WebShellOrb

New Container, Old Code: Web Shell Persists Three Months in 1C-Bitrix Environment

Two 1C-Bitrix sites shared a web shell named WebShellOrb after an attacker exploited multiple vulnerabilities in a custom appeal application. The initial compromise went undetected because Nginx logs were retained for only one month, leading responders to conclude that no scanning activity remained visible. After agents showed no malicious code, administrators restarted the container without addressing the underlying issues in the shared filesystem and source code. The attacker regained access weeks later by reusing JWT tokens generated with a hardcoded secret and by exploiting SQL injection flaws that allowed password hash extraction. Shared system user accounts and a common filesystem volume enabled the shell to propagate between sites and survive container recreation. The incident highlighted that redeploying containers and rotating passwords failed to eliminate persistence rooted in unpatched code and misconfigured authentication logic.