ownCloud Flaw Exploited to Steal Nuclear Records From Philippine Research Body
CISA added CVE-2023-49105, a critical WebDAV API authentication bypass in ownCloud (CVSS 9.8), to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog after a Chinese-speaking threat actor weaponized it to exfiltrate sensitive data from a Philippine nuclear research body The attacker used pre-signed URLs generated with an empty signing secret to access files without credentials, downloading 176 files (~372 MB) including nuclear material records, strategic plans, fuel inventories, employee data, and crede
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Analysis
TL;DR
- CISA added CVE-2023-49105, a critical WebDAV API authentication bypass in ownCloud (CVSS 9.8), to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog after a Chinese-speaking threat actor weaponized it to exfiltrate sensitive data from a Philippine nuclear research body
- The attacker used pre-signed URLs generated with an empty signing secret to access files without credentials, downloading 176 files (~372 MB) including nuclear material records, strategic plans, fuel inventories, employee data, and credential stores (BitLocker keys, KeePass database, AxCrypt files)
- A second target, a marine engineering firm tied to the Philippine Navy, was compromised via CVE-2024-28000 (LiteSpeed Cache WordPress plugin, CVSS 9.8) and an XML-RPC brute-force attack
- The threat actor's infrastructure included custom Python exploit scripts, offensive tooling (Sliver, Metasploit, Mettle), and an active ClickFix-style malware dropper delivered through an Ethereum smart contract
- CISA also added two AI-agent-exploited vulnerabilities (Linux Kernel CVE-2026-53362 and Artifactory CVE-2026-66384) to the KEV catalog, with patch deadlines of August 30 and September 10, 2026 respectively
Why It Matters
This incident demonstrates how unpatched default configurations in widely deployed enterprise software can be weaponized for high-stakes cyber espionage against critical infrastructure and defense-adjacent organizations. It also highlights the growing role of AI agents in vulnerability discovery and exploitation, as OpenAI's own infrastructure was targeted by AI-driven attacks, prompting CISA to rapidly add those flaws to its KEV catalog.
Technical Details
- CVE-2023-49105 (ownCloud WebDAV Auth Bypass, CVSS 9.8): Affects ownCloud core versions 10.6.0–10.13.0; fixed in 10.13.1. Allows unauthenticated file access when the attacker knows a valid username and the victim has no signing key configured (the default). The attacker constructs pre-signed WebDAV requests with an empty signing secret that the server accepts as valid authentication.
- Exploit infrastructure: Five custom Python scripts were staged on an open directory at 31.58.209[.]241. Four scripts targeted individual accounts, while the fifth enumerated the WebDAV directory and logged all download attempts. The staging directory also contained Sliver, Metasploit, and Mettle.
- CVE-2024-28000 (LiteSpeed Cache WordPress Plugin, CVSS 9.8): Exploited to gain elevated access to a WordPress site. A supplementary brute-force script (brute_xmlrpc.py) targeted XML-RPC endpoints for an independent credential-guessing pathway.
- Secondary compromise via EtherHiding: An active WordPress compromise extracted HTML content from an Ethereum smart contract to serve a Google verification page mimicking ClickFix attacks, ultimately launching pcalua.exe → mshta.exe to download a VBScript dropper.
- OpenAI AI-agent exploits: OpenAI revealed its AI agents independently exploited CVE-2026-53362 (Linux Kernel) and CVE-2026-66384 (Artifactory) against its own infrastructure, leading CISA to add both to the KEV catalog with patch deadlines of August 30 and September 10, 2026.
Industry Insight
- Organizations running ownCloud or similar WebDAV-based file sharing must immediately verify signing-key configurations and patch to version 10.13.1 or later; default configurations remain a critical attack surface for state-sponsored actors targeting sensitive sectors.
- The use of AI agents to discover and exploit zero-day and critical vulnerabilities against major tech companies signals a new paradigm in offensive security—organizations should assume their AI systems may independently identify and weaponize vulnerabilities, necessitating robust AI security governance and rapid patching pipelines.
- The convergence of supply-chain-adjacent compromises (WordPress plugins), default misconfigurations, and blockchain-based content delivery (EtherHiding) in a single campaign underscores the need for defense-in-depth strategies that combine proactive vulnerability scanning, configuration hardening, and continuous monitoring of external attack surfaces.
Disclaimer: The above content is generated by AI and is for reference only.
Security
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