Chris Vickery discovered the database online by searching for open databases on the computer search engine Shodan. First, he discovered four IP addresses that led him to a MongoDB database, and he ultimately found the MacKeeper data featuring users’ IP addresses, software licenses, and activation codes along with the hashed passwords, names, numbers, and email addresses.
It is actually quite common to find open MongoDB databases online. However it remains unclear how long the MacKeeper database was left open. According to Brian Krebs, MacKeeper said its database was left open for about a week due to a server misconfiguration, but Vickery points out that the database he found was last dated around the middle of November.
Most strikingly, the passwords in the database were protected only with the hashing algorithm MD5, which has been decried in the past by its own creator as subpar and no longer secure. There are even MD5 cracking tools available online, which are not hard to find. MacKeeper told Forbes that it is currently updating to the SHA512 hashing algorithm.
Vickery claims that he was unable to reach Kromtech, the company behind MacKeeper, to alert it of the flaws, so he took to Reddit to make his discovery public in the hope of catching the company’s attention.
Kromtech has since responded to Vickery and thanked him for his disclosure. The firm said the vulnerability has now been patched and it will be carrying out an internal review.
“We fixed this error within hours of the discovery. Analysis of our data storage system shows only one individual gained access … the security researcher himself,” said Kromtech. “We have been in communication with Chris and he has not shared or used the data inappropriately.”
So it appears that Vickery is the only person that was aware of this potential leak of customer data, and no malicious actor gained access to the database.
