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Three threat groups, including Qilin ransomware operators, exploit critical Cisco FMC flaws CVE-2026-20079 and CVE-2026-20316 for root access, credential theft, and ransomware.

Cisco Talos identified three post-compromise clusters exploiting recently patched Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center flaws. UAT-12197 deploys JSP web shells and harvests credentials; UAT-11823 (with Sandworm-overlapping tooling) installs Cyclops Blink for persistence; UAT-11988 (Qilin) uses static credentials, extensive reconnaissance, SOCKS5 proxies, reverse-SSH tunnels, AV killers, and ransomware deployment. CISA added CVE-2026-20079 to the KEV catalog with a September 12, 2026 patch deadline for federal agencies; Cisco urges immediate hotfix application.

Security Affairsupdated Sep 14, 09:27 UTC · 2d agofirst Sep 11, 10:14 UTC · 5d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 11 sources CVE-2026-20079 CVE-2026-203165· 2 reads

Active exploitation of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vulnerabilities

Cisco Talos reports in-the-wild exploitation of critical FMC flaw CVE-2026-20079 by three clusters including a Sandworm-linked APT and Qilin ransomware affiliates.

Cisco Talos is tracking active exploitation of CVE-2026-20079 (CVSS 10.0), an authentication bypass in Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center that lets unauthenticated remote attackers execute scripts and obtain root access, and CVE-2026-20316 (CVSS 5.3), which permits low-privileged logins and can be chained for privilege escalation. Talos identified three post-compromise clusters: UAT-12197 deploying JSP web shells and a JAR command executor for credential theft; UAT-11823, an APT overlapping with Sandworm, deploying a Netcat reverse shell and Cyclops Blink malware; and UAT-11988, assessed as a ransomware operator with TTPs consistent with Qilin affiliates. Hotfixes are available, with a comprehensive hardening release due the week of September 14, 2026.

Cisco TalosSep 9, 16:08 UTC · 7d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 2 sources CVE-2026-20079 CVE-2026-20316

CISA: Critical VMware RCE flaw now exploited by ransomware gangs

CISA warns ransomware gangs now exploit critical VMware vCenter syslog RCE CVE-2026-59310, already KEV-listed after APT compromises across 47 countries.

Broadcom patched critical directory traversal flaw CVE-2026-59310 in the vCenter Syslog server on July 29, warning of unauthenticated remote code execution. QUIRSO subsequently found 361 compromised IPs across 47 countries after a suspected APT deployed a reverse SSH tool for persistence and remote access. CISA added the flaw to its KEV catalog with a three-day patch deadline for federal agencies, and over the weekend updated it to flag active abuse by ransomware gangs. Shadowserver tracks over 450 exposed vCenter servers, and CISA has tagged 26 VMware vulnerabilities as exploited in the wild over five years, nine abused by ransomware.

BleepingComputerSep 15, 12:16 UTC · 1d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-59310 CVE-2025-60710 CVE-2025-22225+2 CVEs1

Hackers Exploit Critical FortiGate Flaw to Deploy AI-Assisted PivotC2 RAT

SOCRadar says attackers exploit FortiGate CVE-2025-25249 to deploy the PivotC2 Node.js RAT, compromising 178 of 30,000 targeted devices and stealing credentials.

SOCRadar's Threat Research Unit reports active exploitation of CVE-2025-25249, a CVSS 9.8 heap-based buffer overflow in the cw_acd daemon of FortiOS and FortiSwitchManager, via crafted CAPWAP requests to UDP port 5246, compromising at least 178 of 30,000 targeted internet-exposed FortiGate devices since July 2026. The campaign deploys PivotC2, a Node.js RAT that provides interactive shells, SOCKS5/HTTP proxying, port forwarding, network scanning, and automated configuration harvesting that decrypts stored FortiGate credentials, including VPN pre-shared keys, SSL-VPN credentials, and LDAP secrets. Russian-language artifacts, AD enumeration, browser credential theft, RDP enablement, and exfiltration of Exchange .pst files to Wasabi S3 point to a Russian-speaking, financially motivated group; two US organizations confirmed full-network intrusions. Fixes include FortiOS 7.6.4/7.4.9/7.2.12/7.0.18+ and FortiSwitchManager 7.2.7/7.0.6+, plus blocking CAPWAP on internet-facing interfaces.

GBHackersSep 9, 08:57 UTC · 7d agoMalware in the wildCVE-2025-252492

China-Made ZBT Routers Ship With Two Implants Giving Unauthenticated Attackers Root Access

VulnCheck discloses two factory implants, SPEAKINGSTONE and DARKLANTERN, in ZBT router firmware granting unauthenticated remote attackers root command execution.

VulnCheck found two previously undocumented implants in firmware from Shenzhen Zhibotong Electronics (ZBT), tracked as CVE-2026-74232 (SPEAKINGSTONE) and CVE-2026-74233 (DARKLANTERN), each rated 9.8 on CVSS 3.1. SPEAKINGSTONE (yunmgrd) beacons to a hardcoded C2 over UDP port 10000 and supports root command execution, PPPoE credential exfiltration, DNS hijacking, and reverse SSH tunnels; DARKLANTERN (infosrvd) listens on UDP port 9992 with weak hardcoded authentication. Scanning found 203 internet-facing DARKLANTERN instances across 22 countries, and 392 devices reported to the SPEAKINGSTONE backup C2, nearly all in China on China Mobile. No fixed firmware release is named, and ZBT's white-labeling means model number rather than brand is the reliable detection check.

The Hacker NewsSep 8, 15:59 UTC · 8d agoVulnerability in the wildCVE-2026-74232 CVE-2026-74233 CVE-2026-66747

Nimbus Manticore Expands Toolset With TWOSTROKE

Group-IB found new infrastructure and TWOSTROKE-like malware used by IRGC-linked Nimbus Manticore, indicating expanded Middle East and Europe targeting.

Group-IB reported new Tortoiseshell infrastructure spanning Europe and the Middle East and two previously undocumented tools from IRGC-linked Nimbus Manticore (UNC1549): a reverse SSH tunneling utility connecting to 172.86.98.113 on port 443, and a C++ backdoor masquerading as wtsapi32.dll with three hard-coded C2 servers. The backdoor overlaps with TWOSTROKE and supports file transfer, execution, host information gathering, and persistence. Findings build on Kaspersky's report of the NightLedger backdoor and WebSocket tunnelers BridgeHead and ArcBridge, and suggest expanded targeting beyond the Middle East into Europe.

The Hacker NewsAug 26, 15:35 UTC · 21d agoThreat actor in the wild

Critical macOS, SharePoint, vCenter, and Microsoft IKE Flaws Under Active Exploitation

CISA added four critical actively exploited flaws to KEV: macOS Screen Sharing, SharePoint, VMware vCenter, and Microsoft IKE, with APT and ransomware use.

CISA added CVE-2026-65400 (macOS Screen Sharing, CVSS 9.8), CVE-2026-55040 (SharePoint, CVSS 9.1), CVE-2026-59310 (VMware vCenter, CVSS 9.8) and CVE-2026-33824 (Microsoft IKE Service Extensions, CVSS 9.8) to the KEV catalog. The macOS flaw was abused to deliver a Monero miner, while the vCenter bug was exploited by a suspected China-nexus APT to install reverse_ssh backdoors and Babuk-derived ransomware across 361 victim IPs in 47 countries. Unit 42 linked CVE-2026-33824 to a Chinese-speaking actor running an AI-enabled campaign using DeepSeek. FCEB agencies must patch by August 21, 2026 under BOD 26-04.

The Hacker NewsAug 19, 15:26 UTC · 28d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-65400 CVE-2026-55040 CVE-2026-59310+1 CVEs