS_Chris

Thanked by (1): Randy