PrestaShop is a free, open-source e-commerce software. In recent years, PrestaShop has become a target for hackers due to its vulnerability. Hackers inject malicious codes into the software to extract information for malicious use. Governments, financial institutions, data centers, and private sectors are moving to secure their infrastructure to avoid hacker intrusion though for quite some time has been a challenge.
Hackers inject malicious codes into an open network to steal funds, access patents and rights and data.
This article provides the remedy to all problems associated with cybersecurity and hacking.
How to repair hacked PrestaShop
If you notice some strange ads or abnormal functioning of your PrestaShop, don’t hesitate to repair your database. Regular backup of site files and databases will confuse hackers and intentions. You can back up, or the hosting company can do so on your behalf.
Revisit your website and database to check for unnecessary changes and unknown codes or administrators. Eliminate malware codes by scanning your website using Virus Total.
Secure administration area with HTTP authentication and secure files and folders using 755 and 644 access permissions.
In case of any fault, change the administrator password, SSH, hosting, and database account. For the website, use a web application firewall to filter traffic in and out of the website.
PrestaShop vulnerabilities
SQL injection
An intruder uses SQLi to upload malicious files to the server. SQLi malicious codes affect the tables and relationships of the database. CVE-2018-8824 is an example of SQLi flow.
XSS
Cross-site scripting is a vulnerability where the hacker injects malicious codes directly into the webserver. The attacker uses the administrator to inject the codes by sending a URL which the administrator executes unknowingly. CVE-2018-5681 is an example of XSS vulnerability. Another related vulnerability is remote code execution, where the intruder interacts with the PrestaShop server directly. It is hard to detect RCE malware due to its obscure.
PrestaShop malware
Cryptocurrency miner
Intruders use the advantage of PrestaShop users to mine cryptocurrency. Some cryptocurrency malware is hard to detect though there is some east to detect, like coin hive.
Ransomware
Ransomware encrypts all the files and denies access to users leaving index.php file which demands payment for a particular service. Prevention is better than cure. Fixing this malware is a great challenge and so preventing it is the best measure.
Credit card skimmer
A credit card skimmer is designed to extract information from the PrestaShop database table and forward it to intruder controlled server.
Virus
A PrestaShop virus deletes all files in the database and server. A FOPO is used to obfuscate codes
The ultimate removal of PrestaShop malware
In case your PrestaShop has been affected by malware, first, check the file system. Attackers use PHP files to access permission to the server. FOPO is the best option when it comes to securing codes. It makes the codes invisible to users and intruders.
In conclusion, using the manual system to protect your PrestaShop system can be tiresome, and yet there is no guarantee that your system will be secure. Instead, you can use prevention measures like blocking spam IPs and creating unique keys for all purchases, only to name but a few.
