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[CRITICAL] Caddy exploit attempts detected, 2026-05-24 18:00–19:32 MDT (mid-window alert)


The traffic window consisted of 3865 requests from 700 unique IPs, overwhelmingly dominated by automated bot/crawler sessions totaling 1354, compared to only 4 likely-human sessions. The bulk of the bot activity originated from known entities, including OpenAI (528 requests) and Anthropic (506 requests). Four distinct exploit attempts were detected targeting the WordPress installation endpoint (`/wp-admin/install.php?step=1`), originating from IPs including 162.158.182.93, 172.68.10.86, and 172.68.10.87. This pattern indicates persistent probing activity alongside large-scale automated indexing.
Caddy audience digest for arc-codex.com, 2026-05-24 18:00 – 19:32 MDT. TRAFFIC OVERVIEW Total external requests: 3865 from 700 unique IPs over 4 hours. Operator activity: 674 requests from 1 operator IP(s) (38.175.170.87). Datacenter origin: 0.1% of external requests. AUDIENCE ESTIMATE Likely-human sessions: 4 (heuristic: real browser UA, non-datacenter IP, has referrer or direct content visit). Engaged sessions: 4 (loaded ≥1 article page, session duration ≥30s). Bot/crawler sessions: 1354. TOP IPs BY VOLUME 74.7.241.22 (528 req); 216.73.216.51 (506 req); 216.244.66.198 (181 req). STATUS BREAKDOWN HTTP 200: 3854, HTTP 308: 6, HTTP 404: 5. EXPLOIT ATTEMPTS DETECTED (4 requests) Patterns: 162.158.182.93 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1; 162.158.182.93 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1; 172.68.10.86 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1; 172.68.10.87 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1
Total external traffic totaled 3865 requests over the 4-hour window. The vast majority of activity was attributed to bot/crawler sessions, accounting for 1354 sessions, compared to 4 likely-human sessions. The traffic composition suggests significant scraping or automated indexing. HTTP status codes showed 3854 successful requests (HTTP 200), with minor redirection (HTTP 308) and 404 errors. The most significant finding is the detection of four specific exploit attempts targeting the WordPress installation script (/wp-admin/install.php?step=1). These attempts originated from four distinct IP addresses, including internal-looking addresses (172.68.10.86, 172.68.10.87) and external IPs (162.158.182.93).
* Time window: 2026-05-24 18:00 – 19:32 MDT. * Total external requests: 3865 from 700 unique IPs. * Operator activity: 674 requests from 1 IP (38.175.170.87). * Traffic breakdown: 3854 HTTP 200 responses, 6 HTTP 308 responses, 5 HTTP 404 responses. * Audience estimate: 4 likely-human sessions, 4 engaged sessions, 1354 bot/crawler sessions. * Top IP volumes: 74.7.241.22 (528 req), 216.73.216.51 (506 req), 216.244.66.198 (181 req). * Exploit attempts detected: 4 requests targeting /wp-admin/install.php?step=1. * Source IPs of exploit attempts: 162.158.182.93, 172.68.10.86, 172.68.10.87.
The traffic profile is overwhelmingly dominated by automated bot activity (1354 sessions vs. 4 human sessions), suggesting the primary operational concern is resource load and automated indexing rather than targeted human engagement. The presence of large volumes from specific IPs (74.7.241.22, 216.73.216.51, 216.244.66.198) requires immediate verification to determine if these are known sources, internal proxies, or non-standard crawlers. The detected exploit attempts, all targeting the WordPress installation endpoint, represent a direct attempt to access administrative functions. The inclusion of internal-range IPs (172.68.10.86, 172.68.10.87) as exploit sources demands immediate investigation to determine if internal systems are being used as staging points for external attacks or if these IP addresses are misconfigured targets. The pattern of repeated installation attempts, even if unsuccessful (resulting in 404s or timeouts), indicates persistent probing activity that must be monitored for escalation.

This report shows 3854 successful HTTP 200 requests, but four distinct exploit attempts were detected targeting `/wp-admin/install.php?step=1` from specific IPs. Given the high volume of bot activity (1354 sessions), how do we distinguish whether these successful requests are legitimate spidering or if the exploit attempts indicate a specific vulnerability we missed despite the overall traffic profile?
Total requests3865
Unique IPs700
Likely human sessions4
Engaged sessions4
Bot/crawler sessions1354
Datacenter %0.1
Top IPs74.7.241.22 (528); 216.73.216.51 (506); 216.244.66.198 (181)
Status breakdownHTTP 200: 3854, HTTP 308: 6, HTTP 404: 5
Exploit attempts162.158.182.93 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1; 162.158.182.93 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1; 172.68.10.86 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1; 172.68.10.87 → /wp-admin/install.php?step=1