IP Threat Report
104.28.249.137
ABUSE.MOM — BEHAVE OR GET EXPOSED
Geolocation & Classification
Detection Signatures
| Signature | Description | Points | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 404 ratio 40-60% | Majority of requests returned 404 — enumeration | +15 | |
| Burst 13/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 14/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 17/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 20/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 21/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 25/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 27/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 29/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 31/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 35/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 35/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 38/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 40/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 47/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 48/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 55/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 57/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 63/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 70/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 86/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 94/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger strong hits: 19 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 21 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 23 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 24 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 25 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 26 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 27 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 28 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 29 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Foreign referer | Referer from unrelated external domain | +10 | |
| POST seen | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +8 | |
| UA changed | Multiple User-Agents — bot rotation technique | +25 |
Observed Activity
Reconstructed HTTP requests from server access logs. Target domains redacted for security.
* Typical request patterns for detected signatures. Actual target domains are redacted.
Timeline
Network Provider
Recommendations
Actions taken & recommended
- IP 104.28.249.137 is blocked at application level (HTTP 403)
- Consider blocking at firewall level (iptables/CSF) to reduce server load
- Other malicious IPs detected in the same /24 subnet — consider blocking 104.28.249.0/24
- Report abuse to the network provider via their abuse contact
- Ensure sensitive files (.env, .git, backups) are not accessible from the web
🔎 Directory Scan Defense
IP 104.28.249.137 is enumerating directories. Configure fail2ban apache-404 jail after 10+ 404 errors. Disable directory listings. Normalize all 404 responses.
🌊 Flood / DDoS Mitigation
Implement limit_req_zone in nginx. Deploy CDN with DDoS protection. Configure SYN cookies and connection tracking to throttle 104.28.249.137.
🤖 User-Agent Anomaly Defense
IP 104.28.249.137 shows suspicious UA behavior. Block empty User-Agent requests. Implement JavaScript-based bot detection for sensitive endpoints.
Neighbors in 104.28.249.0/24
Other blocked IPs from the same /24 subnet — indicates systematic abuse from this network range.
Blacklist Status (DNSBL)
This IP was checked against major DNS-based blacklists used by mail servers and firewalls worldwide.
Checked: Spamhaus, SpamCop, Barracuda, SORBS, CBL, UCEProtect. Results may change over time.
Threat Analysis
104.28.249.137 has been assigned a threat score of 228/100 (Critical). A score this high marks a critical threat actor. This address has demonstrated persistent, aggressive malicious behavior across multiple detection vectors.
The following attack categories were identified:
📊 Threat Analysis
Network traffic from 104.28.249.137, located in Utrecht, Netherlands, operating on the network of Cloudflare, Inc., has been classified as malicious by our automated threat scoring engine. During its 7-day observation window, we recorded 1,001 hostile requests from this IP — roughly 143 per day on average. Classified as a VPN or proxy server, this IP serves as an anonymization layer. While VPNs have legitimate uses, this address has been observed routing clearly malicious traffic. The diversity of 3 separate attack methods suggests a comprehensive attack toolkit — likely an automated scanner that tests for vulnerabilities across multiple categories. Netherlands currently accounts for 13 blocked IPs in our database, making it a notable source of malicious traffic. With a threat score of 228/100, this IP is among the most dangerous addresses in our database. Immediate and complete blocking is strongly recommended.
This IP is associated with a VPN or proxy service. Attackers frequently route their traffic through anonymizing services to obscure their true location. This makes attribution more challenging but the malicious behavior patterns remain detectable.
Related Threats
Security Intelligence
💡 DDoS Mitigation Approaches
Distributed denial of service attacks overwhelm infrastructure with traffic volume. Effective mitigation combines always-on traffic scrubbing, anycast network distribution, rate limiting, and the ability to quickly scale absorption capacity during attacks.
💡 Memory Safety and Buffer Overflows
Buffer overflow vulnerabilities remain relevant in C/C++ applications despite decades of mitigation efforts. Modern protections like ASLR, stack canaries, and DEP reduce exploitability but determined attackers continue finding bypass techniques.