Malware

ShadowPad

5 mentions in 7 days · 6 in 30 days · 6 total · first seen Aug 17, 2026 · last 5d ago

Timeline6 articles

New 'BlueMoon' kit exploited Windows and Chrome zero-day flaws

Multiple China-linked espionage groups share the BlueMoon exploit kit chaining Chrome V8 zero-days and a Windows ALPC LPE to deploy backdoors.

Proofpoint and Volexity report that multiple espionage clusters share the BlueMoon exploit kit, chaining Chrome V8 zero-days CVE-2026-85046 and CVE-2026-87491 with the Windows ALPC local privilege escalation CVE-2026-85880. Proofpoint observed spearphishing use since August 28 by JungleBamboo (APT31), while Volexity saw UTA0560 targeting NGOs from September 1; UNK_LateNight hit US aerospace/defense with ShadowPad and UNK_DoubleCheck targeted Vietnamese manufacturers. The kit's maintainers reverse-engineer public Chromium fixes before stable Chrome releases, and Proofpoint suspects the ALPC exploit has existed since 2025.

BleepingComputerupdated 10:17 UTC · 11h agofirst Sep 10, 14:11 UTC · 5d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 20 sources CVE-2026-85046 CVE-2026-87491 CVE-2026-858801

China-Linked Hackers Exploit Chrome and Windows Zero-Days in BlueMoon Attacks

China-linked clusters deploy the BlueMoon kit chaining Chrome V8 CVE-2026-85046 and Windows LPE CVE-2026-85880 in espionage campaigns.

Proofpoint researchers identified BlueMoon, an exploit kit combining a V8 type-confusion RCE (CVE-2026-85046), a V8 sandbox escape, and a Windows kernel privilege-escalation flaw (CVE-2026-85880), first observed August 28, 2026. At least four clusters adopted it, led by TA412 (also tracked as APT31/Violet Typhoon) and followed by UNK_LateNight, UNK_DoubleCheck, and UNK_QuietRacket, targeting aerospace, manufacturing, government, consulting, and financial sectors. The kit exploited a nearly four-week patch gap between the public Chromium commit (August 7) and stable rollout (September 3). TA412 delivered the GemStone Chrome extension masquerading as a Gemini companion, while other clusters deployed ShadowPad via DLL sideloading, a Rust loader, and DoH-based C2.

GBHackersupdated 10:17 UTC · 11h agofirst Sep 10, 05:15 UTC · 5d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 20 sources CVE-2026-85046 CVE-2026-858801

Hackers Chain Chrome and Windows Zero-Days in New BlueMoon Exploit Kit Attacks

Multiple espionage actors, mostly China-nexus, are chaining Chrome V8 and Windows kernel zero-days (CVE-2026-85046, CVE-2026-85880) via the BlueMoon exploit kit against government and defense targets.

Proofpoint identified a new exploit kit dubbed BlueMoon chaining a Chromium V8 type-confusion RCE (CVE-2026-85046), a V8 sandbox escape, and a Windows kernel LPE (CVE-2026-85880). At least four distinct threat clusters, most with suspected China nexus, adopted the kit within days starting with TA412 (Violet Typhoon/APT31) on August 28, 2026. Both Chrome-side flaws were patch-gap zero-days with roughly a four-week exploitation window; the Windows LPE only works on Windows 10 and Server 2019/2022. TA412 used spearphishing posing as university interns to deliver the GemStone browser backdoor disguised as a Google Gemini extension; other clusters delivered ShadowPad via DLL sideloading and a Rust loader against targets in aerospace, government, and finance.

Cyber Security Newsupdated 10:17 UTC · 11h agofirst Sep 9, 16:59 UTC · 6d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 20 sources CVE-2026-85046 CVE-2026-858801

Four Spy Groups Used the Same Chrome and Windows Exploit Kit Within a Week

Proofpoint links four espionage clusters, including China's APT31, using shared exploit kit BlueMoon chaining Chrome V8 and Windows ALPC zero-days.

Proofpoint reports a previously undocumented exploit kit, BlueMoon, chains Chrome V8 type confusion CVE-2026-85046 with an unassigned V8 sandbox escape and Windows ALPC heap overflow CVE-2026-85880 to achieve code execution and local privilege escalation. APT31 first used it on August 28, 2026 against US NGOs, mining, and commodity trading firms, deploying the GemStone browser backdoor disguised as a Google Gemini extension via the GhostChrome-X integrity bypass. UNK_LateNight, UNK_DoubleCheck, and UNK_QuietRacket followed on September 2-3, targeting US aerospace, Vietnamese manufacturing, and Indonesian/Singaporean sectors with ShadowPad and sideloaded Rust and .NET payloads. Both V8 flaws were patch-gap zero-days, and verbose code suggests possible AI-assisted development.

The Hacker Newsupdated 10:17 UTC · 11h agofirst Sep 9, 16:34 UTC · 6d agoThreat actor in the wild 20 sources CVE-2026-85046 CVE-2026-858801

Multiple Chinese hacking groups seen using identical Chrome zero-day exploit

Four China-linked espionage groups share identical BlueMoon Chrome zero-day exploit kit targeting US defense contractors and Asian government agencies.

Proofpoint identified at least four Chinese-aligned espionage groups (TA412/RedBravo, UNK_LateNight, UNK_DoubleCheck, UNK_QuietRacket) using an identical Chrome zero-day exploit kit dubbed BlueMoon in late August through this week. Targets include US defense contractors, NGOs, mining companies, and Southeast Asian government agencies. The exploit chains a Chromium patch-gap vulnerability with a Windows flaw, delivering malware such as ShadowPad and a fake Gemini browser extension backdoor, with possible AI-assisted exploit development.

The Recordupdated 10:17 UTC · 11h agofirst Sep 9, 16:30 UTC · 6d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 20 sources1

Unit 42 Researchers Discover Multiple Espionage Operations Targeting Southeast Asian Government

Unit 42 attributes three espionage clusters targeting a Southeast Asian government to Stately Taurus, Alloy Taurus, and Gelsemium APTs.

Unit 42 investigated espionage attacks starting in late 2022 against multiple governmental entities in a Southeast Asian country, including critical infrastructure, public healthcare, financial administrators, and ministries. Analysis revealed three distinct clusters: CL-STA-0044 attributed to Stately Taurus (Mustang Panda), CL-STA-0045 to Alloy Taurus (GALLIUM), and CL-STA-0046 to Gelsemium. The first cluster used a ToneShell backdoor variant, ShadowPad, China Chopper web shells, Impacket, and credential dumping tools across roughly Q1 2021 to Q3 2023. All three operated with distinct tools, infrastructure, and long-term surveillance tradecraft consistent with APTs.

Palo Alto Unit 42Aug 17, 10:57 UTC · 29d agoThreat actor in the wild

Related CVEsby mentions

CVE-2026-850468.81%
Actively Exploited V8 Type Confusion in Google Chrome (CVE-2026-85046)
Google Chrome versions prior to 152.0.7977.82 contain a type confusion flaw (CWE-843) in the V8 JavaScript engine, which mishandles object types during engine operations (public proof-of-concept writeups indicate it is reachable through array sorting and WebAssembly-related code paths). A remote attacker triggers the flaw simply by getting a user to open a crafted HTML page, with no privileges or authentication required. Successful exploitation lets the attacker execute arbitrary code inside the browser's sandbox, and public reporting shows it being chained with Windows zero-days (the 'BlueMoon' exploit kit) by Chinese espionage groups for broader compromise. Any user of an unpatched Chrome or another build embedding the affected V8 engine is exposed. The vulnerability is a zero-day that was actively exploited in the wild before patching, was added to CISA's KEV on 2026-09-04, and has five public proof-of-concept references.
· Google Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.82 · Google Chromium V8 V8 engine versions bundled with Chrome prior to 152.0.7977.82 KEV PoC ×5mass
CVE-2026-858807.8<1%
Heap-Based Buffer Overflow in Windows ALPC Enables Local Privilege Escalation
CVE-2026-85880 is a heap-based buffer overflow in Windows Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC), the Windows mechanism for local inter-process communication. An authorized local attacker can trigger the overflow by submitting crafted input over ALPC, corrupting heap memory in the component that handles the request. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute code with elevated privileges, typically gaining SYSTEM-level control of the local host, which is especially valuable as a post-exploitation or sandbox-escape step. Affected products include Windows 10 (1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2) and Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, and 2022, meaning most on-premises Windows estates are in scope. The flaw was fixed in Microsoft's record 974-CVE September 2026 Patch Tuesday and was added to CISA's KEV on 2026-09-08, confirming exploitation in the wild; press reports describe Windows zero-days being chained with a Chrome zero-day in 'BlueMoon' kit attacks, though the data does not explicitly confirm this CVE is the Windows flaw in that chain.
· Microsoft Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2 · Microsoft Windows Server 2012, 2016, 2019, 2022 KEVmass
CVE-2026-874918.8<1%
Actively Exploited Out-of-Bounds Write in Google Chrome V8
CVE-2026-87491 is an out-of-bounds write (CWE-787) in the V8 JavaScript engine in Google Chrome, fixed in Chrome 153.0.8010.36, which Google shipped alongside roughly 230 other security fixes. An attacker can trigger the flaw remotely by luring a user (user interaction required) into opening a crafted HTML page that corrupts memory in V8. Successful exploitation allows the attacker to execute arbitrary code inside the Chrome browser sandbox, which constrains but does not eliminate the impact. All Google Chrome users running versions prior to 153.0.8010.36 are affected; because the flaw resides in V8, CISA tracks it as 'Google Chromium V8', and other Chromium-based browsers may inherit the fix in their own updates. The flaw is being actively exploited in the wild — it is the seventh actively exploited Chrome zero-day of 2026 and was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2026-09-09 — though no public proof-of-concept is known and ransomware use is unknown.
· Google Chrome (V8 JavaScript engine; tracked by CISA as 'Google Chromium V8') prior to 153.0.8010.36 KEVmass

Appears with

vendor Google 5 threat actor UNK_DoubleCheck 5 threat actor UNK_LateNight 5 threat actor UNK_QuietRacket 4 vendor Proofpoint 4 vendor Microsoft 4 threat actor APT31 4 product Chrome 3 threat actor TA412 3 malware GemStone 3 threat actor Violet Typhoon 2 product Google Chrome 2 product ShadowPad 2 product Windows 10 2 organization Proofpoint 2 product Chromium 2

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