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Attackers Exploit VMware vCenter Vulnerability to Gain Persistent Remote Access

Attackers actively exploit critical VMware vCenter flaw CVE-2026-59310, installing reverse_ssh backdoors on 361 hosts across 47 countries.

QUIRSO observed active exploitation of CVE-2026-59310 (CVSS 9.8), a directory-traversal flaw in VMware vCenter allowing arbitrary code execution, patched by Broadcom in late July. Attack chains deploy a malicious cron job running the open-source reverse_ssh tool for persistence, with compromised systems phoning home starting August 3, five days after disclosure. Forensics show 361 unique victim IPs in 47 countries, mostly Germany, the U.S., Turkey, Iran, and France, with the actor suspected to be an APT. Separately, Defused Cyber reports rising scanning indicative of exploitation of related CVE-2026-59309, an unauthenticated auth bypass in vmdir.

The Hacker News · Aug 12, 2026Exploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-59310CVE-2026-59309

Attackers Exploit Critical Cisco FMC Flaw to deploy Qilin ransomware

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 · 2d agofirst · 5d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 11 sourcesCVE-2026-20079CVE-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.

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.

BleepingComputer · 1d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-59310CVE-2025-60710CVE-2025-22225+2 CVEs1

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 News · 28d agoExploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-65400CVE-2026-55040CVE-2026-59310+1 CVEs