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Cyclops Blink Evolves Into x86-64 Linux Implant With Packet Sniffing and Internal Network Scanning
Sophos uncovers a new x86-64 Cyclops Blink Linux implant with packet sniffing and internal network scanning on compromised Cisco FMC appliances.
Sophos identified a 64-bit Linux Cyclops Blink implant in August on compromised Cisco Firewall Management Center devices, persisting via SysV init scripts and masquerading as the process 'kworker01'. The modular malware runs five child processes for reconnaissance, file transfer, scanning, packet capture, and persistence, and beacons hourly over outbound TLS to hardcoded C2 89.34.96.56 on ports 43856 and 49172. The family was previously tied to Russian-linked Sandworm activity on WatchGuard appliances, though Sophos treats 2026 attribution cautiously. The packet-capture module applies configurable filters to retain credentials, cookies, and authentication tokens from raw Ethernet traffic.
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New SLEEPWALKER Backdoor Waits for One Crafted Packet, Then Runs Its Own Bytecode
A new Windows backdoor dubbed SLEEPWALKER hides as ESET Management Agent's dpapi.dll, waits for a crafted network packet, then executes custom 23-instruction bytecode.
Researcher Dominik Reichel documented SLEEPWALKER, an unsigned 59,904-byte 64-bit Windows DLL that side-loads into ESET Management Agent's ERAAgent.exe while impersonating dpapi.dll. The implant monitors every network interface indefinitely for a specifically crafted trigger packet, then executes commands written in a custom 23-instruction bytecode language over six transports, including TCP, UDP, ICMP, SMB named pipes, raw promiscuous capture, and VMware VMCI. It has no embedded infrastructure, makes no outbound connections of its own, and requires prior local administrator access to install; no victims, attribution, or in-the-wild deployment are confirmed. Reichel assesses the design as consistent with a targeted, well-resourced operation, while ESET calls the scenario's security relevance negligible since it provides no new access path.
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Shai-Hulud's Reach Just Grew to 469 Credential Locations. Here's What That Means
GitGuardian found the Shai-Hulud infostealer worm now scans 469 credential locations, including CI/CD and AI tool configs, expanding supply-chain risk.
GitGuardian researchers found that a recent Shai-Hulud worm variant scans for credentials across 469 locations in developer environments, CI/CD tooling, cloud configurations, and AI tool configs, up from 189 paths in earlier variants. The worm reuses stolen credentials to pivot from developer workstations to source code, cloud infrastructure, and package publishing channels, turning credential theft into forward-propagating supply chain attacks. The analysis urges defenders to prioritize removing long-lived package publishing tokens in favor of short-lived OIDC-based trusted publishing, citing recent Docker and GitHub Actions improvements.
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Sandworm-Linked Cyclops Blink Returns With Network Scanning and Packet-Sniffing Capabilities
Sophos uncovers a 64-bit Cyclops Blink variant on hacked Cisco FMC appliances, adding internal network scanning and selective packet capture; linked to Sandworm.
Sophos CTU analyzed a new 64-bit x86-64 Cyclops Blink implant (timezone_check) deployed on Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center appliances compromised via CVE-2026-20079 authentication bypass and CVE-2026-20316 low-privileged login. The activity is assessed with high confidence as Russian-nexus, with a moderate-confidence link to Sandworm (IRON VIKING, also tracked as Seashell Blizzard). The implant runs a parent controller plus five worker modules, masquerades as [kworker/0:1], persists via SysV init scripts at /lib/tz/timezone_check, and beacons to hard-coded C2 89.34.96.56 over a custom TLS protocol on ports 43856 and 49172. New module 0x11 scans internal IPv4 networks for SSH, SMB, LDAP, VMware, HTTP/HTTPS and VPN services, while module 0x12 performs filtered packet capture that can expose cleartext credentials, cookies and tokens.
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