Chinese Hackers Murky, Genesis, and Glacial Panda Escalate Cloud and Telecom Espionage
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2016-5195 | Dirty COW Race Condition Enables Local Privilege Escalation in the Linux Kernel CVE-2016-5195, widely known as 'Dirty COW', is a race condition (CWE-362) in the copy-on-write (COW) memory-handling code in mm/gup.c of the Linux kernel, affecting kernel versions 2.x through 4.x before 4.8.3. A local user with low privileges can trigger the race — including via the PTRACE_POKEDATA path used in public exploits — to write to a read-only memory mapping that should not be writable, corrupting files or overwriting memory. This yields root-level privileges on the host, enabling full system takeover, malware implantation and persistence. Any system running an affected kernel is exposed, spanning Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (including AUS, EUS, Long Life and TUS variants), Debian, Fedora, Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS, and NetApp Cloud Backup and HCI Storage Nodes that ship an affected kernel. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw was actively exploited in October 2016, including by the first Android malware found using it to gain root, it was added to CISA's KEV catalog on 2022-03-03 with the required action to apply vendor updates, and EPSS currently assigns an 83.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (100th percentile). Do: Upgrade to Linux kernel 4.8.3 or later, or apply the vendor-issued patched/backported kernel updates from Canonical, Red Hat, Debian, Fedora Project, Palo Alto Networks (PAN-OS) and NetApp, per the CISA KEV required action. Prioritize unpatched legacy servers and internet-exposed Linux hosts — especially multi-user systems, SSH-accessible machines and containers where untrusted users can run code — and update Android devices that may have been silently rooted via Dirty COW. Until patching completes, restrict local and SSH access to trusted users, since exploitation requires local low-privileged code execution. | 7.0 | 84% | KEV PoC ×5 |
| mass≈ hundreds of millions of Linux systems and devices (affected kernels shipped in nearly all mainstream distributions, appliances and Android devices of the… | |
| CVE-2021-4034 | Out-of-Bounds Read/Write Local Privilege Escalation in polkit pkexec (PwnKit) CVE-2021-4034 ('PwnKit') is an out-of-bounds read and write (CWE-125/CWE-787) in polkit's setuid-root pkexec utility, which mishandles the calling parameter count and ends up trying to execute environment variables as commands. A local attacker who runs pkexec with crafted environment variables can induce it to execute arbitrary code, gaining administrative (root) rights on the target machine. Because polkit is installed by default on mainstream Linux distributions — including Red Hat Enterprise Linux and its many variants, with the flaw also tracked against Canonical, SUSE, Oracle, Siemens, and StarWind Software products — essentially every standard Linux installation was exposed. The flaw is being actively exploited in the wild: CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-06-27 with known ransomware use, and EPSS assigns a 94.9% probability of exploitation (100th percentile). Public proof-of-concept exploits are widely available, making exploitation trivial for any user with local access to an unpatched host. Do: Apply the polkit/pkexec updates from each distribution vendor immediately per vendor instructions, as required by the CISA KEV catalog. If patching must be delayed, removing the setuid bit from pkexec (e.g., chmod 0755 /usr/bin/pkexec) is a widely documented interim mitigation, though it may affect functionality that relies on pkexec. Prioritize hosts where untrusted or low-privilege users can log in, and hunt for prior exploitation given known ransomware use. | 7.8 | 95% | KEV ransomware PoC ×4 |
| masstens of millions of Linux servers and workstations (polkit/pkexec ships by default on virtually all mainstream distributions) | |
| CVE-2023-3519 | Unauthenticated RCE in Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway CVE-2023-3519 is a critical (CVSS 9.8) unauthenticated remote code execution flaw caused by improper code-injection handling (CWE-94) in Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway. A remote attacker with no credentials can trigger it by sending crafted requests to an appliance configured as a Gateway (VPN/ICA proxy/RDP proxy) or AAA authentication virtual server, gaining arbitrary code execution on the appliance. Exploitation typically yields a foothold behind the VPN edge — access to internal networks, credential theft, and follow-on activity such as espionage or ransomware deployment. Any organization running unpatched NetScaler ADC/Gateway appliances, especially internet-facing remote-access endpoints, is affected; NetScaler is one of the most widely deployed enterprise VPN/ADC platforms. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw was added to CISA's KEV on 2023-07-19 with known ransomware use, EPSS estimates a 99.7% exploitation probability, and researchers have linked activity to China-nexus espionage (Silk Typhoon) and ransomware operations. Do: Immediately upgrade internet-facing NetScaler ADC/Gateway appliances to the fixed builds in Citrix's advisory (14.1-8.50+, 13.1-49.13+, 13.0-82.45+, 12.1-55.300+, including FIPS/NDcPP equivalents) — per CISA KEV, apply these mitigations or discontinue use if patching is unavailable. Confirm whether each appliance is configured as a Gateway or AAA virtual server (only those are affected), and hunt for compromise — unexpected configuration changes, unfamiliar accounts, webshells, or anomalous VPN sessions — rotating credentials on any suspected compromise. | 9.8 | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC |
| largetens of thousands of internet-exposed NetScaler Gateway/ADC appliances (order 10k-100k at disclosure), serving hundreds of thousands to millions of downstream… | |
| CVE-2025-3928 | Actively Exploited Authenticated Webshell Flaw in Commvault Web Server CVE-2025-3928 is an unspecified vulnerability in the Commvault Web Server, the web administration component of Commvault's data protection platform, which can be exploited over the network by a remote attacker who holds valid (low-privilege) authenticated access. According to the Commvault advisory, attackers use the flaw to create and execute webshells on the web server, and the CVSS 4.0 score of 8.7 (High) reflects high impact to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the vulnerable web server component. It affects Commvault Web Server on both Windows and Linux across the supported release streams, with fixes delivered in 11.36.46, 11.32.89, 11.28.141, and 11.20.217. CISA added the flaw to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-04-28, and Commvault has confirmed that hackers exploited it in the wild as a zero-day, with related reporting noting heightened Silk Typhoon (Chinese nation-state) attack activity. No public proof-of-concept is known, but the confirmed real-world zero-day exploitation makes patching urgent. Do: Upgrade the Commvault Web Server to 11.36.46, 11.32.89, 11.28.141, or 11.20.217, matching your current release stream, on both Windows and Linux platforms. Because the flaw was exploited as a zero-day, hunt for attacker-created webshells and unexpected accounts, scripts, or scheduled tasks on Commvault web server hosts, review authentication logs for suspicious logins, and restrict the Commvault web interface to trusted networks. Federal agencies must apply vendor mitigations per CISA instructions or follow BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use if mitigations are unavailable. | 8.7 | 2% | KEV |
| large≈ tens of thousands of enterprise deployments worldwide (one Web Server per Commvault environment); internet-exposed instances likely in the thousands |
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Cybersecurity researchers are calling attention to malicious activity orchestrated by a China-nexus cyber espionage group known as Murky Panda that involves abusing trusted relationships in the cloud to breach enterprise networks.
"The adversary has also shown considerable ability to quickly weaponize N-day and zero-day vulnerabilities and frequently achieves initial access to their targets by exploiting internet-facing appliances," CrowdStrike said in a Thursday report.
Murky Panda, also known as Silk Typhoon (formerly Hafnium), is best known for its zero-day exploitation of Microsoft Exchange Server flaws in 2021. Attacks mounted by the hacking group have targeted government, technology, academic, legal, and professional services entities in North America.
Earlier this March, Microsoft detailed the threat actor's shift in tactics, detailing its targeting of the information technology (IT) supply chain as a means to obtain initial access to corporate networks. It's assessed that Murky Panda's operations are driven by intelligence gathering.
Like other Chinese hacking groups, Murky Panda has exploited internet-facing appliances to obtain initial access and is believed to have also compromised small office/home office (SOHO) devices that are geolocated in the targeted country as an exit node to hinder detection efforts.
Other infection pathways include exploitation of known security flaws in Citrix NetScaler ADC and NetScaler Gateway (CVE-2023-3519) and Commvault (CVE-2025-3928). The initial access is leveraged to deploy web shells like neo-reGeorg to establish persistence and ultimately drop a custom malware called CloudedHope.
A 64-bit ELF binary and written in Golang, CloudedHope functions as a basic remote access tool (RAT) while employing anti-analysis and operational security (OPSEC) measures, such as modifying timestamps and deleting indicators of their presence in victim environments to fly under the radar.
But a notable aspect of Murky Panda's tradecraft concerns the abuse of trusted relationships between partner organizations and their cloud tenants, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities to breach software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers' cloud environments and conduct lateral movement to downstream victims.
In at least one instance observed in late 2024, the threat actor is said to have compromised a supplier of a North American entity and used the supplier's administrative access to the victim entity's Entra ID tenant to add a temporary backdoor Entra ID account.
"Using this account, the threat actor then backdoored several preexisting Entra ID service principles related to Active Directory management and emails," CrowdStrike said. "The adversary's goals appear targeted in nature based on their focus on accessing emails."
From Murky to Genesis
Another China-linked threat actor that has proven skillful at manipulating cloud services is Genesis Panda (aka Earth Lamia), which has been observed using the infrastructure for basic exfiltration and targeting cloud service provider (CSP) accounts to expand access and establish fallback persistent mechanisms.
Active since at least January 2024, Genesis Panda has been attributed to high-volume operations targeting the financial services, media, telecommunications, and technology sectors spanning 11 countries. The goal of the attacks is to enable access for future intelligence-collection activity.
The possibility that it acts as an initial access broker stems from the group's exploitation of a wide range of web-facing vulnerabilities and limited data exfiltration.
"Although Genesis Panda targets a variety of systems, they show consistent interest in compromising cloud-hosted systems to leverage the cloud control plane for lateral movement, persistence, and enumeration," CrowdStrike said.
The adversary has observed "consistently" querying the Instance Metadata Service (IMDS) associated with a cloud-hosted server to obtain credentials for the cloud control plane and enumerate network and general instance configurations. It's also known to use credentials, likely obtained from compromised virtual machines (VMs), to burrow deeper into the target's cloud account.
The findings illustrate how Chinese hacking groups are becoming increasingly adept at breaking and navigating cloud environments, while also prioritizing stealth and persistence to ensure sustained access and covert data harvesting.
Glacial Panda Strikes Telecom Sector
The telecommunications sector, per CrowdStrike, has witnessed a 130% increase in nation-state activity over the past year, primarily driven by the fact they are a treasure trove of intelligence. The latest threat actor to train its sights on the industry vertical is a Chinese threat actor dubbed Glacial Panda.
The geographic footprint of the hacking group spans Afghanistan, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Panama, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.
"Glacial Panda highly likely conducts targeted intrusions for intelligence collection purposes, accessing and exfiltrating call detail records and related communications telemetry from multiple telecommunications organizations," the cybersecurity company said.
"The adversary primarily targets Linux systems typical in the telecommunications industry, including legacy operating system distributions that support older telecommunications technologies."
Attack chains implemented by the threat actor make use of known security vulnerabilities or weak passwords aimed at internet-facing and unmanaged servers, with follow-on activities leveraging privilege escalation bugs like CVE-2016-5195 (aka Dirty COW) and CVE-2021-4034 (aka PwnKit).
Besides relying on living-off-the-land (LotL) techniques, Glacial Panda's intrusions pave the way for the deployment of trojanized OpenSSH components, collectively codenamed ShieldSlide, to gather user authentication sessions and credentials.
"The ShieldSlide-trojanized SSH server binary also provides backdoor access, authenticating any account (including root) when a hardcoded password is entered," CrowdStrike said.
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