4chan Hack: Code Review and Vulnerability Analysis
Key Concepts:
- 4chan hack by Soyjack.party (Shardy)
- PHP, Ghostscript vulnerability
- CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) database
- PostScript file upload vulnerability
- Privilege escalation
- Browser fingerprinting
- Outdated software (PHP, FreeBSD, Ghostscript)
- MySQL with NODB engine
- TimeScale database
4chan Hack Overview
The 4chan website was hacked by a rival group from Soyjack.party (Shardy). The hackers vandalized the website by resurrecting a defunct forum (QA) and posting "you got hacked." More seriously, they leaked private emails and IP logs of 4chan janitors (low-level admins). The hack was not due to social engineering or password theft, but rather a security vulnerability in 4chan's backend code.
CVE Database and Government Funding
The CVE database tracks software vulnerabilities and their severity. It relies on government funding, which was initially set to expire but was later renewed.
Soyjack.party Origins
Soyjack.party originated from a 4chan board called QA, which devolved into a "Soy Jack factory." QA was removed in 2021, leading to the creation of Soyjack.party. The hack allowed exiled users from QA to return to 4chan.
Exploited Vulnerability: PostScript File Upload
4chan allows uploading PDFs to certain boards but fails to properly verify that uploaded files are actually PDFs. This allowed hackers to upload PostScript files containing drawing commands. These files are then processed by Ghostscript to generate thumbnails.
Outdated Ghostscript Version
The version of Ghostscript used by 4chan is from 2012, which contains known vulnerabilities. By exploiting these vulnerabilities, the hacker was able to elevate their privileges to a global user, achieving full penetration of the system.
Limited Data Exposure
Despite having access to all user data, the hacker chose not to expose it, except for the data of 4chan janitors.
Browser Fingerprinting and Outdated Software
4chan aggressively attempts to fingerprint users' browsers, likely to control spam and prevent ban evasion. The website is running on an outdated version of PHP (last updated in 2016) and FreeBSD version 10.1 (released in 2014 and no longer patched).
MySQL Database with NODB Engine
4chan uses a MySQL database with the NODB engine to store data on over 10 million banned users.
TimeScale Database as an Alternative
TimeScale is presented as a better database option for handling large amounts of data. It's an open-source, high-performance database built on top of PostgreSQL. It can handle transactional data, time-series data, real-time analytics, and vector data. TimeScale offers automatic partitioning, a hybrid row-columnar engine, and optimized query execution. It can be self-hosted or used in the cloud.
Conclusion
The 4chan hack was a result of outdated software and a failure to properly validate file uploads. The use of an old version of Ghostscript with known vulnerabilities allowed the hacker to gain full access to the system. The incident highlights the importance of keeping software up to date and implementing proper security measures. TimeScale is presented as a modern database solution that can handle large amounts of data more efficiently than the current MySQL setup.
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