MySQL.com, the official website of the database management system of the same name, was today subjected to an attack whereby hackers used SQL injection exploits to gain access to a complete list of usernames and passwords on the site.
News of the attack surfaced when the attackers posted details of the compromise on the FullDisclosure mailing list, publicly listing the contents of database tables used to store member and employee data, but also a small sample of user logins and password hashes.
Owned by Oracle, MySQL is used by millions of websites to store and deliver information, with some of the most popular online services and platforms including WordPress and Joomla utilising the software. Today’s attack was achieved using “blind SQL injection”, targeting MySQL.com, MySQL.fr, MySQL.de and MySQL.it, but also two Sun domains.
Naked Security reports that passwords were incredibly easy to crack, with the Director of Product Management’s WordPress password being set to a four digit number.
It appears that the attacks were not due to flaws in the MySQL software itself, but flaws in the implementation of their websites.
MySQL hasn’t commented on the compromise, we will update you as soon as we know more.
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