Dutch NCSC warns exploitation is imminent for critical Check Point VPN RCE flaws CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-85103, urging immediate patching of Security Gateways.
The Dutch NCSC assesses the likelihood and impact of exploitation as high for two critical Check Point VPN flaws, though no public PoC exploit has been reported. CVE-2026-85102 is improper validation of certificate data during VPN negotiation, and CVE-2026-85103 is a heap overflow in the VPN certificate ASN.1 decoder; both enable remote code execution on Security Gateways, the latter also on Security Management Servers. Affected releases span R81.20, R82, R82.10, R81.10.x, R82.00.x and EoS versions R80 through R81.10, while R82.20 is unaffected. Check Point shipped fixes on September 9 via LivePatch Take 24 and Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator takes, and NCSC advises restricting Site-to-Site VPN rules to trusted IPs.
Check Point patches two critical unauthenticated RCE flaws (CVE-2026-85102, CVE-2026-85103) in VPN gateways and firewalls; no exploitation observed.
Check Point released patches for CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-85103, two critical vulnerabilities (CVSS 9.8) enabling unauthenticated remote code execution in products using VPN functionality. CVE-2026-85102 involves improper validation of certificate data during VPN negotiation, while CVE-2026-85103 is a heap overflow in the VPN certificate ASN.1 decoding flow. Updates cover versions R82.10, R82, and R81.20; manually defining VPN rules is offered as a mitigation, though it does not apply to locally managed Spark Firewall instances. Check Point discovered both flaws internally and reports no evidence of exploitation in the wild.
Check Point's PuzzleMask technique hides malicious prompts in ordinary English that fast gatekeeper models miss but high-reasoning downstream models execute.
Check Point researchers disclosed PuzzleMask, a technique concealing policy-breaking instructions in natural-language prose without encodings or invisible characters. Fast screening models classified all 23 crafted wrappers as safe, while a high-reasoning model recovered and acted on the hidden instruction in 17 of 18 tests (94.4%). The gap stems from capability imbalance between gatekeeper and target models, with defenses including paraphrasing untrusted input, stricter self-referential wording rules, and output/tool-call monitoring.
GBHackers ranks 10 CNAPP platforms for 2026, naming Wiz, Prisma Cloud, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud as category leaders.
The guide describes CNAPP as the umbrella combining CSPM, CWPP, CIEM, and DSPM, arguing that cross-pillar correlation of attack paths is the platform's core value. Wiz is ranked best for graph-based correlation, Prisma Cloud for the broadest module set, and Microsoft Defender for Cloud for Azure economics. It also cites Google's approximately $32 billion agreement to acquire Wiz, announced in March 2025, as buyer leverage and a reason to seek roadmap and neutrality protections in multi-year contracts.
2026 buying guide compares 12 endpoint encryption tools, framing paid products as management layers over free BitLocker and VeraCrypt engines.
An editorial comparison evaluates twelve endpoint encryption offerings, arguing that full-disk encryption itself is largely solved with free options like Microsoft BitLocker and open-source VeraCrypt. Paid products such as Sophos Central Device Encryption, Broadcom Symantec Endpoint Encryption, and Check Point Full Disk Encryption are positioned around management: central enforcement, recovery-key escrow, pre-boot authentication, and compliance evidence. The guide also warns against unmaintained tools like Rohos for business use and stresses operational concerns over cipher selection.
2026 CSPM comparison ranks Wiz atop cloud posture tools and recaps Google's pending roughly $32 billion acquisition of Wiz.
An editorial guide rates ten cloud security posture management (CSPM) tools, with Wiz ranked first for agentless visibility and attack-path context, Microsoft Defender for Cloud highlighted for Azure-centric economics, and Palo Alto Prisma Cloud noted for the broadest code-to-cloud module set. The article's biggest market note is Google's agreement to acquire Wiz for approximately $32 billion, described as the largest deal in security history, still progressing through regulatory review. It advises buyers to include roadmap-protection language in multi-year commitments and to press on multicloud neutrality post-close.
Check Point researchers show crafted prose hides policy-violating instructions that bypass all tested LLM gatekeepers, including GPT-4o mini and Llama Guard 3.
A new prompt-crafting technique embeds malicious payloads inside grammatical, natural-looking text without Base64, invisible Unicode, or obvious encodings, defeating lightweight pre-screening gatekeepers. In testing, all four evaluated gatekeeper models—gpt-4o-mini-2024-07-18, gpt-oss-safeguard:20b, claude-3-haiku-20240307, and llama-guard3:8b—classified the crafted wrappers as safe at a 100% bypass rate across 23 obfuscated prompts. GPT-5 Thinking in high-reasoning mode recovered and acted on the hidden instruction in 17 of 18 tests (~94.4%), often spending over a minute and multiple Python executions. Researchers recommend paraphrasing untrusted input, hardening gatekeeper policies, and applying defense-in-depth controls for agentic deployments.
Check Point fixed critical unauthenticated RCE flaws CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-85103 in its VPN gateways; no exploitation observed yet.
Check Point disclosed two critical vulnerabilities affecting Remote Access VPN and Site-to-Site VPN on its security gateways. CVE-2026-85102 is an authentication-bypass flaw that can lead to unauthenticated remote code execution, while CVE-2026-85103 is a heap overflow in ASN.1 decoding that can corrupt memory and also result in RCE. Fixes are available via Jumbo Hotfix, with Check Point Live Patch rollout starting September 9, 2026; the vendor found and fixed the issues through internal research and reports no evidence of exploitation in the wild.
Check Point patched two critical VPN flaws, CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-85103 (CVSS 9.8), allowing unauthenticated RCE on Security Gateways.
Check Point disclosed and patched two critical VPN vulnerabilities, CVE-2026-85102 (improper certificate trust validation, CWE-295) and CVE-2026-85103 (heap-based buffer overflow in ASN.1 certificate parsing, CWE-122), both rated CVSS 9.8 and exploitable for unauthenticated remote code execution under specific conditions. The flaws affect Security Gateway, Security Management Server, and Spark Firewall deployments on R81.20, R82, and R82.10 branches plus end-of-support versions such as R80.40 and R81, while R82.20 is not affected. Check Point reports no evidence of active exploitation or public PoC; Live Patch rollout began September 9, 2026, and administrators without it must install Jumbo Hotfix Accumulator builds (R82.10 Take 44+, R82 Take 126+, R81.20 Take 166+). For Site-to-Site VPN, restricting UDP ports 500 and 4500 to known peers serves as an interim workaround, but no mitigation exists for Remote Access VPN or Spark Firewalls.
Check Point patched two 9.8-rated VPN certificate flaws, CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-85103, enabling unauthenticated remote code execution; no exploitation observed yet.
Check Point disclosed and began patching two critical (CVSS 9.8) vulnerabilities in VPN certificate handling on September 9: CVE-2026-85102, a certificate trust validation failure in VPN negotiation on Security Gateways, and CVE-2026-85103, a heap-based buffer overflow in ASN.1 decoding affecting Quantum Security Gateways and Security Management Server. Affected branches include R81.20, R82, and R82.10 Jumbo Hotfix levels; fixes ship via Live Patch or the latest Jumbo Hotfix. The company found both internally and reports no evidence of exploitation; the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security also published an advisory listing Spark firewalls.
Check Point issued emergency hotfixes for two CVSS 9.8 flaws (CVE-2026-85102, CVE-2026-85103) enabling unauthenticated RCE on VPN-enabled gateways.
On 9 September 2026, Check Point released emergency security updates for CVE-2026-85102 (improper certificate-data validation in VPN negotiation) and CVE-2026-85103 (heap overflow in VPN certificate ASN.1 decoding), both CVSS 9.8, allowing unauthenticated remote code execution. The flaws affect Security Gateway, Security Management Server, and Spark Firewall deployments configured with Remote Access or Site-to-Site VPN, spanning versions R80 through R82.10. CERT-EU advisory 2026-012 urges immediate hotfix application, prioritizing internet-facing and perimeter appliances.
A comparison of 12 mobile threat defense vendors highlights Zimperium's on-device detection and notes Kaspersky's US exit and Wandera's Jamf absorption.
The buyer's guide compares 12 mobile threat defense (MTD) products, naming Zimperium best for fully on-device detection and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint as the best-value bundled option. It reminds readers that Kaspersky cannot legally be sold or updated in the US following a Commerce Department determination, and that Wandera was acquired by Jamf. Most MTD pricing is quote-based per device or per user.
A 2026 roundup of ten endpoint encryption products argues the engines are solved and buyers should choose management layers like Intune, Sophos, or Trellix.
The guide ranks ten endpoint encryption options, arguing BitLocker and FileVault have won the engine war so the real purchase decision is the management layer for compliance proof, key escrow, and cross-platform policy. Microsoft BitLocker with Intune is named the baseline for Windows estates, with Sophos, ESET, Trend Micro, Check Point, Trellix, and others covering mixed or regulated fleets. It also warns that TrueCrypt-lineage freeware is unmaintained and that Kaspersky cannot be sold to US customers.
Canada's Cyber Centre issued advisory AV26-902 warning of two Check Point RCE flaws, including VPN authentication bypass CVE-2026-85102.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security released advisory AV26-902 on September 9, 2026, covering vulnerabilities in Check Point Security Gateway, Spark Firewall with Site-to-Site or Remote Access VPN, and Security Management Server across multiple versions. CVE-2026-85102 is an authentication bypass and remote code execution flaw in Remote Access and Site-to-Site VPN, while CVE-2026-85103 is an ASN.1 decoding heap overflow enabling remote code execution. Administrators are urged to review the linked advisories and apply updates as they become available.
Check Point found a ChatGPT flaw letting attackers read victims' Gmail and connected-app data via hidden cross-session instructions; OpenAI patched it.
Check Point Research discovered a covert cross-account command channel in ChatGPT's code execution environment, where containers meant to be isolated shared metadata through an internal service based on JFrog Artifactory. In a proof of concept, a victim's session was tricked into retrieving Gmail email data and relaying it to an attacker-controlled session during an ordinary-looking interaction, with reach extending to any connected apps the session was authorized for, including Google Drive, Microsoft Teams, and GitHub. OpenAI fixed the issue and decommissioned the internal service; the same shared infrastructure was also involved in the separately disclosed Hugging Face compromise, though via different techniques.
Check Point found a patched ChatGPT flaw where prompt injection and a shared Artifactory service let attackers covertly exfiltrate Gmail data across accounts.
Check Point Research discovered that ChatGPT's isolated code-execution containers could access a shared internal JFrog Artifactory service, whose item metadata API enabled a bidirectional cross-tenant covert channel between accounts. Attackers could embed hidden prompt-injection instructions in shared conversations or custom GPT configurations, causing a victim's session to silently relay connected Gmail data to another ChatGPT account. In a proof of concept, email data was exfiltrated with the only visible hint being a 'Talked to Gmail' activity label. OpenAI decommissioned the internal Artifactory instance involved, eliminating the channel by publication time.
Check Point found a cross-account covert channel in ChatGPT sandboxes via shared JFrog Artifactory metadata, enabling session hijacking and Gmail data theft. Now fixed.
Check Point discovered that ChatGPT code-execution containers across different accounts could all reach the same internal JFrog Artifactory instance, whose Item Properties API was readable and writable by all accounts, creating a covert cross-account communication channel. Attackers could plant hidden instructions via pasted prompts, shared chat links, or custom GPTs, then trigger tasks in a victim's session to exfiltrate connected-app data such as Gmail, using ChatGPT's default 'Important actions' setting that permits reads without confirmation. OpenAI confirmed and decommissioned the shared Artifactory instance, closing the channel before publication.
Check Point issued a high-severity alert for CVE-2026-16232, an authentication bypass in the SmartConsole login process via application token.
Check Point published support article sk185169 describing CVE-2026-16232, an authentication bypass affecting the SmartConsole login process when using application tokens. The vendor rates the issue High. The brief advisory text provides no exploitation details, CVSS score, or affected-version list.
Hacktivist group Cyber Toufan claims 60 data breaches of Israeli and allied firms, wiping systems and erasing backups; Check Point links it to Iran.
The pro-Palestinian group Cyber Toufan said it released stolen data from 60 Israeli and foreign firms, including SpaceX, Toyota and IKEA, as part of a month-long leak operation launched in late November. Researchers at Check Point and SOC Radar assess the leaks are genuine, likely stemming partly from a major attack on Israeli hosting company Signature-IT, and attribute the group to Iran; researcher Kevin Beaumont said roughly a third of victims remain offline weeks later with backups erased. Google blocked the group's Telegram leak channel, while about 10 Iranian-backed hacking groups are assessed to be attacking Israel in the ongoing cyberwar.
Check Point weekly bulletin: exploited SonicWall SMA 1000 zero-days (CVE-2026-83548/49), JFrog Artifactory auth bypass, and a 2.8M-patient Baylor Genetics breach.
Check Point's weekly bulletin covers breaches including Thomson Reuters' C-Track platform (court records across 11 US states and Canada), Baylor Genetics (2.8M patients and employees, SSNs included), Hit casinos in Slovenia, and Dropbox (~5,000 accounts via abused Lenovo email verification). SonicWall patched two exploited SMA 1000 zero-days, including CVE-2026-83548, a CVSS 10.0 pre-authentication SSRF, while JFrog fixed exploited authentication bypass CVE-2026-82329 (CVSS 9.8). Malware and actor coverage includes Gambling Goblin, JSCeal, Mirage Kitten's NodeRabbit/PollCat campaign, and DPRK Contagious Interview macOS activity, plus a FalconFlank privilege-escalation PoC against CrowdStrike Falcon.
Check Point details JSCeal, a crypto-stealing malware delivered as compiled V8 bytecode, and built a decompiler pipeline to expose its capabilities.
JSCeal, tracked by Check Point Research since early 2025, is a cryptocurrency stealer delivered as heavily obfuscated JavaScript compiled to V8 bytecode (.jsc) and run by a bundled Node.js runtime. Check Point, presenting at Black Hat USA 2026, extended the open-source View8 decompiler into a pipeline that recovered readable code from 23 samples, revealing theft of browser credentials and cookies, Telegram sessions, keystrokes, screenshots, HTTPS traffic interception with attacker-controlled certificates, and automated Google account takeover. Targeted overrides rewrite content for Binance, Bybit, and Ledger users. Later samples added AES-256-CBC encryption with externally supplied keys and expanded targeting to macOS.
Attackers exploit Check Point SmartConsole authentication bypass CVE-2026-16232 to take over Quantum Security Management firewall servers; CISA added it to KEV.
CVE-2026-16232 is an authentication bypass (CWE-287) in the SmartConsole login process of Check Point Quantum Security Management, exploitable via an application token. Disclosed July 22, 2026, it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog the same day with remediation due July 25. Rapid7, Check Point Research and other vendors confirmed exploitation in the wild, and a public PoC was released. A workaround is available, and federal agencies must comply with BOD 26-04 patching guidance.
Check Point SmartConsole authentication bypass CVE-2026-16232 grants unauthenticated attackers full admin access; actively exploited and added to CISA KEV.
CVE-2026-16232 is an improper authentication flaw (CWE-287) in the Check Point SmartConsole login process that lets an unauthenticated remote attacker obtain an application token and authenticate with full administrative privileges. Exploitation requires the Management Server to be internet-reachable and the Trusted Clients list not restricted to specific administrator addresses. Check Point confirmed active exploitation affecting a small number of customers, and the vulnerability has been added to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. A hotfix is available via Check Point advisory sk185169.
Check Point links Gambling Goblin, a Chinese-speaking cluster, to malicious Apache modules hijacking Brazilian government servers to promote betting sites.
Check Point Research tracks Gambling Goblin, a Chinese-speaking cluster, installing malicious Apache reverse-proxy modules on compromised Brazilian government and education web servers since mid-2025. The modules divert visitors to gambling and fake app-store pages while stripping the site's security headers, likely for large-scale SEO manipulation. The group's Linux arsenal includes DownPro, AlphaAgent, oRAT, a 3snake-based credential stealer, and SSH brute-forcing tools, and it is tied to Trend Micro's Earth Berberoka. Related SEO-fraud campaigns on .gov.br domains were documented by ESET (GhostRedirector), Palo Alto Networks Unit 42, and Hunt.io.
Check Point identifies Chinese-speaking group Gambling Goblin hijacking Brazilian government domains via malicious Apache modules for SEO-manipulated gambling phishing.
Check Point Research tracks a sustained campaign since mid-2025 against Brazilian government and educational organizations by Gambling Goblin, a Chinese-speaking cybercrime cluster linked to Earth Berberoka. Attackers compile and install malicious Apache modules that silently reverse-proxy visitors to phishing pages impersonating Google Play, Microsoft Store, and Amazon, chaining compromised high-reputation domains to inflate search rankings. The group deploys a heavily obfuscated Linux toolkit including DownPro, AlphaAgent, oRAT, a 3snake-based credential stealer, and SSH brute-forcers, with parallel phishing networks localized for Vietnamese, Spanish, and English victims.
FBI and Lumen disrupted QTFY's QScan and QTRouter botnet platforms used by Chinese state-sponsored hackers to conceal intrusions into U.S. agencies.
The U.S. DoJ announced court-authorized seizure of domains behind QScan and QTRouter, operated by the Chinese state-sponsored group QTFY and employed by Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company. QTFY has been active since May 2018 and targeted NASA, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, DoJ, HHS, NIH, the U.S. Senate, and academic institutions. QScan exploits vulnerable IoT devices, feeding them into QTRouter, an OpenWrt-based proxy obfuscation network likened to an operational relay box (ORB) that masks attack origins. The group exploited zero-days such as Ivanti CSA flaws CVE-2024-8190, CVE-2024-8963, and CVE-2024-9380, plus numerous N-days, and maintained persistence with RATs, web shells, and legitimate credentials.
Berlin refuses ransom demands after Rhysida claimed stealing 5.79 TB from the city-state network, including mobility department data on 12,076 individuals.
Berlin's state government confirmed an extortion attempt following the August compromise of its state administrative network and said it will not pay. Forensics found data exfiltrated from the Senate Department for Mobility, Transport, Climate Protection and Environment between August 7 and 12, 2026; Rhysida's leak site claims 5.79 TB, 1.44 million files, and personal data on 12,076 individuals. State criminal police, prosecutors, and federal authorities are investigating, and officials say the September 20 Abgeordnetenhaus election environment remains unaffected. Separately, Manchester Airports Group confirmed theft of customer data including emails, phone numbers, and vehicle registrations across three airports.
FBI and DOJ seized QTFY infrastructure, disrupting a Chinese state-sponsored group that compromised federal agencies and critical infrastructure since 2018.
Authorities seized three domains powering QScan and QTRouter, the hacking suite of QTFY, a Chinese government-funded group operating through front company Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology. Targets include the Departments of Energy, Justice, and Health and Human Services, the Federal Reserve, NASA, NIH, financial institutions, defense contractors, utilities, telecoms, and hospitals; the group exploited zero-days in Ivanti, Pulse Secure, Fortinet, Citrix, and others, intruding three DOE national labs in September 2024. QScan carried over 200 proof-of-concept exploits and processed more than two million scanning tasks in a single day in 2024.
FBI seizes China-linked QScan and QTRouter hacking platforms used by QTFY to obfuscate intrusions against US federal agencies.
The DOJ and FBI seized domains hard-coded into QScan and QTRouter, two platforms operated by China-based Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company on behalf of state-sponsored group QTFY. QScan automatically infected thousands of IoT devices which were added to QTRouter, an obfuscation network routing malicious traffic through compromised and proxy devices outside China. Targets included NASA, the Federal Reserve, Departments of Energy, Justice, and HHS, NIH, and the US Senate, exploiting flaws in Fortinet SSL-VPN, Citrix ADC, Microsoft Exchange, F5 BIG-IP, Log4j, and others.
McAfee Labs reports Weedhack malware spread via spoofed Minecraft client websites using SEO poisoning, with over 6,300 blocked access attempts.
McAfee Labs found multiple lookalike websites impersonating legitimate Minecraft clients (Glazed, Radium, Meteor, Nova, Xenon) still distributing Weedhack, a multi-stage malware whose JAR payloads collect system information, add Microsoft Defender exclusions, and steal sensitive data. Distribution relies on SEO poisoning to outrank official sources, plus Discord, MediaFire, GitHub, and Minecraft hosting sites; nearly half of malicious URLs were Discord links. One fake site was built with the AI website builder Lovable, and McAfee blocked more than 6,300 access attempts to malicious sites.
Latvia's Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) confirmed a breach exposing payment records of 1.2 million people and 200,000 organizations.
Latvia's Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) has confirmed a data breach affecting payment records of more than 1.2 million people, roughly two-thirds of the country's population, as well as 200,000 organizations. The disclosure was highlighted in Check Point Research's weekly threat intelligence bulletin for the week of August 24, 2026. The scale of exposure makes this one of the largest confirmed breaches reported in Latvia.
Head Mare exploits TrueConf server flaws to install web shells and deliver PhantomCore and PhantomGraph backdoors at Russian organizations.
Kaspersky detected July 2026 attacks by the threat actor Head Mare exploiting a vulnerability chain (KLCERT-26-057 and KLCERT-26-058) in unpatched TrueConf videoconferencing servers. The chain enables arbitrary code execution with SYSTEM privileges, deployment of a web shell at locale.php, and replacement of client installers with versions delivering the PhantomCore backdoor and PhantomGraph, which uses Microsoft OneDrive as C2. Targets span Russian instrumentation, electronics, transport, energy, IT, and software firms. Patches shipped in TrueConf Server 5.3.9, 5.4.9, and 5.5.5 on June 18, 2026.
Hacker News ThreatsDay roundup: Defender BTR.sys driver abuse, DoJ charges 17 Mabna Institute members over IRGC-linked intrusions, Grandoreiro sideloading, OpenAI monitoring.
Check Point researchers showed Microsoft's signed Defender Boot-Time Removal driver (BTR.sys) can be repurposed as a universal kernel operation engine to bypass endpoint security without BYOVD. The DoJ charged 17 members of Iran's Mabna Institute, which on behalf of the IRGC stole over 31 TB of academic data from 144 US universities and compromised roughly 8,000 of 100,000 targeted professor accounts; the State Department offered a $10 million reward for five defendants. Separately, Acronis tracked a Grandoreiro campaign abusing DLL sideloading in the Duplicate Files Finder app across Latin America and Spain, while ErrTraffic ClickFix campaigns deliver Cruciferra (BYOVD) and Remus Stealer. OpenAI also previewed Private Safety Processing, a privacy-centric approach to monitoring model misuse without retaining customer content.
Check Point shows attackers can abuse Microsoft Defender's signed remediation driver for arbitrary Ring 0 file and registry operations without exploiting any vulnerability.
Check Point Research presents BTR Reforged, a technique that repurposes Microsoft Defender's trusted remediation driver into an attacker-controlled kernel operation primitive. The signed driver can be instructed to execute arbitrary file and registry operations from Ring 0 without exploits, vulnerabilities, or memory corruption. The work demonstrates how trusted security components can be turned into attacker primitives, which is relevant for defenders assessing driver abuse risks.
Check Point uncovered StopAndProtect, a cybercrime operation using ~2,000 hacked WordPress sites for ClickFix-driven malware delivery, data theft, surveillance, and ransomware.
Check Point Research identified the StopAndProtect operation in May 2026; it abuses close to 2,000 compromised WordPress sites, many running outdated software, to host malware stages, act as C2, and store stolen data. Infection starts with fake CAPTCHA ClickFix prompts that trick visitors into running a PowerShell command, followed by .NET downloaders deploying ransomware, SMB/USB worm, lockscreen, chat, and credential-stealing components. Rather than always encrypting, operators selectively exfiltrate file lists and specific files; researchers found 700+ stolen-data archives, roughly 31,000 screenshots, and 6,000+ unique victim IP addresses, including WhatsApp activity monitoring.
Check Point researcher Jaromír Hořejší reports the campaign begins with ClickFix fake-CAPTCHA prompts that trigger a PowerShell command, then two .NET downloader stages that launch six components: SilentEncryptor, NetworkShareScanner, a VBS spreader, LockScreen, SimpleChatProxy, and SilentDataCollector. Hacked WordPress sites host malware stages, serve C2 commands, and receive exfiltrated logs; the actors installed a self-deleting WordPress plugin enabling arbitrary PHP upload anywhere under the WordPress root. From mid-May to late July 2026 the operators exfiltrated more than 700 archives including screenshots every 30 seconds, keylogger output, and WhatsApp contact data, and opsec failures exposed their Visual Basic automation tooling and lists of nearly 2,000 compromised domains.
Colombia's Ministry of Justice suffered a ransomware attack disrupting drug-monitoring and legal public services, per Check Point's 17 August 2026 threat intelligence report.
Check Point Research's weekly threat intelligence bulletin for 17 August 2026 leads with a ransomware attack on Colombia's Ministry of Justice. The attack affected part of the ministry's technology infrastructure and disrupted public services related to illicit-drug monitoring and legal processes. Officials confirmed that some files were impacted; the bulletin also aggregates other cyber research and attack discoveries from the week.
Lazarus exploits Windows AFD.sys zero-day CVE-2026-68820 in Operation Dream Job to deploy Troy backdoor at defense firms.
Check Point attributes Operation Dream Job attacks to Lazarus Group exploiting CVE-2026-68820 (CVSS 7.0), a privilege escalation flaw in Windows AFD.sys patched in August 2026 Patch Tuesday. The campaign targets defense and aerospace firms in France, Germany, Brazil, and India via trojanized PDF viewers and DLL side-loading, deploying backdoors Troy, ForestTiger, and the FudModule 3.1 kernel rootkit. Attackers also compromise WordPress, SharePoint, and Roundcube servers as C2, using CVE-2025-49113 and the RelayShell PHP web shell.
Check Point's Q2 2026 ransomware report finds dominant RaaS operations still leading while the previously concentrated ransomware landscape starts to shift.
Check Point Research published its State of Ransomware Q2 2026 report, examining the ransomware threat landscape. Over the past year the ecosystem was defined by concentration, with a handful of dominant Ransomware-as-a-Service operations causing most damage while the pool of active groups shrank. The new report indicates this picture is beginning to change, although the leading operations are still winning the majority of activity.
Check Point links Lazarus Group's Operation Dream Job to a new Windows zero-day, CVE-2026-68820, targeting defense workers with fake Lockheed Martin job offers.
Check Point Research documented a new wave of Operation Dream Job, a North Korean Lazarus Group campaign targeting defense and aerospace professionals in France, Germany, Brazil, and India with fake Lockheed Martin job offers. The attacks chain a previously unknown Windows privilege escalation flaw in AFD.sys, CVE-2026-68820, which Microsoft patched on August 11, 2026, to deploy the MISTPEN downloader, ForestTiger backdoor, and updated FudModule 3.1 kernel rootkit. Check Point also discovered a new Troy backdoor DLL with 17 operator commands and a RelayShell PHP webshell deployed on compromised Roundcube and WordPress servers used as command relays, some infected via CVE-2025-49113 or leaked credentials. Defenders are urged to apply the August 2026 Patch Tuesday update and review Check Point's indicators of compromise.
Unauthenticated RCE in Check Point Quantum Security Gateway via certificate flaw
CVE-2026-85102 is an improper certificate trust-validation flaw (CWE-295) in the VPN negotiation code of Check Point Quantum Security Gateways. An unauthenticated remote attacker who can reach the gateway's VPN service can trigger the flaw during VPN negotiation, where certificates involved in the exchange are not properly validated, and achieve code execution on the gateway. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution on the gateway with high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (CVSS 9.8), amounting to full compromise of the security gateway. The affected population is organizations running Quantum Security Gateways with VPN services reachable from untrusted networks. As of the available reporting there is no public proof-of-concept, the flaw is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and no in-the-wild exploitation is confirmed; the issue was disclosed alongside a second, similarly rated (9.8) Check Point VPN certificate-validation RCE flaw.
· Check Point Quantum Security Gateway (VPN negotiation functionality)large
Unauthenticated RCE in Check Point Quantum VPN Certificate ASN.1 Decoding
CVE-2026-85103 is a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122) in the ASN.1 certificate-decoding code used by Check Point's VPN implementation, rated 9.8 Critical with a network-exploitable, unauthenticated, low-complexity vector. An unauthenticated remote attacker can trigger the flaw by sending crafted certificate data that the VPN service parses during connection handling, causing heap corruption that allows arbitrary code execution on the target system. Successful exploitation grants the attacker code execution with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact, which on security gateways and management servers could mean control of the security infrastructure itself. Any organization running Check Point Quantum Security Management or Quantum Security Gateway systems that process VPN certificate traffic is potentially affected, and the advisory set indicates this flaw was disclosed alongside a second, similarly rated 9.8 VPN certificate vulnerability (Check Point advisory AV26-902). There is no evidence of exploitation so far: the flaw is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and no public proof-of-concept is known.
· Check Point Quantum Security Management · Check Point Quantum Security Gatewaylarge
Authentication Bypass in Check Point SmartConsole Grants Full Admin Access
Check Point SmartConsole, the administrative client used to manage Quantum Security Management and Multi-Domain Security Management, contains an authentication bypass (CWE-287) in its login process that allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to obtain an application login token and authenticate with full administrative privileges. Exploitation is possible when the Management Server IP address is reachable from the internet and the configuration does not restrict Trusted Clients. A successful attacker can modify security policies and security configurations, effectively taking control of firewall management. Any organization running an internet-exposed Check Point management server without Trusted Client restrictions is affected, though Check Point reports exploitation has impacted only a very small number of customers. The flaw was added to CISA's KEV on 2026-07-22, is actively exploited, and press reports indicate public proof-of-concept code has been released.
· Check Point SmartConsole · Check Point Quantum Security Management KEVlarge
Use-After-Free Local Privilege Escalation in Microsoft Windows WinSock AFD Driver
CVE-2026-68820 is a use-after-free (CWE-416) in the Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock (afd.sys), the kernel component that handles Winsock socket operations. A local, authenticated attacker can trigger the memory corruption through crafted socket activity, and the high attack-complexity score (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L) indicates exploitation requires a specific, likely race-sensitive sequence of operations. Successful exploitation elevates privileges to SYSTEM, giving the attacker full control of the host, and public reporting describes deployment of a backdoor after privilege escalation. Virtually every Windows 10, Windows 11, and Windows Server (2012-2022) installation ships this driver, so the affected population is essentially the entire supported Windows installed base. The flaw is being exploited in the wild: CISA added it to the KEV on 2026-08-11, Microsoft fixed it in the August 2026 Patch Tuesday release, and reporting ties active exploitation to North Korea's Lazarus group, who paired the zero-day with fake job-offer lures.
· Microsoft Windows Ancillary Function Driver for WinSock (afd.sys) as shipped with the Windows versions listed below · Microsoft Windows 10 1607, 1809, 21H2, 22H2 KEVmass
Unauthenticated IKEv1 VPN Auth Bypass in Check Point Security Gateways
Check Point has disclosed CVE-2026-50751, a critical (CVSS 9.3) improper authentication flaw (CWE-287) in the certificate validation logic for Remote Access and Mobile Access VPN when the deprecated IKEv1 key exchange is used. An unauthenticated remote attacker can exploit this logic flow weakness during IKEv1 negotiation to bypass user authentication entirely. Successful exploitation lets the attacker establish a remote access VPN connection without a valid user password, gaining access to the organization's internal network resources (high confidentiality impact per the CVSS score). Any organization running a Check Point Security Gateway on Gaia OS or Gaia Embedded with IKEv1-based Remote Access/Mobile Access configured is affected; specific affected and fixed versions are in Check Point's advisory. The flaw is being exploited in the wild — it was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-06-08 with known ransomware use and an EPSS of 83.8% — and it was disclosed alongside other critical Check Point VPN certificate flaws per recent headlines.
· Check Point Security Gateway (Gaia OS) · Check Point Security Gateway (Gaia Embedded) KEV ransomware PoC mass
Authenticated PHP Object Deserialization RCE in Roundcube Webmail
Roundcube Webmail before 1.5.10 and 1.6.x before 1.6.11 contains a PHP object deserialization flaw (CWE-502) that allows remote code execution by authenticated users. The bug is in program/actions/settings/upload.php, where the _from URL parameter is not validated before deserialization, so any logged-in user can trigger it with a crafted URL to the settings upload action, with no user interaction required. Successful exploitation gives the attacker code execution on the web server with high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impact (CVSS 3.1 8.8). All deployments running affected versions are exposed, including Roundcube packages shipped with Debian Linux. The flaw reportedly existed for roughly a decade before disclosure, carries a 98.9% EPSS score (top percentile), and was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2026-02-20, confirming exploitation in the wild.
· Roundcube Webmail all versions before 1.5.10, and 1.6.x before 1.6.11 · Debian Linux (Roundcube Webmail package) Debian releases shipping affected Roundcube versions; fixes delivered via Debian security updates KEV PoC ×2mass
JNDI Injection Remote Code Execution in Apache Log4j2 (Log4Shell)
Apache Log4j2, an extremely widely used Java logging library, fails to protect its JNDI lookup feature against attacker-controlled JNDI-related endpoints (CWE-20, CWE-502), so crafted text processed by the logger causes the Java runtime to fetch and load attacker-supplied objects, leading to remote code execution. The flaw is triggered whenever attacker-controlled input reaches the logging API and is parsed for JNDI lookups, a pattern common in web servers and enterprise Java applications that log user-supplied fields such as headers or form values. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary code execution under the privileges of the affected application, giving attackers a foothold for lateral movement, data theft, and ransomware deployment. Any Java application or product that ships or bundles an affected Apache Log4j2 release is exposed, making this one of the most broadly deployed vulnerabilities ever disclosed. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-12-10 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days.
Improper Authentication in JFrog Artifactory Allows Unauthenticated Admin Access
JFrog Artifactory contains an improper authentication flaw (CWE-287) that, under the product's default configuration, can let an unauthenticated attacker with network access obtain administrative privileges. The weakness is reachable over the network with no privileges or user interaction required, which is why it carries a critical 9.8 CVSS 3.1 score; an attacker who succeeds effectively gains full administrator control of the artifact repository, and public reporting describes attackers using the flaw to mint admin tokens days after disclosure. Any organization running JFrog Artifactory is in scope — CISA's entry lists the product without version detail, so deployments should verify their versions against JFrog's advisory (AV26-867, Update 1) — with internet-exposed instances at greatest risk. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added the CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 2026-09-02, a public proof-of-concept is available, and news headlines report active exploitation alongside related Artifactory flaws CVE-2026-42016 and CVE-2026-42018.
OS Command Injection RCE in Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance 4.6
Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance versions 4.6 Patch 518 and before contain an OS command injection flaw (CWE-78) that allows a remote, authenticated attacker to achieve remote code execution. The attacker must already hold administrator-level privileges on the appliance, and exploitation is triggered by sending crafted input to the appliance over the network. Successful exploitation yields arbitrary command execution on the CSA, and related reporting indicates nation-state actors have been exploiting Ivanti CSA flaws for network infiltration, including attacks on French government and telecom targets. Only organizations still running CSA 4.6.x are affected, and that product line has reached end-of-life and will not receive further security updates. The vulnerability was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-09-13 and carries a very high EPSS score (88.5%, 100th percentile), signaling confirmed and likely ongoing exploitation in the wild.
· Ivanti Cloud Services Appliance 4.6 through Patch 518 (versions 4.6 Patch 518 and before) KEVmoderate
Local Privilege Escalation via Link Following in Windows User Profile Service
CVE-2026-62832 is a local privilege escalation flaw (CWE-59, improper link resolution, or 'link following') in the Windows User Profile Service. An attacker who already holds a limited local account on an affected machine can cause the service to follow a symbolic link or junction before it validates file access, so the service performs file operations with elevated rights. Successful exploitation grants elevated privileges on the local system — typically up to administrator/SYSTEM level — with no user interaction required. Affected platforms include Windows 10 21H2 and 22H2, Windows 11 23H2 through 26H1, and Windows Server 2022 and 2025, which together span essentially the entire supported Windows estate. As of this analysis there is no public proof-of-concept, no CISA KEV listing, and no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation of this specific flaw; EPSS estimates a 3.3% (88th percentile) chance of exploitation within 30 days, although Microsoft's August 2026 Patch Tuesday fixed 400+ vulnerabilities and a separate zero-day (CVE-2026-68820) is under active attack.
· microsoft Windows 10 21H2 · microsoft Windows 10 22H2mass
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