IP Threat Report
20.238.42.79
ABUSE.MOM — BEHAVE OR GET EXPOSED
Geolocation & Classification
Detection Signatures
| Signature | Description | Points | Severity |
|---|---|---|---|
| UA suspicious (short/empty) | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +15 | |
| Danger strong hits: 6 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger medium hits: 176 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Burst: 51 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 168 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger strong hits: 8 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| Danger medium hits: 264 | Medium-risk: admin panels, config files | +60 | |
| Burst: 50 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 155 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 52 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 160 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 161 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 48 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 141 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Danger strong hits: 4 | High-risk paths: shells, RCE vectors, exploits | +100 | |
| 404 ratio 40-60% | Majority of requests returned 404 — enumeration | +15 | |
| Probe pattern 302->404 same path | Behavioral anomaly detected by automated analysis | +20 | |
| Burst: 47 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 144 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 41 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 117 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 44 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 128 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 143 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 178 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 53 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 164 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 49 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 158 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 159 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 46 req / 2s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 139 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 | |
| Burst: 114 req / 10s | Abnormally fast request rate — automated scanning | +35 |
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 20.238.42.79 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 20.238.42.0/24
- Report abuse to the network provider via their abuse contact
- Ensure sensitive files (.env, .git, backups) are not accessible from the web
🤖 Bot Detection
Address UA spoofing from 20.238.42.79: maintain blocklist of known malicious UA strings, require consistent UA across sessions, implement TLS fingerprinting.
🌊 Traffic Flood Defense
IP 20.238.42.79 is generating excessive traffic. Limit connections per source IP. Enable geographic blocking if traffic from this region is unexpected.
🔎 Path Enumeration Protection
Block scanning from 20.238.42.79: rate-limit 404 responses per IP, deploy a honeypot 404 page, ensure no backup files are web-accessible.
Neighbors in 20.238.42.0/24
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
20.238.42.79 has been assigned a threat score of 280/100 (Critical). This places it in the critical threat category. Immediate blocking is strongly advised across all network perimeters.
The following attack categories were identified:
📊 Threat Analysis
20.238.42.79 is registered in Dublin, Ireland, operating on the network of Microsoft Corporation. This IP first appeared in our threat feeds after triggering multiple behavioral detection signatures. The address has been active for 2 days in our monitoring system, producing 17 flagged requests at a rate of ~8.5/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 diversity of 3 separate attack methods suggests a comprehensive attack toolkit — likely an automated scanner that tests for vulnerabilities across multiple categories. With 101 flagged addresses, Ireland represents a significant presence in our threat database. At 280/100, this is an extremely high-risk address. All traffic should be considered hostile.
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
Security Intelligence
💡 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.
💡 Automated Incident Response
Automated response systems can block threats in milliseconds, far faster than human analysts. However, automation requires careful safeguards — rate limits on blocking actions, automatic expiration, and human review queues prevent automated systems from causing self-inflicted outages.