Digital Event Horizon
The 4chan imageboard has been compromised in a sophisticated attack, raising concerns about the potential exposure of sensitive user data.
4chan was hacked on Monday night with a "pretty comprehensive own" by an unknown entity.The Soyjack Party imageboard has claimed responsibility for the hack, but its validity is unclear.The extent of the hack remains unclear, including whether all user data was compromised.Security researchers have identified potential vulnerabilities in 4chan's outdated PHP version and unpatched tools.
The infamous imageboard site 4chan has been rendered largely inaccessible after a "pretty comprehensive own" by an unknown entity on Monday night. According to reports, DownDetector showed a significant spike in outage reports at around 10:07 pm Eastern time, which have remained elevated since the incident.
The Soyjack Party, a rival imageboard that began as a 4chan offshoot, has claimed responsibility for the hack. However, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction on these intensely insular boards. While posters at Soyjack Party have provided screenshots of what appear to be 4chan's PHP admin interface, among other screenshots, the extent of the hack remains unclear.
Security researcher Kevin Beaumont described the hack as "a pretty comprehensive own" that included access to SQL databases, source code, and shell access. 404Media reports that the site used an outdated version of PHP that could have been exploited by hackers to gain access, including the phpMyAdmin tool, a common attack vector frequently patched for security vulnerabilities.
Further analysis of screenshots provided by posters suggests that 4chan's data, including user data, may have been compromised. The presence of long-deprecated and removed functions like mysql_real_escape_string in the screenshots is seen as possible signs of an old, unpatched PHP version.
Despite claims of widespread data leaks on social media, reports of the site's ultimate "death" are premature without further information about the extent of the hack. It remains unclear whether hackers have gained deep access to all of 4chan's data, including user source code and registration information.
Related Information:
https://www.digitaleventhorizon.com/articles/The-4chan-Hack-A-Comprehensive-Analysis-deh.shtml
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2025/04/internet-cesspit-4chan-apparently-hacked-mostly-unreachable-since-monday-night/
Published: Tue Apr 15 16:44:31 2025 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
