Hazy Hawk Gang Exploits DNS Misconfigurations to Hijack Trusted Domains

A threat actor known as **Hazy Hawk** has been actively exploiting DNS misconfigurations to hijack abandoned cloud endpoints belonging to trusted organizations. These compromised domains are then weaponized for large-scale scam delivery and traffic distribution systems (TDS). The group’s tactics involve **CNAME hijacking**, a technique that redirects legitimate traffic to malicious infrastructure, often for phishing, malware distribution, or credential harvesting^[1].

**TL;DR**
– **Threat Actor**: Hazy Hawk, linked to Eastern European cybercriminal groups.
– **Technique**: Exploits **DNS misconfigurations (lame delegation)** to hijack abandoned cloud endpoints via CNAME records.
– **Impact**: Over **1 million domains** are vulnerable to similar attacks, per recent research^[2].
– **Mitigation**: Regular DNS audits, stale record removal, and provider-level fixes (e.g., randomized name server assignments).

### **How Hazy Hawk Operates**
Hazy Hawk targets subdomains with **geolocation-based redirection**, allowing them to evade detection by regional security measures. The group hijacks abandoned cloud endpoints (e.g., CDC, Deloitte) by exploiting **CNAME records** that point to defunct or unmaintained infrastructure^[3]. Once control is established, the domains are repurposed for:
– **Phishing campaigns** mimicking trusted brands.
– **Malware distribution** via fake software updates.
– **Traffic redirection** to exploit kits or scam pages.

Recent findings from **Infoblox** highlight that Hazy Hawk shares infrastructure with other DNS predators like **Vacant Viper** and **Horrid Hawk**, suggesting a broader ecosystem of abuse^[4].

### **Technical Breakdown: DNS CNAME Hijacking**
The attack relies on **lame delegation**, where DNS records point to non-responsive or abandoned name servers. Attackers identify these misconfigured domains and register the abandoned cloud endpoints (e.g., AWS S3 buckets, Azure Blob Storage) to take control of the CNAME chain.

**Example Attack Flow**:
1. **Reconnaissance**: Scans for domains with misconfigured CNAME records.
2. **Registration**: Claims the abandoned cloud resource (e.g., `legacy-subdomain.victim.com` → `defunct-bucket.s3.amazonaws.com`).
3. **Weaponization**: Hosts malicious content or redirects to attacker-controlled infrastructure.

A **BleepingComputer** report notes that Hazy Hawk frequently targets organizations with legacy cloud deployments, where DNS hygiene is often neglected^[5].

### **Mitigation and Best Practices**
To defend against CNAME hijacking:
– **Audit DNS records**: Identify and remove stale or unused CNAME entries.
– **Monitor cloud endpoints**: Ensure all active subdomains resolve to maintained resources.
– **Implement DNSSEC**: Prevents unauthorized DNS modifications.
– **Provider-level fixes**: Cloud providers like AWS and Azure now offer **randomized bucket names** to reduce hijacking risks^[6].

### **Relevance to Security Teams**
– **Red Teams**: Simulate CNAME hijacking to test detection capabilities.
– **Blue Teams**: Deploy anomaly detection for unexpected DNS changes.
– **Threat Intel**: Track IOCs (e.g., known Hazy Hawk C2 IPs) via feeds like **Infoblox Threat Intelligence**^[7].

### **Conclusion**
Hazy Hawk’s exploitation of DNS misconfigurations underscores the need for proactive DNS management. With over 1 million domains exposed to similar risks, organizations must prioritize DNS hygiene to prevent collateral damage from hijacked trusted domains.

**References**