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Chinese-Speaking Hackers Use Noodle RAT Backdoor to Spy on Windows and Linux Systems
Chinese-speaking actors use cross-platform Noodle RAT backdoor to maintain covert access to Windows and Linux systems across Asia-Pacific.
Noodle RAT (also ANGYREBEL/Nood RAT) has been active since at least mid-2016 and was long misidentified as Gh0st RAT or Rekoobe variants until Trend Micro and Cyberint classified it as a distinct multi-platform family. The Windows build (Win.NOODLERAT) is an in-memory modular shellcode backdoor delivered via MULTIDROP and MICROLOAD loaders, while the Linux build supports reverse shells, SOCKS tunneling, and cron persistence after web shell or public-facing service exploitation. It has appeared in intrusions in Thailand, India, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan and is linked to Iron Tiger, Calypso APT, Rocke, and Cloud Snooper campaigns spanning espionage and cybercrime. Recently discovered Linux builders 1.0.1 and 1.0.2 indicate the toolkit remains actively maintained.
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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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14 Trojanized npm Packages Drop RedC2 4.0 Linux Backdoor With AI
Trend Micro found 14 trojanized npm calendar utilities delivering RedC2 4.0, an AI-powered cross-platform backdoor sold for $99.99.
Trend Micro's TrendAI identified 14 functional but trojanized npm packages (streak-*, kit-map-vim, map-streak-kit) that load a bundled Linux implant, the RedShell beacon of RedC2 4.0, without requiring install hooks. RedC2 4.0, sold by Red Offsec for $99.99 and advertised on Hack Forums by actor MarlboroMan in June 2026, offers shell access, credential theft, SOCKS5 proxying, in-memory execution, and an LLM-driven component called Red Agent for natural-language post-exploitation. The framework has evolved from version 2.0 in August 2025 through 4.0, with the Linux beacon introduced in the latest release.
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PoisonedRefresh: A Fileless Linux Rootkit That Injects PHP Web Shells Into F5 BIG-IP APM Server Memory
Sophos details PoisonedRefresh, a fileless Linux rootkit that injects a memory-resident PHP web shell into F5 BIG-IP APM after exploitation of CVE-2025-53521.
On September 8, 2026, SophosLabs published an analysis of Linux/Agnt-IC (dubbed PoisonedRefresh by ESET) found in compromised F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager environments. Initial access leverages CVE-2025-53521, an unauthenticated RCE in BIG-IP APM when an access policy is configured on a virtual server; F5 confirmed exploitation and links the activity to cluster c05d5254, while Shadowserver observed 795 exposed vulnerable endpoints. A first stage hidden in a modified umount binary modifies /usr/sbin/httpd and SELinux configuration and embeds itself in BIG-IP upgrade images for persistence. The second-stage ELF intercepts __libc_start_main, hooks apr_dso_load, and injects a PHP web shell into libphp memory via mmap manipulation, leaving no disk artifacts, and exposes a /bin/bash shell via a local UNIX domain socket instead of a TCP port.
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BambooToken malware controls Windows and Linux systems via MQTT
Lumen Black Lotus Labs exposes BambooToken, a China-aligned malware framework using MQTT C2 to backdoor Windows and Linux systems at roughly a dozen enterprises.
Lumen's Black Lotus Labs documented BambooToken, a previously unknown malware framework active since at least 2023 that adopted MQTT for command-and-control in 2024-2025 variants targeting Windows and Linux. Infection occurs via DLL side-loading through digitally signed Tendyron OnKey USB-token software or an impersonated Kingsoft Office installer; dead code suggests keylogging, clipboard theft, audio/webcam capture, and screenshot modules. Telemetry identified roughly a dozen compromised entities, mostly in Asia and South America, including a Hong Kong GitLab server and possibly users of the SpeedCN VPN service. Targeting patterns are consistent with China-aligned operations, though no attribution to a known cluster was made.
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New Mirai-Based Evooo1Bot Botnet Targets Linux Devices
FortiGuard Labs disclosed Evooo1Bot, a Mirai-based Linux botnet active since July 2026 that hijacks routers and IoT devices for DDoS, credential theft, and SOCKS5 proxying.
Fortinet's FortiGuard Labs disclosed Evooo1Bot, a previously undocumented Linux botnet active since July 2026 that reuses Mirai's DDoS engine while adding encrypted C2, SSH brute-force scanning, credential sniffing, and SOCKS5 proxy modules. The bot exploits 18 known CVEs across Alcatel, NETGEAR, Tenda, D-Link, Telesquare, and Mitsubishi devices, some dating back to 2007, and communicates exclusively over port 443 to blend with HTTPS traffic. Compromised hosts can be turned into SOCKS5 relays for anonymous traffic forwarding or monetization via proxy services. The malware uses AES-256-CTR, ChaCha20, and XOR obfuscation with a 28-command administration interface.
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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.
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Hackers breach F5 BIG-IP APM devices to deploy Linux rootkit
Sophos analyzed a Linux rootkit on F5 BIG-IP APM devices that injects a fileless PHP web shell, likely after CVE-2025-53521 exploitation.
Sophos analyzed a Linux rootkit targeting F5 BIG-IP APM environments, also tracked by ESET as PoisonedRefresh, which hijacks Apache's apr_dso_load module loader to inject a fileless PHP web shell into memory. The implant intercepts __libc_start_main, hides strings with RC4, creates a password-protected local UNIX socket backdoor for interactive Bash access, and persists across BIG-IP upgrade images while modifying SELinux configuration. It is likely a second-stage payload following exploitation of CVE-2025-53521, a critical RCE flaw F5 reclassified from a DoS issue in March. The ShadowServer Foundation tracked 795 F5 BIG-IP APM endpoints exposed online.
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Hackers deploy Linux rootkit on F5 BIG-IP APM devices, hiding web shell in memory
Sophos analyzed a Linux rootkit, tracked as PoisonedRefresh, on hacked F5 BIG-IP APM devices hiding an in-memory web shell linked to exploited CVE-2025-53521.
Sophos and ESET analyzed an implant (named PoisonedRefresh by ESET) deployed on compromised F5 BIG-IP APM appliances, which serves enterprise, financial, government, and public sector deployments. The second-stage payload intercepts __libc_start_main, hooks Apache's APR module loader (apr_dso_load), RC4-encodes key strings, and rewrites PHP file reads in memory to embed a web shell inside legitimate scripts like apm_css.php3, full_wt.php3, and webtop_popup_css.php3, leaving on-disk files unchanged. A related installer component infects /usr/sbin/httpd, persists across BIG-IP upgrade images, modifies SELinux configuration, and deploys the payload. The malware also creates a Unix domain socket at /run/bigtlog.pipe that hands authenticated local connections to /bin/bash; F5 links the activity to CVE-2025-53521, an unauthenticated RCE in BIG-IP APM already exploited in the wild.
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Evooo1Bot Linux Botnet Exploits Known Flaws to Turn Edge Devices Into SOCKS5 Proxies
Fortinet researchers documented Evooo1Bot, a new Mirai-derived Linux botnet active since July 2026 that exploits known edge-device flaws to build SOCKS5 proxy networks.
Fortinet FortiGuard Labs identified Evooo1Bot, a previously undocumented Linux botnet built on the leaked Mirai source code, active in the wild since July 2026 and targeting internet-facing edge devices. It exploits numerous known CVEs in routers and devices from D-Link, Tenda, Telesquare, Zyxel, Hikvision, Atlassian Confluence, WSO2, TP-Link, NETGEAR, and others, delivering a bot binary via a wget.sh loader from 91.92.40.118 that clears bash history. The bot offers encrypted C2 on port 443, SSH brute-force scanning, credential sniffing, DDoS over DNS/TCP/UDP, an HTTP exploit dispatcher, and converts infected hosts into SOCKS5 proxies for anonymizing follow-on operations.
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New Mirai-Based Linux Botnet ‘Evooo1Bot’ Turns Victims Into Proxies
A newly observed Mirai-based Linux botnet dubbed Evooo1Bot compromises edge devices and turns them into persistent proxies for threat actors.
Evooo1Bot is a newly identified Linux botnet built on the Mirai framework but enhanced with additional advanced capabilities. The malware compromises edge devices and converts them into persistent proxies, likely for relay or resale use. The botnet's evolution beyond stock Mirai highlights continued targeting of poorly secured IoT and edge systems.
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Nearly 800 Malicious npm Packages Deliver Cross
Nearly 800 typo-squatted npm packages deliver WEL1DROPPER, a cross-platform downloader installing RAT and infostealer payloads on Windows, macOS, Linux.
Researchers found roughly 800 npm packages with AI-generated typo-squat names that trigger a WEL1DROPPER downloader when loaded via require() rather than install hooks. The downloader fetches payloads from Cloudflare Workers hosts, falling back to DNS TXT records from wel1.ru, then achieves persistence, sandbox checks, ETW/AMSI patching and Sliver C2 deployment on Linux. Domains like tcsbank.ru suggest targeting of Russian financial institutions; Sonatype tracks the campaign as Flooding Dropper, a possible evolution of the Moika dependency-confusion campaign. Unit 42 separately documented npm/PyPI crypto stealers and malicious Chrome extensions that turn browsers into residential proxy crawlers.
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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.
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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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Muhstik Botnet Attacks Tomato Routers to Harvest New IoT Devices
Unit 42 found a Muhstik botnet variant brute-forcing Tomato router web authentication to harvest IoT devices for crypto mining and DDoS attacks.
Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 researchers in December 2019 identified a new Muhstik botnet variant scanning Tomato routers on TCP 8080 and brute-forcing default admin credentials, targeting roughly 4,600 exposed devices found via Shodan. The variant also scans WordPress and Webuzo installations and exploits the Oracle WebLogic deserialization flaw CVE-2019-2725 for unauthenticated remote code execution. Muhstik, active since March 2018, self-propagates like a worm and typically monetizes infections through cryptocurrency mining and DDoS attacks controlled via an IRC C2 channel.
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Stealth rootkit targeting F5 BIG-IP could expose enterprise identity gateways
Sophos analyzed a stealth Linux rootkit that hides a web shell in memory on compromised F5 BIG-IP APM identity gateways, evading file-based detection.
Sophos analyzed a second-stage Linux rootkit implant found in compromised F5 BIG-IP APM environments running Apache and PHP, linked to exploitation of CVE-2025-53521, an unauthenticated RCE. The implant hooks Apache's PHP-loading process and serves modified in-memory versions of three legitimate webtop PHP files (apm_css.php3, full_wt.php3, webtop_popup_css.php3), leaving on-disk files untouched so hashes and integrity checks pass. It also establishes access via an authenticated local UNIX socket that can provide an interactive /bin/bash session. Experts warn compromised APM appliances, which handle federated SSO and terminate TLS at enterprise perimeters, could enable SSO token theft and lateral movement to trusted downstream applications.
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16 Typosquatted RubyGems Packages Steal Browser Credentials and Crypto Wallets
Typosquatted RubyGems packages deliver the StubMaker infostealer, stealing browser credentials, crypto wallets, and Telegram data from Windows developers.
OpenSourceMalware discovered a typosquatting campaign on August 15, 2026, tracked as StubMaker, publishing 16 malicious RubyGems packages (e.g., ubnuler, brumdler, brundlef) that imitate popular Ruby dependencies. The gems use the extconf.rb install hook to fetch a 22 MB Rust-based loader from GitHub, which launches a Go-based stealer ("wincfg") containing a DLL that bypasses Chromium's app-bound encryption to extract browser credentials, payment cards, crypto wallets and seed phrases, and Telegram Desktop data. Stolen data is uploaded as a password-protected ZIP to Gofile, with the download link sent over plain HTTP. The same actor also deployed 37 typosquatted npm packages delivering the identical loader and infostealer, and abused RubyGems' namespace reuse to republish malicious versions of yanked gems.
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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.
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Kimwolf v7 Android Botnet Makes HTTP/2 DDoS Traffic Look Like Legitimate Browsing
New Kimwolf v7 Android botnet adds HTTP/2 DDoS floods with Chrome fingerprints and takedown-resistant ENS/Tor C2.
Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 discovered Kimwolf v7, an evolution of the Kimwolf/AISURU Android and IoT botnet first tracked in February 2026. The new version performs HTTP/2 floods mimicking Chrome browser fingerprints and uses Ethereum Name Service, Tor hidden services, and a local proxy for resilient C2. The botnet targets Android TV boxes via ADB on port 5555 and offloads propagation to an external loader.
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