IP Threat Report
172.202.37.160
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 | |
| 404 ratio >= 60% | Majority of requests returned 404 — enumeration | +25 | |
| Burst 14/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 15/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 16/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 18/2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 19/2s | 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 23/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 24/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 33/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 64/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 65/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 70/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 71/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst 72/10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger medium hits: 104 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 16 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 176 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 2 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +20 | |
| Danger medium hits: 24 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 32 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 4 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +40 | |
| Danger medium hits: 64 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 66 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 80 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 82 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 88 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 91 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger medium hits: 96 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Danger strong hits: 12 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 2 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +50 | |
| Danger strong hits: 3 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +75 | |
| Danger strong hits: 4 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 6 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger strong hits: 9 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Probe 302→404 | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +20 | |
| UA suspicious | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +15 |
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 172.202.37.160 is blocked at application level (HTTP 403)
- Consider blocking at firewall level (iptables/CSF) to reduce server load
- Report abuse to the network provider via their abuse contact
- Ensure sensitive files (.env, .git, backups) are not accessible from the web
🔎 Path Enumeration Protection
Block scanning from 172.202.37.160: rate-limit 404 responses per IP, deploy a honeypot 404 page, ensure no backup files are web-accessible.
🌊 Flood / DDoS Mitigation
Implement limit_req_zone in nginx. Deploy CDN with DDoS protection. Configure SYN cookies and connection tracking to throttle 172.202.37.160.
🤖 Bot Detection
Address UA spoofing from 172.202.37.160: maintain blocklist of known malicious UA strings, require consistent UA across sessions, implement TLS fingerprinting.
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
172.202.37.160 has been assigned a threat score of 280/100 (Critical). With this rating, the IP falls into the critical severity bracket — among the most dangerous addresses in our monitoring database.
The following attack categories were identified:
📊 Threat Analysis
Our monitoring infrastructure has identified 172.202.37.160, geolocated to Des Moines, United States, operating on the network of Microsoft, as a source of suspicious network activity. Our sensors captured 5,413 malicious requests from this address across a 4-day span, reflecting a sustained attack cadence of ~1353.3 requests per day. This address belongs to a datacenter or cloud hosting provider. Hosting IPs are frequently leveraged by threat actors who rent cheap VPS instances specifically for conducting attacks. The combination of 3 distinct attack vectors indicates a sophisticated, multi-pronged threat actor deploying automated tools that probe multiple attack surfaces simultaneously. With 17 flagged addresses, United States represents a notable presence in our threat database. With a threat score of 280/100, this IP is among the most dangerous addresses in our database. Immediate and complete blocking is strongly recommended.
This IP belongs to a hosting or data center provider. Malicious traffic from hosting infrastructure often originates from compromised VPS instances, rented servers used for scanning campaigns, or abused free-tier cloud accounts. Hosting providers typically respond to abuse reports within 24-72 hours.
Related Threats
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💡 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.
💡 HTTP Header Analysis for Threat Detection
Examining HTTP headers beyond User-Agent reveals attack tools and automated scripts. Missing standard headers, unusual ordering, non-standard values, and inconsistencies with claimed client identity all serve as reliable detection signals.