Hackers Exploit Critical Cisco Firewall Flaw to Gain Root Access and Deploy Malware
State-sponsored and ransomware actors actively exploit critical Cisco FMC flaws CVE-2026-20079 (CVSS 10.0) and CVE-2026-20316 to gain root access and deploy ransomware.
Cisco Talos confirmed in-the-wild exploitation of CVE-2026-20079 (CVSS 10.0, unauthenticated authentication bypass enabling root command execution) and CVE-2026-20316 (CVSS 5.3, hard-coded static credentials) in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center. Three activity clusters were identified: UAT-12197 dropping a JSP web shell and credential harvester; UAT-11823, assessed as Sandworm, deploying a Cyclops Blink variant; and UAT-11988, a Qilin ransomware affiliate chaining the flaws before deploying ransomware. CISA added both CVEs to the KEV catalog with a September 12 remediation deadline for federal agencies.
wp2shell: incident response guide (CVE-2026-63030 + CVE-2026-60137)
Eye Security published forensic IR tooling for wp2shell (CVE-2026-63030/CVE-2026-60137), the unauthenticated WordPress core RCE chain, after WordPress.org forced auto-updates.
wp2shell chains a REST API batch-endpoint route-confusion bug (CVE-2026-63030) with an SQL injection in WP_Query's author__not_in parameter (CVE-2026-60137), giving unauthenticated attackers rogue admin and code execution on default installs. Adam Kues of Searchlight Cyber discovered the flaw, a public PoC exists on GitHub, and WordPress.org forced automatic updates across an estimated 200M+ sites. Eye Security released a compromise-scanner WordPress plugin and browser extension and notes database artifacts (oEmbed cache rows, changesets) are the primary evidence since the attack is log-blind; fixed versions are 6.8.6, 6.9.5, and 7.0.2.
CVE-2026-16232: Checkpoint Quantum Security Management auth bypass ...
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.
NSA, CISA, FBI, DOE, and EPA Warn of Active AI
Five US agencies warn of active AI-assisted attacks on internet-exposed Siemens S7 PLCs across critical infrastructure, using disguised snap7 scripts for pre-positioning reconnaissance.
NSA, CISA, FBI, DOE, and EPA issued joint advisory CISA AA26-231A warning of an active hacking campaign against Siemens S7-series PLCs, from S7-200 through S7-1500 F-series, across US critical infrastructure. Threat actors use internet scanning services such as Censys and ZoomEye to locate exposed controllers, then perform read operations over S7comm on TCP port 102 using the legitimate snap7.dll and python-snap7 libraries, disguising AI-generated exploitation scripts as monitoring tools. The agencies assess the activity as pre-positioning ahead of possible process disruption, equipment damage, or safety incidents in Energy, Water, Critical Manufacturing, Chemical, Food and Agriculture, and Commercial Facilities sectors.