Kinsing Malware Attacks Misconfigured Open Docker Daemon API Ports

A new malware dubbed Kinsing attacks targeting container environments, the attack particularly targets the misconfigured open Docker Daemon API ports.

The campaign active for months and thousands of containers targeted every day. Researchers from Aquasec observed the attacks.

Researchers believe that “these attacks are directed by actors with sufficient resources and the infrastructure needed to carry out and sustain such attacks”.

Kinsing Malware Attack

The malware exploits the misconfigured Docker API port and runs a malicious Ubuntu container which contains a kinsing malicious malware.

Once exploited it runs a cryptominer and attempts to spread the malware to other containers and hosts. The end goal of the malware attack is to deploy cryptominer.

The attack with the campaign is always the same, but only the IP addressed changes with every attack.

The attempts to connect with C&C servers in Eastern Europe with IP 91[.]215[.]169[.]111 over the port 80 and sends small encrypted messages at regular intervals.

It connects with the server with the IP 193[.]33[.]87[.]219 to download the cryptominer payload and for C&C communication.

The lateral movement handled by a spre.sh shell script that spreads the malware across the container network.

The last stage of the malware is to deploy a cryptominer called kdevtmpfsi, it further communicates with the IP 193[.]33[.]87[.]219 and starts the mining process.

“This attack stands out as yet another example of the growing threat to cloud-native environments. With deployments becoming larger and container use on the rise, attackers are upping their game and mounting more ambitious attacks,” reads Aquasec blog post.