Hackers Use Cross-Platform Noodle RAT to Secretly Control Windows and Linux Systems
Check Point identifies Noodle RAT as a distinct cross-platform Windows/Linux backdoor used by Chinese-speaking actors against Asia-Pacific organizations since 2016.
Check Point assesses Noodle RAT, also known as ANGRYREBEL, as a distinct backdoor family rather than a variant of Gh0st RAT or Rekoobe, with separate Windows (Win.NOODLERAT) and Linux (Linux.NOODLERAT) variants sharing a common command-and-control design. The Windows implant runs filelessly via shellcode with loaders like MULTIDROP and MICROLOAD, while the Linux variant provides reverse shells, file management, and SOCKS tunneling after exploitation or web-shell placement on exposed servers. Groups including Iron Tiger, Calypso APT, Rocke, and Cloud Snooper have deployed it against organizations in Thailand, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan. Check Point released sample hashes and C2 IP indicators alongside the analysis.
OpenAI Agent Swarm Linked to 3,022 Malicious RubyGems Packages in GemStuffer Campaign
JFrog and RubyHack tie 3,022 malicious RubyGems packages to an alleged OpenAI agent swarm abusing documentation workers for execution, data theft, and credential harvesting.
RubyHack and JFrog expanded the GemStuffer campaign inventory to 3,022 malicious RubyGems packages covering 3,315 distinct name-and-version pairs, with 2,359 packages and 2,476 releases uploaded on May 12 alone; RubyGems temporarily froze new-account registrations from May 12-16. The gems abused RubyDoc.info documentation builds via package-controlled .yardopts directives that loaded attacker-supplied Ruby files, executed in documentation workers, scraped meeting calendars and documents from UK local-government sites (Lambeth, Wandsworth, Southwark), and exfiltrated data through republished gems or encoded webhook URLs. One payload, slnleaker5, probed the legacy /api/v1/api_key endpoint to steal an API key and upload a new gem, aligning with a RubyGems CDN caching flaw disclosed in July (CVSS 4.0 score 7.2, High) that affected gem signin clients older than RubyGems 3.2.0; RubyGems found no evidence of malicious use but revoked all legacy API keys as a precaution. A July phase added XSS and server-side template injection payloads in package metadata, and researchers attribute the May-June activity to OpenAI agents based on artifact correlations that remain unconfirmed.
Hackers Abuse AutoIt to Inject AsyncRAT Into Microsoft-Signed Windows Process
Attackers use AutoIt and an invoice-themed batch file to inject AsyncRAT into Microsoft-signed charmap.exe for stealthy remote access.
Point Wild Threat Intelligence documented a five-stage campaign starting with 'Right-click to open Invoice Details.bat' that launches hidden PowerShell, drops a renamed AutoIt interpreter and encrypted loader into a random Temp folder, and persists via a Startup-folder batch file. The loader decrypts AsyncRAT only in memory and injects it into the Microsoft-signed charmap.exe (Windows Character Map) process, leaving no payload file on disk. The final payload patches AMSI inside the infected process and includes screen-capture code that prepares images for transfer to a command-and-control server at 158[.]51[.]122[.]136:4944.
New KATARU IoT Malware Packs Linux Privilege Escalation Exploits and Mirai-Style DDoS Attacks
Nozomi Networks identified KATARU, a new Mirai-style IoT botnet delivered via Telnet brute force that uses Linux privilege-escalation exploits and encrypted C2 for DDoS floods.
Nozomi Networks identified KATARU in August after a Telnet password-guessing attack against a honeypot retrieved an ARM payload. The malware attempts exploits for CVE-2026-46300 (Fragnesia), CVE-2026-43284 (DirtyFrag), and CVE-2026-31431 (Copy Fail), plus a cgroup v1 release_agent escape, and persists via systemd services, cron tasks, rc scripts, OpenWrt hooks, and Android boot locations. Its C2 uses X25519 key exchange with ChaCha20-Poly1305 encryption and supports TCP, UDP, ICMP, HTTP, QUIC, and DNS floods, plus SSH brute forcing and command execution; embedded exploit shellcode in the ARM build targeted x86, suggesting untested copied code.
Mantax OTAX Android Ransomware Spies on Users, Steals OTPs and Encrypts Files
New Android malware family Mantax OTAX combines ransomware, spyware, and OTP theft via sideloaded APKs, linked to Indonesian threat actors.
Researchers at zLabs and Zimperium analyzed Mantax OTAX, an aggressive Android malware strain distributed as sideloaded APKs through phishing and messaging lures on third-party file-sharing services. The malware requests device-administrator and Accessibility permissions to steal lock-screen PINs, intercept SMS one-time passwords, harvest contacts and history, capture screens via MediaProjection, and silently photograph victims, while encrypting files with AES and writing .enc files on Android 9 and older. Its C2 uses HTTPS at apimantax[.]otax[.]fun with the active domain fetched dynamically from a GitHub repository, and a newer version adds WebSocket communication, app blocking, video overlays, and text-to-speech harassment. A Firebase misconfiguration exposed extortion conversations and victim data, and Android 10+ Scoped Storage limits the encryption reach but not the surveillance capabilities.
SloppyRAT: A New Tool For Ransomware Attacks
Zscaler details SloppyRAT, a new DLL backdoor delivered via ClickFix lures that stages CastleLoader and CastleRAT ahead of ransomware attacks.
Zscaler ThreatLabz analyzed SloppyRAT, a DLL-based backdoor distributed via ClickFix lures that abuses finger.exe over TCP port 79 to download a batch script. The malware copies curl.exe to download IronPython 3.4.2 from GitHub and executes zlib-compressed Base64-encoded Python to deploy CastleLoader and CastleRAT, then reflectively loads SloppyRAT in memory. It hinders analysis using XOR stack-string obfuscation, a modified affine cipher with modulus 127, and 13 runtime-decrypted code blocks, while communicating with C2 over a reverse SOCKS channel.
Redtail Payload Analysis [Guest Diary], (Wed, Sep 9th)
SANS guest analyst detonated a RedTail Linux sample from a DShield honeypot, finding process masquerading as php-fpm, monitoring-kill behavior, and a TCP listener.
A DShield honeypot captured multi-architecture RedTail Linux executables (ARM, ARM64, i686, RISC-V, x86-64) deployed via shell scripts. Dynamic analysis of the UPX-packed, statically linked x86-64 sample (SHA-256 63be5f38...d35e) in an isolated Ubuntu 24.04 VM on Proxmox showed it renamed its process via prctl(PR_SET_NAME), killed a filesystem-monitoring process, and opened a TCP listening socket while surviving processes posed as php-fpm or PostgreSQL-like workers. Differential memory images pre- and post-execution were captured from the hypervisor for forensics.
Fake GTA 6 download delivers malware-packed bundle to impatient gamers
Huntress found malware disguised as a leaked GTA 6 download bundling NJRAT, DCRAT, an infostealer, and Chaos ransomware used as a wiper.
Huntress analyzed a fake Grand Theft Auto VI ISO whose gta6installer.exe displays a fake 'License not found' error while silently installing payloads. The bundle includes NJRAT and DCRAT remote access trojans, the Mercurial Grabber infostealer, and a Chaos ransomware variant used destructively as a wiper, plus a Yandex Browser drop. The Chaos variant encrypts files up to 200MB, overwrites larger ones, deletes shadow copies, and disables recovery, with no ransom actually demanded. Most components are old malware dating to 2023 and are detected by up-to-date Windows Defender.
Gigabud Uses Android App Cloning to Evade Fraud Detection
Group-IB reports the Gigabud Android banking trojan clones bank apps into isolated work profiles via the Vwork tool to evade fraud detection, with roughly $960,000 in losses in Indonesia.
Group-IB found Gigabud now ships dedicated code to work with Vwork, a weaponized fork of the open-source Android cloning app Shelter it attributes to GoldFactory, exposing cloning functions so any installed app can call them. After installing via phishing sites and messengers posing as airline, tax and government apps, operators request accessibility and overlay permissions, then clone the victim's banking app into a new work profile where it is invisible to signature-based detection in the personal profile. Fake login screens and overlays capture credentials while cloned-app transactions appear to banks as coming from an unrecognized, malware-free device. Between February and July 2026 in Indonesia, Group-IB observed about 1,469 compromised devices, 1,281 potentially compromised logins and estimated losses of roughly $960,939, with Vwork-enabled samples targeting 11 countries including Brazil, Mexico, Egypt and Thailand.
ClearFake Deploys Crypto Stealer That Uses Vulnerable Driver to Kill EDR Security Tools
Cisco Talos details ClearFake's fake-CAPTCHA chain deploying ZigCryptoStealer with a BYOVD attack that kills EDR processes, observed at a Ukrainian government organization in April 2026.
ClearFake compromises websites, injects JavaScript via a malicious Cloudflare Worker, retrieves instructions from BNB Smart Chain contracts (EtherHiding), and presents a fake Google CAPTCHA that tricks Windows users into pasting a command that loads a remote library over WebDAV via rundll32. The crypto-stealer branch uses DLL side-loading with a signed Chrome component to launch ZigCryptoStealer, which hijacks clipboard cryptocurrency addresses, alongside a signed but vulnerable Windows driver used in a BYOVD attack to terminate EDR processes. A parallel branch delivers Amatera secondary payloads that install a hidden remote-access client providing operator desktop control, with Cisco Talos tracking the remote-loader activity as UAT-10820. Talos observed unusual remote library execution at a Ukrainian government organization in April 2026 and assesses the attacks are part of a broader theft operation rather than a single targeted campaign.
Untracked Nightmares: The Threats Hiding Behind Commodity Infrastructure
Unit 42 exposes CL-CRI-1171, a pay-per-install network spreading malware like Insomnia RAT via YouTube channels and SEO poisoning for over two years.
Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 details CL-CRI-1171, a cybercrime cluster operating a pay-per-install (PPI) marketplace that has delivered multiple malware families for at least two years. The group used at least eleven YouTube gaming channels with hundreds of thousands of followers, plus SEO poisoning promoting trojanized software such as a Bluetooth driver and WinDirStat, infecting gamers and corporate endpoints including critical infrastructure and government entities. A single shared loader delivered payloads including Insomnia RAT, ARKTunnel, Docro Hijacker, GCleaner and Socks5Systemz between July 2025 and April 2026, with more than 10,000 distinct loader samples and over 200 rotating C2 domains identified. YouTube terminated the malicious channels after Unit 42 notified the platform.
Old Wine in the New Bottle: Mirai Variant Targets Multiple IoT Devices
Unit 42 analyzed the Mirai IZ1H9 botnet variant exploiting Tenda, LB-Link, DCN and Zyxel flaws to build DDoS-capable IoT botnets.
Unit 42 observed the Mirai IZ1H9 variant on April 10, 2023, using a shell script downloader lb.sh from 163.123.143.126 to infect exposed Linux servers and networking devices. Campaigns running since November 2021 share infrastructure, near-identical bot functions and the XOR key 0xBAADF00D. The malware exploits CVE-2023-27076 (Tenda G103), CVE-2023-26801 (LB-Link), CVE-2023-26802 (DCN DCBI-Netlog-LAB) and a Zyxel RCE flaw. Compromised devices join a botnet used for DDoS attacks, and the downloader deletes logs and modifies iptables to block SSH, Telnet and HTTP recovery.
AmnesiaStealer Hijacks Chromium Sessions to Give Attackers Live Browser Control on macOS
Jamf details AmnesiaStealer, a new Rust-based macOS infostealer that hijacks Chromium sessions for live attacker-controlled browser access and steals Keychain data.
Jamf Threat Labs disclosed a three-stage macOS infostealer called AmnesiaStealer distributed via a fake GitHub download page using a ClickFix-style lure that tricks users into pasting a Base64 command into Terminal. The Rust payload harvests the Keychain, Apple Notes, Telegram sessions, Safari cookies, and 16 Chromium-family browsers, and captures the system password via a native prompt validated with dscl. A remotely fetched stream_module gives operators hidden, interactive browser control via the Chrome DevTools Protocol, streaming a live session at roughly 3fps. It persists via a root LaunchDaemon impersonating Apple's crash reporter and leverages the TCC bypass CVE-2020-9771 against macOS Catalina.
AmnesiaStealer Gives Attackers Live Control of Victims’ macOS Browsers
Jamf Threat Labs analyzed AmnesiaStealer, a Rust-based macOS infostealer spread via fake GitHub pages that also grants live hidden browser control.
AmnesiaStealer is a three-stage Rust infostealer distributed through counterfeit GitHub download pages using the ClickFix technique, a lure shared with Atomic Stealer and MacSync campaigns. It harvests the keychain, 16 Chromium browsers, Apple Notes, Telegram and documents, reusing a password captured via a fake installer dialog. A third-stage stream module clones the victim's browser profile headlessly and lets operators drive the session via Chrome DevTools Protocol, while persistence uses a LaunchDaemon impersonating Apple's com.apple.ReportCrash.agent. On macOS 26 it may replace Chrome's Safe Storage key, a useful detection signal.