New ForumTroll Phishing Attacks Target Russian Scholars Using Fake eLibrary Emails
Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →
| CVE | Vulnerability | CVSS | EPSS | Flags | Affected | Exposure | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2023-38035 | Authentication Bypass in Ivanti Sentry (MobileIron Sentry) Admin Interface Ivanti Sentry, formerly known as MobileIron Sentry, contains an authentication bypass (CWE-863) caused by an insufficiently restrictive Apache HTTPD configuration on the product's administrative interface. An attacker triggers the flaw by sending crafted HTTP requests to the administrative interface, which the permissive web server configuration serves without properly enforcing authentication controls. Successful exploitation grants unauthenticated administrative access to the Sentry management interface, giving attackers a foothold in the MDM infrastructure. Any organization running Ivanti Sentry is affected, with risk highest where the administrative interface is reachable from the internet. Exploitation is confirmed: the flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-08-22 with known ransomware use, and EPSS currently rates the 30-day exploitation probability at 100% (percentile 100) even though no public PoC is known. Do: Apply the mitigations prescribed in Ivanti's security advisory, including the corrective Apache HTTPD configuration and any patched Sentry release the vendor directs you to, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable per the CISA KEV required action. Restrict or remove internet exposure of the Sentry administrative interface and review access logs for unauthenticated requests to the admin interface indicating attempted or successful exploitation. | 9.8 | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC |
| moderateroughly 1,000-10,000 internet-exposed Ivanti Sentry deployments (on the order of a few thousand) | |
| CVE-2024-21887 | Command Injection RCE in Ivanti Connect Secure and Policy Secure Ivanti Connect Secure (formerly Pulse Connect Secure) and Ivanti Policy Secure appliances contain a command injection flaw (CWE-77) in their web components, triggered when an authenticated administrator sends crafted requests to the appliance. The bug can be chained with the separate authentication bypass CVE-2023-46805, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to achieve the same result. Successful exploitation lets an attacker execute arbitrary commands and code on the appliance, providing a foothold into the networks behind the VPN or network access control gateway. Any organization running these appliances, typically enterprises and government agencies often deployed directly on the internet perimeter, is affected. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: the flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2024-01-10 with known ransomware use and EPSS assigns a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days, although no public proof-of-concept is available. Do: Apply Ivanti's mitigations or patched builds immediately per vendor instructions, addressing the chained authentication bypass CVE-2023-46805 at the same time, and discontinue or restrict use of any appliance for which mitigations are unavailable, especially if it is internet-facing. Because exploitation with ransomware use is known, assume compromise is possible: review appliance web logs for suspicious requests and run Ivanti's integrity-checking guidance to verify appliance images before and after remediation. Where feasible, restrict direct internet exposure of the appliance web interface and monitor for further vendor advisories. | 9.1 | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC |
| largetens of thousands of appliances (roughly 20,000-30,000 internet-exposed ICS gateways at disclosure; total deployed base likely higher) | |
| CVE-2025-2783 | Sandbox Escape via Mojo Handle Flaw in Google Chrome on Windows (CVE-2025-2783) CVE-2025-2783 is a high-severity sandbox escape in Google Chrome on Windows, caused by an incorrect handle being provided in unspecified circumstances in Mojo, Chrome's inter-process communication layer. It is triggered remotely through a malicious file and requires user interaction; an attacker who has code running inside Chrome's sandboxed renderer can abuse the handle flaw to break out of the Windows sandbox and gain broader access to the host (CVSS scope change with high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability). All Google Chrome versions on Windows prior to 134.0.6998.177 are affected, per the vendor fix referenced by CISA. The flaw was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-03-27, and related reporting links it to active exploitation in the ForumTroll APT's phishing campaign against Russian scholars using fake eLibrary emails; ransomware use is unknown. No public proof-of-concept is known, and EPSS assigns a 9.2% probability of exploitation within 30 days (95th percentile). Do: Update Google Chrome on Windows to 134.0.6998.177 or later immediately and verify deployed browser versions across endpoints; the flaw is in the CISA KEV catalog, so federal agencies must apply vendor mitigations per BOD 22-01 timelines. Because exploitation is tied to malicious files delivered via phishing (e.g., the ForumTroll fake-eLibrary campaign), prioritize patching for users who open untrusted attachments and links, and hunt for associated phishing emails. | 8.3 | 9% | KEV |
| massbillions of users (Chrome is the world's dominant browser; the Windows-only subset is still likely well over 1 billion) | |
| CVE-2025-4428 +1 in the same advisory: …4427 | Authenticated Code Injection RCE in Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) API CVE-2025-4428 is a code injection flaw (CWE-94) in the API component of Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) that lets an authenticated, low-privileged remote attacker execute arbitrary code by sending crafted API requests. Successful exploitation yields code execution on the MDM server itself (CVSS 8.8, High), which typically holds device inventory and administrative control over an organization's enrolled mobile fleet. Any organization running EPMM 12.5.0.0 or earlier is in scope. Exploitation is confirmed in the wild: CISA added the flaw to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-05-19, EPSS puts the 30-day exploitation probability at 86% (100th percentile), and public reporting ties limited attacks to the China-linked actor UNC5221, who reportedly began exploiting it alongside the companion API authentication bypass CVE-2025-4427 shortly after disclosure. CISA has also warned that threat actors exploiting these EPMM flaws deploy two malware strains; ransomware involvement has not been confirmed. Do: Upgrade every EPMM instance running 12.5.0.0 or earlier to the patched release per Ivanti's security advisory, prioritizing internet-facing servers, and note that federal agencies must satisfy the BOD 22-01 required action (patch, apply vendor mitigations, or discontinue use of the product). If patching is delayed, restrict internet exposure of the API and review EPMM logs and the advisory's indicators of compromise, since attackers have chained this flaw with the CVE-2025-4427 authentication bypass and deployed malware. Treat any unpatched, exposed EPMM instance as actively targeted until it is remediated. | 8.8 group max | 86% | KEV |
| largetens of thousands of enterprise deployments (order of 10k-100k EPMM servers; many are internet-exposed) | |
| CVE-2025-53770 | Unauthenticated Deserialization RCE in Microsoft SharePoint Server on-premises CVE-2025-53770 is a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability (CWE-502) in Microsoft SharePoint Server on-premises that allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network. It is triggered when the server deserializes attacker-controlled data, can be chained with CVE-2025-53771, and it bypasses the fixes issued for CVE-2025-49704, meaning the earlier patches are insufficient. Successful exploitation yields remote code execution on the SharePoint server, and ransomware operators are known to be using it. Any organization running SharePoint Server on-premises is affected, particularly internet-facing deployments and end-of-life versions such as SharePoint Server 2013 and earlier that can no longer be patched. The flaw is being actively exploited — it was added to CISA's KEV on 2025-07-20 with known ransomware use — and EPSS assigns it a 100% probability of exploitation within 30 days. Do: Apply Microsoft's updated SharePoint Server security updates that fix CVE-2025-53770 — these include more robust protection than the earlier CVE-2025-49704 updates — and ensure the companion CVE-2025-53771 is also addressed, following CISA and vendor mitigation instructions for supported versions. Disconnect public-facing SharePoint Server 2013 or earlier (EOL/EOS) instances, minimize internet exposure of supported servers, and hunt for signs of compromise given the known ransomware exploitation. | 9.8 | 100% | KEV ransomware PoC ×3 |
| mass≈25,000–100,000 internet-exposed on-premises SharePoint servers (public internet-wide scans); total on-prem installed base plausibly >1M users |
Indicators of compromiseauto-extracted · verify before use · export allAll →
| Type | Indicator | Context |
|---|---|---|
| domain | elibrary.ru | rs also hosted a copy of the legitimate eLibrary homepage ("elibrary[.]ru") on the bogus domain to maintain the ruse. The emails in |
| domain | e-library.wiki | c library, with the messages sent from the address "support@e-library[.]wiki." The domain was registered in March 2025, six months bef |
Full article662 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse
Ravie LakshmananDec 17, 2025Vulnerability / Malware
The threat actor linked to Operation ForumTroll has been attributed to a fresh set of phishing attacks targeting individuals within Russia, according to Kaspersky.
The Russian cybersecurity vendor said it detected the new activity in October 2025. The origins of the threat actor are presently unknown.
"While the spring cyberattacks focused on organizations, the fall campaign honed in on specific individuals: scholars in the field of political science, international relations, and global economics, working at major Russian universities and research institutions," security researcher Georgy Kucherin said.
Operation ForumTroll refers to a series of sophisticated phishing attacks exploiting a then-zero-day vulnerability in Google Chrome (CVE-2025-2783) to deliver the LeetAgent backdoor and a spyware implant known as Dante.
The latest attack wave also commences with emails that claimed to be from eLibrary, a Russian scientific electronic library, with the messages sent from the address "support@e-library[.]wiki." The domain was registered in March 2025, six months before the start of the campaign, suggesting that preparations for the attack had been underway for some time.
Kaspersky said the strategic domain aging was done to avoid raising any red flags typically associated with sending emails from a freshly registered domain. In addition, the attackers also hosted a copy of the legitimate eLibrary homepage ("elibrary[.]ru") on the bogus domain to maintain the ruse.
The emails instruct prospective targets to click on an embedded link pointing to the malicious site to download a plagiarism report. Should a victim follow through, a ZIP archive with the naming pattern "<LastName>_<FirstName>_<Patronymic>.zip" is downloaded to their machine.
What's more, these links are designed for one-time use, meaning any subsequent attempts to navigate to the URL cause it to display a Russian language message stating "Download failed, please try again later." In the event, the download is attempted from a platform other than Windows, the user is prompted to "try again later on a Windows computer."
"The attackers also carefully personalized the phishing emails for their targets, specific professionals in the field," the company said. "The downloaded archive was named with the victim's last name, first name, and patronymic."
The archive contains a Windows shortcut (LNK) with the same name, which, when executed, runs a PowerShell script to download and launch a PowerShell-based payload from a remote server. The payload then contacts a URL to fetch a final-stage DLL and persist it using COM hijacking. It also downloads and displays a decoy PDF to the victim.
The final payload is a command-and-control (C2) and red teaming framework known as Tuoni, enabling the threat actors to gain remote access to the victim's Windows device.
"ForumTroll has been targeting organizations and individuals in Russia and Belarus since at least 2022," Kaspersky said. "Given this lengthy timeline, it is likely this APT group will continue to target entities and individuals of interest within these two countries."
The disclosure comes as Positive Technologies detailed the activities of two threat clusters, QuietCrabs – a suspected Chinese hacking group also tracked as UTA0178 and UNC5221 – and Thor, which appears to be involved in ransomware attacks since May 2025.
These intrusion sets have been found to leverage security flaws in Microsoft SharePoint (CVE-2025-53770), Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (CVE-2025-4427 and CVE-2025-4428), Ivanti Connect Secure (CVE-2024-21887), and Ivanti Sentry (CVE-2023-38035).
Attacks carried out by QuietCrabs take advantage of the initial access to deploy an ASPX web shell and use it to deliver a JSP loader that's capable of downloading and executing KrustyLoader, which then drops the Sliver implant.
"Thor is a threat group first observed in attacks against Russian companies in 2025," researchers Alexander Badayev, Klimentiy Galkin, and Vladislav Lunin said. "As final payloads, the attackers use LockBit and Babuk ransomware, as well as Tactical RMM and MeshAgent to maintain persistence."
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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://thehackernews.com/2025/12/new-forumtroll-phishing-attacks-target.html