82 results for “Persistence”

Microsoft Threat Intelligence analyzes a tampered anthropic.claude-code extension (versions 2.1.312 and 2.1.313) served on the Cursor marketplace on 29 October 2026. The injected JavaScript loader adds an SSH key labeled svc-telemetry, opens a reverse SSH tunnel and sets up persistence on macOS, Linux and Windows. The post gives cleanup steps, IOCs and Defender XDR hunting queries. VS Code Marketplace and npm were not affected.

microsoft.comwriteupPublished and added 31 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

Analysis of a trojanized anthropic.claude-code 2.1.313 extension (darwin-arm64), found on Open VSX, with a 66-line loader prepended to extension.js. It adds an svc-telemetry key to authorized_keys, opens a reverse SSH tunnel to 134.209.82.225, sets persistence (LaunchAgent, cron, scheduled task) and sends host recon over HTTP port 8099. Includes IOCs, hashes and response steps; no further payload download was found.

opensourcemalware.comwriteupPublished and added 30 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

The Claude Code VS Code extension anthropic.claude-code 2.1.313 was published on Open VSX on 29 October 2026 with a malicious loader prepended to extension.js. On load it planted an attacker SSH key (svc-telemetry), installed per-OS persistence, opened a reverse SSH tunnel and beaconed host recon over HTTP. Cursor reports at most 5,000 users received it in an 11-hour window. The post gives the timeline, cleanup artifacts and credential rotation steps.

stepsecurity.iowriteupPublished and added 30 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

The article describes reflashing a Huawei E3372h-153 HiLink 4G USB modem so its embedded Linux OS runs an OpenVPN client over the mobile network, creating a covert, network-independent persistence channel after physical USB access. It walks through enabling debug mode, flashing firmware, disabling CD-ROM emulation, configuring DHCP and autorun scripts, and chaining a second L2VPN tunnel to bridge the attacker directly onto the victim's Ethernet segment for tools like Responder. Defense guidance focuses on restricting USB ports and disabling USB network adapters via policy.

hackers-arise.comwriteupPublished and added 28 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress investigation of incidents in September and October 2025 where a compromised camera management application (CMS.exe) was the initial access vector. Attackers dropped rs.win32.exe, a reverse shell, and sideloaded modified zlib DLLs (IPHLPAPI.DLL, samcli.dll) via the legitimate Microsoft WpcMon.exe in AppData, with Run key persistence and beaconing to 144.172.116[.]37. Includes detection pivots and hardening advice.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 28 Oct 2026, published 27 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress documents abuse of ConnectWise Cloud Backup (formerly SkyKick) vendor app credentials, used on October 15 from 144.172.64[.]128 to obtain Microsoft Graph tokens in at least 162 customer M365 tenants via client assertion. In one tenant, a ConnectWise Cloud Management Teams app self-assigned Global Administrator and added client secrets to an MSP management app and Huntress's own app, a persistence technique. The post lists application IDs, Entra sign-in and audit-log checks, user-agent indicators (kiota-dotnet vs Python-urllib/3.12, curl/7.88.1), and mitigation steps such as disabling (not deleting) the enterprise apps and reviewing added credentials.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 17 Oct 2026, published 16 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

ARMORY CASTLE (formerly UNC5221), a suspected PRC-nexus actor, exploited BeyondTrust Remote Support zero-day CVE-2026-102764 in August 2026, per Mandiant incident response. The post details the SAWFLY PHP webshell, BARECLAW SOCKS5 WebSocket tunneler, SUID root escalation, sudoers template persistence, vault credential extraction, log deletion and haproxy.conf changes. It adds YARA rules, detection ideas and patch-first remediation (BT26-05).

cloud.google.comwriteupAdded 29 Oct 2026, published 15 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

StepSecurity details how tensorlake@0.5.144 was pushed to npm after malicious commits landed directly on the tensorlakeai/tensorlake GitHub repo's main branch under a maintainer's identity, carrying a valid npm provenance attestation despite being malicious. The preinstall hook downloads Bun to run an obfuscated payload that steals GitHub/npm tokens, cloud and Vault/Kubernetes secrets, SSH keys, browser logins, and AI-tool configs (Claude, Cursor, Windsurf), then self-propagates by republishing stolen npm packages and committing persistence files (.claude/settings.json, .vscode/tasks.json) to reachable repos. A "hostage token" mechanism installs a gh-token-monitor service that runs a home-directory wipe if the stolen GitHub token is revoked before the monitor is removed, inverting the normal incident-response order.

stepsecurity.iowriteupPublished and added 8 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress researchers reconstruct an Akira ransomware attack timeline using forensic artifacts collected after the Huntress agent was installed post-compromise, including Windows Registry Shellbags, Event Logs, and Akira ransomware log files. The attacker used RDP from an unowned workstation, disabled BitDefender via its management console, ran procdump on lsass.exe for credential theft, deployed the GOST tunneling tool for C2/persistence, used RClone for data exfiltration, and executed ransomware via PowerShell commands that deleted volume shadow copies, with Shellbags showing the attacker verifying encryption success.

huntress.comwriteupPublished and added 6 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

An incident-response style deep dive into active in-the-wild exploitation of Citrix NetScaler ADC/Gateway via CVE-2026-88771 (unauthenticated RCE through log-poisoning of ns_monuploadd_err.pl) and CVE-2026-88772 (DTLS memory overflow), part of 8 CVEs disclosed by Citrix on September 27, 2026. The author reverse-engineers the full post-exploitation toolkit dropped after root is obtained: SLAPSHOT (a Perl/Python loopback TCP tunneler/pivot), WHIPSHOT (a disguised PHP web shell served via fake CSS paths), the Platypus C2 agent, and a Perl "Pitboss" dropper script (with full decoded source and an embedded SHA-256-protected PHP web shell) that creates a rogue superuser, SUIDs /bin/sh, exfiltrates NetScaler config, and patches httpd.conf for persistence. It closes with extensive IOCs (C2 IPs, file hashes, paths, credentials) and patch guidance for affected NetScaler builds.

theravenfile.comwriteupPublished and added 6 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

Explains PEP 829's new .start files in Python 3.15, which let a package register package.module:callable entries in site-packages that execute automatically every time an interpreter starts, before any user code runs. The author walks through a reproducible lab showing code execution via a .start file, contrasts it with the older executable-import .pth file technique it replaces, and gives forensic hunting commands (using python -S to avoid triggering the mechanism during investigation) to locate and audit .start files on disk.

dfir.chwriteupAdded 6 Oct 2026, published 4 Oct 2026🛡️ Security

Microsoft Threat Intelligence tracked in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2026-73570, an unauthenticated OS command-injection vulnerability in Zimbra Collaboration Suite's SNMP notification path (swatchdog-to-snmptrap), triggerable via a crafted SMTP request when the optional zimbra-snmp package is enabled. The post documents pre-disclosure scanning, JSP webshell deployment, a novel pam_exec/zmmailboxdmgr privilege-escalation chain to root, systemd-based persistence (zimlog.service), theft of zimbraPreAuthKey/zimbraAuthTokenKey via zmlocalconfig and LDAP, lateral movement over Zimbra's SSH identity, a multi-stage Go-based remote-access agent (zimclient2 via zimdown2/agent2.sh), a dedicated mailbox-exfiltration implant, and an AzCopy-based exfiltration attempt, closing with Defender XDR KQL hunting queries and MITRE ATT&CK mapping.

microsoft.comwriteupAdded 1 Oct 2026, published 30 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Cisco Talos details UAT-11587, a China-nexus threat cluster targeting government, defense, and policy organizations across Taiwan, India, the Philippines, Cambodia, and other Asian countries with spear-phishing and a five-stage infection chain (HTA/WSF stagers, JScript decryptors, .NET BinaryFormatter/ActivitySurrogateSelector deserialization gadgets, and DLL sideloading via the signed GatherOsState.exe) to deploy a new Rust-compiled backdoor called Antino. Antino uses Microsoft Graph/Outlook/OneDrive as a dead-drop C2 channel instead of a traditional C2 server, supports shell/PowerShell execution, file transfer, shellcode loading with a sleep-mask evasion technique, and abuses the Windows Scripted Diagnostics framework for persistence; Talos also notes possible infrastructure overlap with Symantec's "Jewelbug" cluster and Arctic Wolf's UNC6384 reporting. Includes ClamAV/Snort coverage and IOCs.

blog.talosintelligence.comwriteupAdded 7 Oct 2026, published 30 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Microsoft Defender Experts document a July 2026 phishing campaign that delivers a masqueraded but legitimately signed MSP360 RMM installer (v2.5.0.67) via meeting-invite, Zoom, Adobe, and DHL-themed lures hosted on both attacker infrastructure and legitimate cloud services (S3, Cloudflare R2, Dropbox, GitLab, Supabase). After UAC-elevated installation and service persistence, the RMM.Agent.exe service launches PowerShell to silently install a ConnectWise ScreenConnect client via msiexec, which the actor then uses via RunFile to drop credential-theft and reconnaissance tools disguised as Windows/Defender/Phone Link components. A separate July intrusion used FaronicsDeployAgent.exe the same way to deploy ScreenConnect, showing the technique is not MSP360-specific; Microsoft provides IOCs, hunting queries, and mitigation guidance (Application Control, AppLocker publisher rules, ASR rules) but does not attribute the activity.

microsoft.comwriteupAdded 7 Oct 2026, published 29 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Mandiant and GTIG report on exploitation of the Citrix NetScaler ADC and Gateway zero-day CVE-2026-88772, active since early September 2026, alongside CVE-2026-88771. It covers the DTLS-triggered NSPPE crash, httpd.conf persistence via .deb and .sig handlers, SUID /bin/sh, and the WHIPSHOT web shell and SLAPSHOT tunneler. It gives hunting commands, log artifacts, YARA rules, patched builds and containment steps.

cloud.google.comwriteupAdded 29 Oct 2026, published 29 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress researchers document a campaign where attackers built a malicious ChatGPT Custom GPT ("Plus 5.6") promoted via Google Ads, which redirects victims through a Google Sites-hosted ClickFix/Cloudflare-CAPTCHA lure into running PowerShell. The resulting chain sideloads malicious DLLs into a legitimate Canon-signed (and later Stardock-signed) binary, hides a shellcode loader inside a doctored .wav file (and later a NuGet package), and unpacks a custom encrypted "file system" (monitor.raw) delivering a full-featured RAT with remote desktop, browser/credential access, DNS-over-HTTPS C2, AMSI bypass, ntdll unhooking, and anti-VM checks. Huntress got the Custom GPT taken down by OpenAI but observed a near-identical replacement days later, and provides process-based and persistence-based detection guidance.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 29 Sep 2026, published 28 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress details a 2026 DarkMe RAT campaign that ditches the zero-days (CVE-2023-38831, CVE-2024-21412) previously used by the Water Hydra/EvilNum-linked group in favor of a plain phishing email delivering a disguised .pif file. The writeup reverse-engineers the full chain — msiexec pulling a wrapped MSI, a WSF stager, three obfuscated VB6 loader DLLs (Coconout.dll, Use.dll, Finalized.dll), a novel 329-app "inverted sandbox" gate, process hollowing into a signed clspack.exe, and Locked:// protocol-handler persistence — and corrects prior public reporting by showing the payload's "single-byte XOR" is actually a broken RC4 implementation. It closes with fresh C2 infrastructure (thatawful[.]boutique, port 7712), OSINT on delivery domains (including a related ClickFix/Efimer campaign), and concrete Sigma-style hunting rules and remediation steps.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 23 Sep 2026, published 22 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress details a post-incident investigation into an INC ransomware attack that hit 175+ endpoints, reconstructed from surviving EDR telemetry and Windows event logs rather than live detection. The intrusion shows a 17-day gap between initial scheduled-task persistence and RDP lateral movement (possibly an initial access broker), and a second wave using AnyDesk, a BYOVD tool (hwau.exe loading the HwAudio kernel driver) to disable security controls, and Impacket's atexec.py to deploy INC ransomware. Attackers dropped two distinct ransom notes 53 minutes apart: a standard INC-README.txt and a detailed DATALEAK_PRESS_RELEASE.txt threatening to notify media, employees and partners with a full inventory of stolen files.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 22 Sep 2026, published 21 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Socket's Threat Research Team details a supply-chain compromise of four @asyncapi npm packages (generator-helpers, generator-components, generator, specs) published via a poisoned source commit through GitHub Actions trusted publishing. The packages contain an obfuscated load-time (not install-hook) implant that spawns a detached Node.js process to fetch an IPFS-hosted, AES-256-GCM-encrypted loader delivering the "Miasma" botnet/tasking framework, which supports REST C2, multi-channel comms (Nostr, IPFS, Ethereum RPC, BitTorrent DHT), shell execution, file exfiltration, and systemd persistence. Includes full technical analysis, IOCs, hashes, and MITRE ATT&CK mapping.

socket.devwriteupAdded 21 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress analysts detail two Settra ransomware incidents (July and September) observed in customer environments, documenting the threat actor's use of the MeshAgent RMM for persistence, BYOVD via the gdrv.sys driver, and anti-forensic techniques including Windows Event Log clearing, reagentc /disable, diskpart-based recovery partition removal, and cipher.exe free-space wiping. The post includes specific IOCs — C2 IPs 45.13.122[.]7 and 193.5.65[.]114, the recurring workstation name WIN-LIVFRVQFMKO, and the RESTORE_FILES.txt ransom note — supplementing prior public reporting from MoxFive and SOCRadar on this newer ransomware variant first seen in June.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 22 Sep 2026, published 17 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Bishop Fox reverse-engineered "MikroTrick," a two-vulnerability chain (CVE-2026-67279 and CVE-2026-86060) that lets an unauthenticated SSH client fully take over vulnerable MikroTik RouterOS 7.x devices: an SSH rekey bypasses the authentication-state check to reach post-login functionality, and a legacy file-descriptor-based identity interface in the login helper is then abused via the username "-2" to impersonate a trusted local admin identity. The post details patch diffs between RouterOS 7.23.3/7.23.4 and 6.49.20/6.49.21 binaries, a non-invasive differential SSH detector for the flaw, and field evidence from compromised internet-facing routers showing persistence via scripts/schedulers with owner="0" that survive volatile log resets.

bishopfox.comwriteupAdded 28 Sep 2026, published 17 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Microsoft Security Research details an active campaign (since May 2026) where attackers use voice-phishing and SMS lures impersonating IT helpdesk passkey/SSO enrollment requests to drive victims into AiTM or device-code phishing flows, compromising Microsoft 365 identities. Post-compromise, actors register attacker-controlled MFA methods (e.g., software OTP tokens) for persistence, conduct systematic Microsoft Graph reconnaissance across users, groups, roles, and SharePoint/OneDrive/Exchange, then exfiltrate data at a measured pace using automated Node.js/python-httpx tooling while evading detection through IP rotation and anonymous proxies. The post includes real audit-log JSON examples, multiple KQL hunting queries for GraphAPIAuditEvents/CloudAppEvents, full MITRE ATT&CK mapping, and attributes the initial-access tradecraft to Storm-3121 and Storm-3032, which feed into ShinyHunters/Falcon and Helix extortion operations.

microsoft.comwriteupAdded 3 Oct 2026, published 9 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress SOC details two August incidents where phishing emails led victims through a fake CAPTCHA/Adobe PDF Reader lure into a browser-in-the-browser (BiTB) page spoofing get.adobe.com, tricking them into installing a ScreenConnect client disguised as an Adobe Reader update. The installer chained to a second rogue ScreenConnect client via curl/cmd.exe, both registered as Windows services for persistence, then executed defense-evasion binaries (HideCursor.exe, HideUL.exe) to hide cursor/screen activity before Huntress disrupted the intrusions. Full IOCs (domains, ScreenConnect client IDs/relays, file hashes/paths) are included for defenders.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 11 Sep 2026, published 9 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Aikido Security discovered a variant of the XCSSET macOS worm hidden in universal_file_viewer, a Flutter file-preview package on pub.dev (~500 downloads) — the first compromised package found on that registry. The infection was not a targeted supply-chain attack but resulted from the maintainer's machine being infected with XCSSET, which auto-injects malicious build hooks into every Gradle, Xcode, and git project it finds; the poisoned example/ directory (Android Gradle build, iOS/macOS Xcode project files) shipped in the package tarball. The writeup details XCSSET's four-stage infection chain, its android_finder/git_finder/replicator_finder propagation modules, Launchpad-tile persistence, and theft modules targeting Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Telegram, Notes, and clipboard data, plus C2 domain and file-artifact IOCs.

aikido.devwriteupPublished and added 8 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Aikido Security reports that the Shai-Hulud npm worm payload (SHA256 e37e3dd...e5b1a6), first seen during the @AntV compromise on May 19, 2026, resurfaced 111 days later on September 7 in four new packages (feishu-docx-mcp, bmc-i18n-extract-cli, blueai-cli, bmc-translate-utils) published by the same npm account within one hour. The payload passed npm's publish-time malware scanning — introduced in July 2026 to hold packages 5-15 minutes for automated checks — despite being an exact, previously fingerprinted hash match, exposing a gap between npm's scanning claims and actual detection coverage. The writeup includes full IOCs: C2 domain t.m-kosche.com, preinstall script running `bun run index.js`, persistence via .vscode/tasks.json and .claude/settings.json, and stolen-token-based republish behavior.

aikido.devwriteupPublished and added 7 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress details a campaign in which social-engineering (tech-support scams, Quick Assist, malicious downloads) leads to rogue ScreenConnect installs that deploy a four-stage VBScript loader (1.vbs–4.vbs). The loader profiles the host (checking for EDR products, existing ScreenConnect, RAM size), fetches an AES-encrypted payload via a Dropbox-hosted map file, and drops one of three packages: a user-level backdoor, a persistence/privesc kit, or a tunneling+cryptomining bundle (wstunnel/XMRig plus the vulnerable WinRing0 driver for BYOVD). A backdoored ScreenConnect client then re-pushes the VBScript chain to every newly connected Host session via ScreenConnect's file-transfer API, giving the campaign worm-like self-propagation — which ConnectWise later confirmed stems from CVE-2026-84869, a 9.9 CVSS flaw in unauthorized file-transfer execution, patched in ScreenConnect 26.6.5.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 8 Sep 2026, published 3 Sep 2026🛡️ Security

Socket's Threat Research Team documents a supply chain attack in which three legitimate Rust crates (arrayref, internment, append-only-vec) maintained by droundy were republished with a dependency on proc-macro1, a typosquat of proc-macro2 whose build.rs downloads and executes cross-platform malware during Cargo compilation. The stage-2 backdoor profiles the host, inventories Chromium browser login origins and extensions, establishes user-level persistence (HKCU Run key, systemd service, or LaunchAgent), and beacons to a C2 with a DGA fallback of ten date-based domains, with all analyzed variants sharing the same embedded RSA key. The report includes full IOCs (C2 IPs, payload hashes, host artifacts, DGA domains) and remediation guidance for CI/CD and developer environments that built the malicious versions.

socket.devwriteupPublished and added 20 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

Aikido researchers detail a supply-chain compromise of three popular Rust crates maintained by the same author, arrayref with 244M downloads, append-only-vec with 4M, and internment with 14M, that were modified to add a single malicious manifest dependency, proc-macro1, a typosquat of proc-macro2. Because the dependency's build.rs executes automatically during cargo build, merely compiling a project pulling in any of these crates downloads and runs a platform-specific payload that drops an infostealer targeting Chromium browser credentials and crypto-wallet extension storage, installs macOS LaunchAgent persistence, and beacons to a lightweight C2 supporting remote shell commands. The campaign's TTPs closely mirror the prior npm-based Axios and Mastra compromises attributed to DPRK, suggesting the same actor expanding into the Rust ecosystem.

aikido.devwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 20 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

N4D Mesh Controller is a Linux malware campaign that abuses exposed MCP servers (tools/list, then tools/call on execute_command) and many other services. Datadog executed a UPX-packed, garble-obfuscated Go agent (33.8-go-titan) fetched from 209.99.186.235 in isolated microVMs and an offline replay lab. The post lists persistence paths, controller API paths, an SSH key, YARA and VirusTotal Livehunt rules, and response guidance.

securitylabs.datadoghq.comwriteupAdded 29 Oct 2026, published 20 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress breaks down two macOS Screen Sharing (screensharingd/RFB) vulnerabilities patched by Apple: CVE-2026-43760, an authenticated confused-context bug letting legacy-VNC users read/write arbitrary files as root, and CVE-2026-65400, a pre-authentication bug in the SRP handshake that lets an unauthenticated remote attacker read/write any filesystem artifact as root and achieve remote code execution via LaunchDaemons or shell startup file persistence. The post details the SSFileCopySender/SSFileCopyReceiver helper processes, their kTCCServiceSystemPolicyAllFiles entitlement, TCC/SIP interactions, exposure via hosted bare-metal Mac providers, and how to detect exploitation using Apple's Endpoint Security framework (ES_EVENT_TYPE_NOTIFY_SCREENSHARING_ATTACH, authentication_type, UID/GID anomalies).

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 7 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

OpenSourceMalware documents WEL1DROPPER (aka Flooding Dropper), a campaign that published 788+ slopsquatted npm packages (e.g. checkout-mobile-bnpl) which execute on require() with no install script, downloading cross-platform RAT/infostealer payloads via rotating Cloudflare Workers URLs with a DNS TXT-record fallback channel. The writeup reverse-engineers the Linux (UPX-packed ELF) and macOS (universal Mach-O) second-stage payloads, detailing anti-analysis checks, LaunchAgent persistence disguised as com.apple.windowserver.helper, XOR-obfuscated C2 domains, a suspected Sliver C2 final stage, and ties the campaign to Russian financial-sector lures and the earlier Moika npm campaign.

opensourcemalware.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 6 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress details a macOS incident where a victim ran a ClickFix fake-CAPTCHA Terminal command that chained a Bash profiler/loader into a Go-based Mach-O stealer. The malware harvests Keychain, browser password stores, and cached credentials, establishes persistence via a fake SoftwareUpdate LaunchAgent and BTM, uses osascript to phish the user's password, and includes a DRAIN function that checks crypto wallet balances (BTC, LTC, DOGE, ETH, XRP, Monero) and siphons a configurable percentage or the full balance to attacker wallets. All infrastructure (loader hosting, payload hosting, C2 on port 8133) traces back to Aeza Group, a sanctioned Russian bulletproof hosting provider.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 6 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

Snyk Security Research independently verified an active npm supply-chain compromise affecting keyv@6.0.0 and 10 related packages (cacheable family, ecto) published by maintainer jaredwray on August 4, 2026, adding a preinstall hook (setup.mjs) that loads a 727KB obfuscated second-stage payload (Math_Symbol.js) targeting GitHub/npm/cloud credentials, private keys, and Vault/Kubernetes tokens via a gh-token-monitor persistence mechanism. The attack also planted .claude/settings.json and .vscode/tasks.json hooks to trigger execution when developers open the repo in Claude Code or VS Code, and the malicious release was signed by a valid npm trusted-publisher (GitHub Actions) attestation, demonstrating that provenance can faithfully attest a build whose source was already compromised. Snyk provides byte-level tarball diffs, a minute-by-minute incident timeline, and remediation steps including pinning to keyv@5.6.0, hunting for gh-token-monitor persistence, and credential rotation.

snyk.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 4 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress' running investigation into critical N-able N-central vulnerabilities exploited in the wild, tracking CVE-2026-18556/CVE-2026-18577 (August auth-bypass/account-takeover via incomplete patch) and later CVE-2026-86206/CVE-2026-86207 and a pre-auth RCE zero-day CVE-2026-86218 (CVSS 10.0). The post details reproduced exploit chains abusing N-central's Take Control feature and API to gain admin access and deploy Cloudflare tunnels for persistence, along with IOCs, attacker tradecraft (anomalous ".invalid" account creation, URL-encoded API abuse, VPN exit-node IPs), and concrete log-based detection guidance for MSPs running the RMM platform.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 3 Aug 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress reverse-engineers MacSync, a macOS stealer-and-RAT chain delivered via a weaponised claude.ai share link promoted through Google Ads malvertising, where a victim searching for how to install Claude on a Mac pastes a curl piped to zsh one-liner. The writeup traces all six stages: a polymorphic zsh loader, a server-side AppleScript that social-engineers Full Disk Access and validates the account password via dscl authonly, keychain and browser Safe Storage theft, a statically-linked C++ Mach-O RAT with WebSocket and AES-CBC C2 plus LaunchAgent persistence disguised as legitimate updaters, a signed Screen Recording-badged helper that phishes the TCC screen-capture permission, and trojanised Electron wallet apps (Ledger Live and Ledger Wallet) that inject a fake recovery-phrase phishing flow. It ties the kit to the AMOS and Atomic Stealer lineage via Russian-language code comments and shared infrastructure, and documents concrete IOCs including domains, C2 IP, mutex naming, and plist patterns for defenders.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 29 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

Socket's Threat Research team analyzed corepack[.]org, a fake site impersonating the Node.js Corepack tool that exploits its 2025 removal from Node.js bundling to rank in search results and trick developers into downloading a fake VPN installer. The installer drops OpenShield (an infostealer with browser-data/SSH-key theft, PowerShell execution, and run-key persistence) plus a bandwidth-sharing proxyware component that turns victim machines into proxy exit nodes, while a second click path delivers adware/trojan activity via OperaGXSetup.exe. The post includes full IOCs and details community/OpenJS Foundation takedown efforts against the domain.

socket.devwriteupPublished and added 25 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

StepSecurity reconstructs how a malicious version of XanaduAI's mrmustard quantum-photonics library (0.7.4) reached PyPI: an attacker compromised a maintainer's GitHub account, used a throwaway workflow to exfiltrate the project's PyPI and Codecov tokens via webhook.site, then published a poisoned tarball directly (the malicious code never touched the git source tree). On import, the payload evades CI/container sandboxes, then steals SSH keys, AWS/Kubernetes credentials, and HPC/GPU environment data, XOR-obfuscates it, and beacons to metrics.femboy.energy before installing three persistence mechanisms (cron job, Python .pth hook, shell rc hook). The post includes full IOCs, detection guidance via Harden-Runner's Secret Exfiltration Attempt detection and Global Block Policy, and step-by-step recovery instructions.

stepsecurity.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 25 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

StepSecurity analyzes SleeperGem, a coordinated RubyGems supply chain attack that trojanized git_credential_manager, Dendreo, and a fastlane plugin between July 18-19, 2026. The malicious releases act as CI-evading loaders that, on developer machines, download a second-stage native daemon and deploy.sh from an attacker-controlled Forgejo host (git.disroot.org), install dual persistence via systemd and cron, and attempt privilege escalation to plant a setuid backdoor mimicking ping6. The post uses Harden-Runner audit-mode captures to document the full kill chain and provides IOCs and cleanup steps, crediting Aikido Security with the original discovery.

stepsecurity.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 19 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

Wiz Research details how an attacker used 37 decoy pull requests to mask exploitation of a pull_request_target "pwn request" misconfiguration in the asyncapi/generator GitHub Actions workflow, stealing a privileged PAT belonging to the asyncapi-bot service account. The attacker then published four malicious npm packages (five versions) under the @asyncapi namespace with over 3 million weekly downloads, delivering a self-identified "M-RED-TEAM v6.4" multi-stage payload that fetches an 8.25MB encrypted bundle from IPFS and installs a 92,000-line trojan framework with systemd persistence and HTTP/Nostr/Ethereum/libp2p C2 channels, targeting browser credentials, SSH keys, npm/GitHub tokens, AWS credentials, and crypto wallets. The piece also analyzes partial technical overlap with the Miasma malware framework and the unrelated prt-scan campaign without making definitive attribution.

wiz.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 14 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress SOC analysis of a June incident where a threat actor exploited a SQL injection flaw in an IIS/MSSQL web application to gain access, then extensively modified the environment: enabling Terminal Services, creating a rogue admin account (adminweb2$), disabling Windows Defender, deploying BadIIS malicious IIS modules (HttpFastCgiModule.dll, HttpCgiModule.dll) for SEO fraud, installing the XMRig cryptominer with nssm.exe persistence and hidden/system file attributes, and dropping additional PowerShell/batch payloads (qdcjoke1.2.ps1, c_joke1.2.ps1) via base64-encoded PowerShell and Out-of-Band Application Security Testing (OAST) exfiltration channels (oastify.com).

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 13 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress's Tactical Response team documents a repeatable intrusion cluster (tracked by Sophos as STAC3725) where an initial access broker exploits CVE-2025-5777 "CitrixBleed 2," a pre-auth memory overread in NetScaler ADC/Gateway login endpoints, to leak process heap and hijack valid Citrix session tokens even past MFA. The writeup walks through forensic proof of the session hijack, a portable local privilege escalation tool that plants a REG_LINK SymbolicLinkValue under the RdpBus device class to hijack the Group Policy state hierarchy and relaunch as SYSTEM via the AppMgmt service, followed by backdoor admin creation, ScreenConnect/Zoho Assist/Atera persistence, Impacket and Mimikatz for lateral movement/credential theft, and eventual DragonForce ransomware deployment. Includes concrete IOCs, log-based detection guidance, and hardening recommendations for NetScaler operators.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 9 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress incident writeup detailing how a threat actor exploited a SonicWall VPN vulnerability to gain initial access, deployed Akira ransomware, and found a plaintext file of Huntress MFA recovery codes on a security engineer's desktop. The attacker used those codes to bypass MFA, log into the victim's Huntress portal from IP 104.238.221.69, close active incident reports, and uninstall EDR agents to blind defenses — while also exporting a certificate via certutil for potential persistence. The piece frames this as a case study for why plaintext password/recovery-code storage is dangerous and recommends hashing (Argon2/bcrypt), salting, and password managers instead.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 6 Jul 2026🛡️ Security

Socket Threat Research documents a new wave of the Miasma Mini Shai-Hulud npm supply-chain campaign compromising @immobiliarelabs Backstage plugins for GitLab integration and LDAP authentication, published on June 26, 2026. The malicious tarballs (e.g. @immobiliarelabs/backstage-plugin-gitlab@7.0.2) add a hidden root-level index.js triggered via the "Phantom Gyp" node-gyp binding.gyp trick, which decrypts an AES-128-GCM payload, bootstraps Bun, and steals npm/GitHub/cloud/SSH/CI-CD secrets while planting GitHub Actions and AI-IDE persistence. The report also traces a plausible root cause to the earlier compromise of codfish/semantic-release-action (tag-hijacking reported by StepSecurity) and highlights abuse of GitHub's deployment event trigger — a technique flagged by researcher Adnan Khan — to run attacker workflows without touching protected workflow files.

socket.devwriteupPublished and added 27 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Socket's research team documents a supply chain attack in which npm account "ehindero" mass-published 141 malicious versions of @mastra/* packages (including @mastra/core, 918K weekly downloads) that were byte-identical to legitimate code but added a single new dependency: the typosquatted package easy-day-js. That package's postinstall hook (setup.cjs) disables TLS validation, fetches a second-stage cross-platform Node.js implant (protocal.cjs) that installs OS-specific persistence (Windows Run key, macOS LaunchAgent, Linux systemd unit disguised as Node/NVM tooling), inventories 166 cryptocurrency wallet browser extensions, steals Chrome/Edge/Brave history, and accepts arbitrary remote tasking (Node/Shell runners) from a hardcoded C2 over a custom ICAP-style protocol. The writeup includes full IOCs, SHA-256 hashes, and remediation guidance (rotate npm/CI/SSH credentials, treat affected hosts as compromised, disable install scripts).

socket.devwriteupPublished and added 20 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Attackers adopted 400+ orphaned AUR (Arch User Repository) packages and injected malicious build logic that pulled in a malicious npm dependency (masquerading as atomic-lockfile, also seen as js-digest), dubbed the "Atomic Arch" campaign by Sonatype researchers. The malicious npm package deploys a Rust-based credential stealer targeting browser cookies, SSH keys, GitHub/npm tokens, and cloud/Docker credentials, with optional eBPF-based rootkit persistence on rooted systems. The piece explains scope (Arch, EndeavourOS, Manjaro, WSL2-based Arch, self-hosted Arch CI runners) and draws parallels to similar ownership-hijacking risks in npm, PyPI, GitHub Actions, and Homebrew.

stepsecurity.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 18 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

A threat actor took over a dormant maintainer account and republished 140+ packages in the @mastra npm scope (including @mastra/core, ~918K weekly downloads), injecting a typosquat of dayjs called easy-day-js as a new dependency in every manifest. A clean 1.11.21 version was published first, then a weaponized 1.11.22 tagged latest was pulled in via caret-range resolution, delivering a two-stage cross-platform backdoor that disables TLS validation, self-deletes, installs OS-specific persistence disguised as Node/NVM tooling, and steals browser history plus data from 166 crypto-wallet, password-manager (1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, Dashlane, NordPass, Proton Pass, KeePassXC, Zoho Vault, Kaspersky), MFA-authenticator, and Zapier browser extensions. The report ties the campaign's Hostwinds infrastructure, clean-then-armed typosquat, and TLS-off/detached/self-delete dropper pattern to the same playbook Microsoft attributed to Lazarus Group in the earlier axios npm compromise, and compares its extension targeting to the "HyperHives" ClickFix campaign, noting npm's lack of provenance enforcement (provenance: no on the malicious wave) as the control gap that let it through.

opensourcemalware.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 18 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Snyk details how a dormant, never-revoked npm contributor account (ehindero) was used to republish the entire @mastra scope (142+ packages, ~4M monthly downloads for @mastra/core alone) with an injected dependency, easy-day-js, a byte-for-byte dayjs impersonator. The postinstall hook in easy-day-js@1.11.22 disables TLS verification, pulls a second-stage payload from a raw IP, and drops a cross-platform cryptocurrency wallet stealer plus a RAT with OS-specific persistence (LaunchAgent, systemd unit, PowerShell staging) that beacons every 10 minutes over a self-signed wolfSSL certificate. The piece covers detection steps, the Snyk advisory (SNYK-JS-EASYDAYJS-17353313), and draws parallels to the earlier Axios npm compromise attributed by Microsoft to Sapphire Sleet (BlueNoroff).

snyk.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 16 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

InfoGuard LABS DFIR analysis of an intrusion that combined mailbombing and Microsoft Teams IT-support impersonation to deliver a modular Deno-based RAT and network proxy. The malware splits functionality across four JavaScript files (app.js, back.js, helper.js, webui.js) that abuse Deno's permission model, use string-array-shifting obfuscation, communicate C2 over a CloudFront-fronted WebSocket, and expose loopback HTTP services for command execution (127.0.0.1:10021) and TCP tunneling/pivoting (127.0.0.1:10022). The post details persistence via the HKCU Run key, Teams impersonation telemetry (TeamsImpersonationDetected), and provides KQL hunting queries for Deno execution flags, CloudFront C2 traffic, and registry persistence.

dfir.chwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 15 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress breaks down the dominant macOS infostealer delivery method: weaponized .dmg disk images that mimic legitimate installers and use branded background images, filename tricks ("Drag to Terminal"), or fake "cracked software" framing to trick users into manually overriding Gatekeeper. It covers named stealer families (AMOS, Poseidon, Odyssey, MacSync) that skip persistence entirely and instead do smash-and-grab credential/cookie/crypto-wallet theft before exfiltrating to C2. The post also details Huntress's detection approach — monitoring Endpoint Security API "mount" events for virtual disk images, checking for hidden .background directories, running Apple Vision OCR against embedded instruction images, and fuzzy-matching suspicious filenames — to catch the attack before the payload ever executes.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 10 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

StepSecurity documents a June 2026 compromise of the Pythagora-io/gpt-pilot GitHub repo (33.7k stars), where an attacker took over a co-founder's account and force-pushed a Shai-Hulud-variant credential stealer disguised as a "Revert" commit. The malware, a 758KB obfuscated Bun/JavaScript payload delivered via a Python telemetry module, steals AWS/npm/GitHub/Kubernetes/Vault/SSH credentials, uses GitHub commit messages as a covert C2 channel, exfiltrates via newly created GitHub repos, can abuse Sigstore/Fulcio to forge SLSA Build Level 3 attestations, and plants persistence hooks in Claude Code and VS Code. Notably, the attacker's injected code was blocked twice by the project's ruff CI linter/formatter before they gave up, illustrating code-quality tooling as an accidental security control, alongside full IOCs and lessons on branch protection and force-push monitoring.

stepsecurity.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 9 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Aikido Security researchers detail how the Miasma npm worm evolved to trigger malicious code via binding.gyp instead of package.json preinstall/postinstall scripts, since npm auto-runs node-gyp rebuild whenever a binding.gyp file exists. The piece walks through GYP's command-expansion syntax (<!(...)), a Python eval() sandbox escape that achieves arbitrary code execution from a "clean" gyp file, hiding payloads in transitively-included files (includes, config.gypi, common.gypi, ~/.gyp/include.gypi persistence), dependency-graph payload smuggling, compiler/linker hijacking via make_global_settings and $(shell) flag injection, and using actions/rules/postbuilds to run commands directly — all executing at npm install time regardless of what package.json declares.

aikido.devwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 9 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Snyk documents an active npm supply-chain attack ("Node-gyp Supply Chain Compromise - June 2026") that abuses binding.gyp's GYP command-expansion syntax (<!(...)) to trigger arbitrary code execution via node-gyp during npm install, bypassing detection tools that only monitor preinstall/postinstall scripts. The worm, tracked as "Phantom Gyp"/"Miasma" (a Shai-Hulud descendant) by StepSecurity, has hit 57 packages including autotel-* and @vapi-ai/server-sdk, harvests npm/GitHub/AWS/GCP/Azure/Vault/Kubernetes credentials via a multi-stage obfuscated Bun-based loader, injects GitHub Actions workflows for persistence, and self-propagates by republishing from compromised maintainer accounts.

snyk.iowriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 4 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress SOC dissects a multi-stage infection chain that begins with a malspam HTML attachment routed through a legitimate Google DoubleClick tracking link to evade reputation filters, before landing on a self-personalizing phishing kit and dropping a ZIP with a heavily obfuscated JScript loader. The chain cascades through PowerShell droppers into a .NET stager that performs extensive anti-analysis/anti-sandbox checks, disables Windows Defender, patches AMSI (via NtManageHotPatch on Windows 11 24H2) and ETW at the native API level, and uses RunPE process hollowing into InstallUtil.exe or MSBuild.exe to run a final loader that communicates over AES/RSA-encrypted, protobuf-serialized TCP C2 with certificate pinning. The writeup includes GPU-fingerprinting behavior, persistence via registry Run keys and randomized scheduled tasks, and concrete detection/hardening recommendations.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 3 Jun 2026🛡️ Security

Socket's threat research team details a fresh compromise of the npm package node-ipc, where dormant maintainer account "atiertant" was hijacked via an expired recovery-email domain and used to publish three malicious versions (9.1.6, 9.2.3, 12.0.1) containing an obfuscated credential-stealing backdoor appended only to the CommonJS build. The payload forks a detached child process, harvests cloud/SSH/CI/database credentials and secrets from the filesystem and environment, archives them, and exfiltrates via covert DNS TXT queries to a typosquatted Azure-lookalike domain (sh.azurestaticprovider.net) and zone bt.node.js, with no observed C2 response handling or persistence. The write-up includes the full decode chain (XOR+HMAC+base64 obfuscation), dynamic validation, and complete IOCs (hashes, domains, temp file paths).

socket.devwriteupPublished and added 30 May 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress SOC details two Gentlemen ransomware incidents showing Windows Event Log clearing, PowerShell-based Defender tampering, and Scheduled Task persistence via a fake svchost32.exe creating a SOCKS proxy C2 connection. Ties findings to a leaked internal RaaS database revealing CVE-2024-55591 exploitation and infrastructure links to Qilin and Lazarus Group.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 21 May 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress breaks down the ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) ecosystem, explaining how operators (e.g., Qilin) provide the malware and infrastructure while diverse affiliates (Scattered Spider, Moonstone Sleet, Devman) handle intrusion, meaning the same ransomware brand can involve very different attack chains. It details real-world tradecraft: initial access via RDP abuse, vulnerable edge appliances like SonicWall VPNs (preceding Akira deployment), and rogue RMM tools (ScreenConnect, TeamViewer, Bomgar), plus persistence via hidden user accounts and RMMs like AnyDesk/Chrome Remote Desktop, defense evasion via EDR/AV killers and BYOVD, and exfiltration using 7-Zip, MegaSync, RClone, S5cmd, and finger.exe.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 20 May 2026🛡️ Security

FOSSA's technical breakdown of the May 2026 Mini-Shai-Hulud campaign, which compromised at least 235 npm and PyPI packages including @tanstack/*, @uipath/*, mistralai, and @opensearch-project/opensearch. It details the two install-time payload mechanisms (a Git-dependency prepare-hook trick with an orphan commit for @tanstack/*, and direct preinstall scripts for @uipath/*/Mistral AI), a staged PyPI dropper in __init__.py that evades sandbox scanning, the credential-harvesting targets (AWS/GCP/Azure, Kubernetes, Vault, GitHub, npm tokens), exfiltration infrastructure (filev2.getsession.org, git-tanstack.com), and IDE-persistence via modified Claude/VS Code config files.

fossa.comwriteupPublished and added 18 May 2026🛡️ Security

Huntress documents a malspam campaign, active since February 27, that uses fake "service agreement" document lures behind a CloudFlare CAPTCHA to trick targets into installing Tiflux, a lesser-known Brazil-based commercial RMM, before pivoting to UltraVNC, Splashtop, and ScreenConnect for persistent remote access. The Tiflux installer bundles suspicious extras beyond the legitimate agent: a decade-old UltraVNC build with hardcoded plaintext-recoverable passwords, an expired UltraVNC code-signing cert, registry files that stage a hidden TightVNC service (enabled even in Safe Mode) and a passwordless PuTTY SSH key to a peopleone[.]com[.]br server, registry tweaks that suppress Windows Secure Attention Sequence consent prompts, and a known vulnerable HwRwDrv.sys driver linked to privilege escalation with a revoked signing certificate. Huntress frames this as another entry in the ongoing "LOLRMM" pattern of attackers abusing legitimate commercial RMM tools for stealthy access and persistence.

huntress.comwriteupAdded 3 Sep 2026, published 7 May 2026🛡️ Security

Microsoft discloses two CVEs in its Semantic Kernel AI agent framework: CVE-2026-26030, where AI-model-controlled input into an eval()-executed Python lambda filter (used by the In-Memory Vector Store's Search Plugin) bypasses an AST-based blocklist via class-hierarchy traversal to BuiltinImporter.load_module, achieving arbitrary code execution from a single injected prompt; and CVE-2026-25592, where the .NET SessionsPythonPlugin's DownloadFileAsync was accidentally exposed as a callable AI tool with an unsanitized file path, letting an attacker escape the Azure Container Apps sandbox and write a payload into the host's Startup folder for persistence/RCE. The post details the exploit chains (mapped to MITRE ATLAS AML.T0051→AML.T0016), Microsoft's four-layer AST allowlist fix and path-validation patch, affected version ranges, KQL hunting queries for post-exploitation detection, and a public CTF challenge to practice exploiting CVE-2026-26030.

microsoft.comwriteupAdded 2 Oct 2026, published 7 May 2026🛡️ Security

Socket researchers found that Bitwarden CLI 2026.4.0 was compromised via a hijacked GitHub Action in Bitwarden's CI/CD pipeline, part of the ongoing Checkmarx-themed supply chain campaign. The malicious bw1.js payload shares C2 infrastructure and code (gzip+base64 packed Python memory-scraper, Bun-based runtime, GitHub Actions workflow injector) with the earlier Checkmarx mcpAddon.js attack, but adds new indicators like a lock file, shell-profile persistence, and overt "Shai-Hulud: The Third Coming" / Butlerian Jihad ideological branding, plus a kill switch for Russian-locale systems. It harvests GitHub, AWS, Azure, GCP, npm, SSH, and Claude/MCP credentials and exfiltrates via GitHub commits and npm republishing.

socket.devwriteupPublished and added 6 May 2026🛡️ Security