When Compliance Fails: A Deep Dive into the Equifax Breach

Equifax Data Breach – Independent Incident Report


Reporter: Rana Jahandad Khan

Incident: Equifax Data Breach 2017

Date of Incident: Mid May and July 2017

A Red hat hacker breaching compliance barriers under NIST 800-61r2

Red Hat: An attacker operating outside traditional ethical boundaries, exploiting known vulnerabilities aggressively.

Executive Summary

Equifax reported a data breach into their system. As a result, 143 million Americans’ Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, and some driver license numbers were compromised. Roughly 209,000 credit card records were also stolen. The incident occurred due to an unpatched Apache Struts vulnerability exploited by attackers.

Detailed Summary

In 2017, Equifax—a credit monitoring company serving businesses, individuals, and government entities—suffered a major breach. Attackers exploited CVE-2017-5638, a known Apache Struts vulnerability, using a simple Python tool (jexboss.py). They bypassed firewalls, accessed the web server, and exfiltrated data in 10MB chunks before detection. The breach exposed sensitive personal and financial information of over 143 million Americans.

Major Findings

  • Vulnerability exploited: CVE-2017-5638 (Apache Struts)
  • CVSS score: 10 (critical), disclosed two months prior to breach
  • Failure of IDP/IPS and endpoint protection

    toolsorg.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(...)
    org.apache.coyote.ajp.AjpProcessor.process(...)
    org.apache.coyote.ajp.AjpProtocol$AjpConnectionHandler...
    org.apache.tomcat.util.net.JIoEndpoint$Worker.run(...)
    java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:662)
    You are seeing this page because development mode was enabled.

    That is Lack of encryption on crown jewel database

Recommendations

  • Immediate Patching of Known Vulnerabilities
      • Establish a continuous vulnerability management process.
      • Prioritize CVEs with high CVSS scores and known exploit tools (e.g., jexboss.py for Apache Struts).
  • Encryption of Sensitive Databases
      • Apply full-disk and field-level encryption to crown jewel assets.
      • Ensure encryption keys are securely stored and rotated per policy.
  • Proper Configuration of IDS/IPS and SIEM Tools
      • Tune detection rules to identify Struts-specific exploit patterns.
      • Enable real-time alerting and integrate with incident response workflows.
  • Review of ACLs and Firewall Rules
      • Audit access control lists for least privilege enforcement.
      • Harden perimeter defenses and validate rule sets against known attack vectors.

Conclusion

The breach stemmed from negligence in patch management and incident response. The failure to act on a known vulnerability led to massive data loss. Organizations must align with NIST 800-61r2 and strengthen detection and response capabilities to prevent similar incidents.


References

  • CVE-2017-5638 – Apache Struts Vulnerability [NVD](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-5638)
  • Qualys Blog – Equifax Breach Analysis
  • Apache Struts Documentation
  • JexBoss Exploit Tool Overview (GitHub or security blogs)
  • NIST 800-61r2 – Computer Security Incident Handling Guide



Disclaimer: This report is an independent analysis of the publicly known Equifax 2017 breach. It is intended for educational and professional demonstration purposes only. No proprietary or confidential information is disclosed.

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