CAPEC-187
Malicious Automated Software Update via Redirection
An attacker exploits two layers of weaknesses in server or client software for automated update mechanisms to undermine the integrity of the target code-base. The first weakness involves a failure to properly authenticate a server as a source of update or patch content. This type of weakness typically results from authentication mechanisms which can be defeated, allowing a hostile server to satisfy the criteria that establish a trust relationship. The second weakness is a systemic failure to validate the identity and integrity of code downloaded from a remote location, hence the inability to distinguish malicious code from a legitimate update.
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One predominate type of redirection attack requires DNS spoofing or hijacking of a domain name corresponding to an update server. The target software initiates an update request and the DNS request resolves the domain name of the update server to the IP address of the attacker, at which point the software accepts updates either transmitted by or pulled from the attackers' server. Attacks against DNS mechanisms comprise an initial phase of a chain of attacks that facilitate automated update hijacking attack, and such attacks have a precedent in targeted activities that have been as complex as DNS/BIND attacks of corporate infrastructures, to untargeted attacks aimed at compromising home broadband routers, as well as attacks involving the compromise of wireless access points, as well as 'evil twin' attacks coupled with DNS redirection. Due to the plethora of options open to the attacker in forcing name resolution to arbitrary servers the Automated Update Hijacking attack strategies are the tip of the spear for many multi-stage attack chains.
The second weakness that is exploited by the attacker is the lack of integrity checking by the software in validating the update. Software which relies only upon domain name resolution to establish the identity of update code is particularly vulnerable, because this signals an absence of other security countermeasures that could be applied to invalidate the attackers' payload on basis of code identity, hashing, signing, encryption, and other integrity checking mechanisms. Redirection-based attack patterns work equally well against client-side software as well as local servers or daemons that provide software update functionality.
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Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-187: Malicious Automated Software Update via Redirection: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/187.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/187?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this attack pattern's id and public links.
Consequences
| Impact | Affects | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Execute Unauthorized Commands | Access Control, Availability, Confidentiality |
Weaknesses it exploits
- CWE-494 Download of Code Without Integrity Check
Recent CVEs with these weaknesses
- 7.2CVE-2026-118791
The application implements software update functionality without adequate authenticity and integrity validation, allowing update packages to be accepted without sufficient cryptographic verification.
- 6.3CVE-2026-112170
The software downloads upgrade files without performing integrity checks, allowing the installation of tampered updates.
- 9.2CVE-2026-118462
Update components download and execute code without proper authenticity verification, relying on ignored hashes or forgeable checksums. Some update paths also permit archive traversal or script execution.
- 2.0CVE-2026-123508
Vikunja before 2.7.1 contains a supply chain vulnerability in its mage release targets that fetch the xgo module and Docker image by mutable latest references. Attackers who compromise the upstream xgo module, image, or registry can inject…
- 7.5CVE-2026-104657
Missing integrity verification in the Progress Software Fiddler Download and Setup Skill on Linux, macOS, and Windows which allows an attacker to compromise or influence a release component and execute attacker-controlled code when a user …
- 2.1CVE-2026-121750
Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.40.5 through 0.40.8, `nvm_download_artifact` downloads a release archive directly to its final path in `$NVM_DIR/.cache` a…
- 8.6CVE-2026-110022
The PFI plugin framework deploys executable assemblies (DLLs) from a signed plugin package into the local plugin repository and loads them via reflection, but the deployment routine processes archive entries that were never covered by the …
- 7.4CVE-2026-92092
A flaw was found in openshift-ansible. The installer container's `run` script downloads and executes remote inventory and dynamic scripts without integrity verification. A remote attacker, by performing a Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attack or…
The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.
Related attack patterns
- Part of
- CAPEC-186 Malicious Software Update
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