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Iran-linked APT Mirage Kitten Uses Fake Job Tests to Spread Malware

Kaspersky reports Iran-linked Mirage Kitten delivers new NodeRabbit and PollCat malware to fintech and aviation targets via fake LinkedIn coding assessments.

Kaspersky researchers documented two previously undocumented Node.js malware families, NodeRabbit and PollCat, attributed with high confidence to Iran-linked APT group Mirage Kitten. The malware is delivered via fake recruiter personas on LinkedIn offering coding assessments hosted on Amazon S3, with instructions banning AI assistants so AI code-review tools would not flag the trojanized npm packages. NodeRabbit is cross-platform (Windows, Linux, macOS), uses AES-256-GCM-encrypted C2 on Azure, includes sandbox checks, and one variant installs a fake 'GitHub Copilot Helper' VS Code extension plus Git hook persistence. Victims identified so far are in fintech and aviation organizations across Egypt, Ethiopia, and Afghanistan.

Security Affairs · 14d agoThreat actor in the wild2

Iranian Hackers Pose as Recruiters to Deliver Cross

Kaspersky attributes new cross-platform RATs NodeRabbit and PollCat to Iranian group Nimbus Manticore, spread via recruiter-themed LinkedIn lures.

Kaspersky links two previously undocumented malware families, NodeRabbit (Node.js) and PollCat (obfuscated JavaScript), to the Iranian threat actor Nimbus Manticore, also known as Iranian Dream Job. Victims in Afghanistan, Egypt, and Ethiopia received trojanized coding challenge archives containing fake npm packages (colorized_terminal, pretty-log) that silently launched the RATs as background processes. NodeRabbit contacts Azure-hosted C2 servers via checkin, task, and result API endpoints and supports 11 commands including shell execution, file operations, and network enumeration. Persistence is platform-specific: Windows Run keys or scheduled tasks, Linux cron entries, and macOS launch agents, impersonating Microsoft Edge updates or Intel's Driver & Support Assistant.

The Hacker News · 14d agoThreat actor

⚡ Weekly Recap: VMware Exploits, Windows 0-Day, MCP Attacks, Browser Hijacks and More

Weekly recap: suspected China-nexus APT exploited VMware vCenter CVE-2026-59310, Lazarus used Windows zero-day CVE-2026-68820, and macOS flaw dropped Monero miners.

The week's top stories included a suspected China-nexus APT exploiting VMware vCenter CVE-2026-59310 (CVSS 9.8), a directory-traversal flaw enabling arbitrary code execution, with backdoors, reverse SSH and Babuk-derived ransomware deployed, per QUIRSO. NCSC-NL reported active exploitation of macOS Screen Sharing flaw CVE-2026-65400 (CVSS 9.8) to install Monero miners on systems with port 5900 exposed. Lazarus Group exploited Windows zero-day CVE-2026-68820 (CVSS 7.0) in Operation Dream Job, delivering ForestTiger and Troy backdoors to defense and aerospace targets. GeoServer patched a critical SQL injection flaw exploited within hours of disclosure, and Jamf analyzed the new Amnesia Stealer for macOS with live browser control.

The Hacker News · Aug 17, 2026Exploit / PoC in the wildCVE-2026-59310CVE-2026-65400CVE-2026-688201

Malware bypasses browser checks to force install Chrome, Edge extensions

Elastic Security Labs detailed KREMLIN, a Brazilian banking malware that silently installs malicious Chrome and Edge extensions, with 1,515 confirmed infections.

Elastic Security Labs analyzed KREMLIN, a toolkit used by a Brazilian operation in at least seven campaigns since May 2025 that impersonates 12 banks to trick users into opening a JavaScript file disguised as a bank receipt or invoice. After anti-sandbox checks, it downloads Node.js, persists via a scheduled task, and fetches payload locations from an Ethereum smart contract, hiding payloads in JPEG images on Internet Archive. The toolkit bypasses Chromium integrity mechanisms to install unapproved Chrome/Edge extensions masquerading as AVSync that steal cookies, keylog form input, capture screenshots, and intercept HTTP traffic, while recent campaigns deployed the REMCOS RAT and earlier ones Pulsar RAT. Elastic confirmed 1,515 infected systems, almost all in Brazil, and disrupted the campaign by registering an anti-sandbox canary domain; the linked wallet handled roughly 20,800 USDT incoming and 19,000 USDT outgoing.

BleepingComputer · 3h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

KREMLIN Banking Malware Bypasses Chrome Security to Steal Banking Sessions

Elastic Security Labs details KREMLIN, a Brazilian banking malware that implants malicious Chrome and Edge extensions by forging Chromium integrity values to steal banking sessions.

Elastic Security Labs tracks the KREMLIN banking malware operation as REF9334, active since at least May 2025 across seven campaigns primarily targeting 12 Brazilian banks. The malware is installed by a victim-run JavaScript loader, achieves scheduled-task persistence, and side-loads a malicious DLL via SentinelOne's SentinelMemoryScanner.exe. It modifies Chrome and Edge Secure Preferences files, enables developer mode, and regenerates Chromium MAC values to silently install extensions, while extracting browser encryption material including the newer App-Bound OSCrypt key. An Ethereum smart contract serves as a dead-drop resolver for C2 config; Elastic disrupted over 1,500 infections via a canary domain.

GBHackers · 16h agoMalware in the wild 2 sources

Google’s New Search Redirects Make It Harder to Check Where Links Lead Before Clicking

Malwarebytes reports Google's new encoded google.com/goto?url= redirects break hover-preview link checking, weakening a common phishing defense.

Google now routes some search results through opaque google.com/goto?url= redirects using custom encoding, so browser link previews no longer reveal the true destination, only the claimed label above the result. Malwarebytes found the final destination is visible only in the redirect response's Location header, complicating hover-based safety checks as well as scraping, archiving, and audit tools. The change arrives amid malvertising, search-result poisoning, and fake installer campaigns like the recent Node.js infostealer lure. Google says it deploys measures against evolving abuse but did not explain the change.

Cyber Security News · 1d agoResearch

Hackers Exploit FortiGate SSL-VPN Flaw to Breach Thai ISP and Deploy MeshCentral Backdoor

Threat actors exploited FortiOS SSL-VPN flaw CVE-2024-21762 to breach Thai ISP Triple T Broadband, gaining root-level persistence via MeshCentral agents.

Attackers exploited CVE-2024-21762, an out-of-bounds write enabling unauthenticated RCE in FortiOS SSL-VPN, against Triple T Broadband's FortiGate 60F at mail.3bb.co.th, launching a Node.js reverse shell via a ROP payload. Hunt.io uncovered the operation through an exposed staging directory at 92.63.180[.]133:8888 containing 298 files of exploits, credential-harvesting scripts, session cookies, and a device inventory. Post-compromise, the actors deployed MeshCentral agents (device group TH-3BB, C2 www.ayuthayatech.com) running as root, plus a hidden SUID backdoor at /usr/local/bin/.rc, and also targeted an internal Pentaho/Tomcat server with Ghostcat (CVE-2020-1938). A cleanup script removed logs, shell histories, and web shells while deliberately preserving the MeshCentral agent and SUID backdoor.

GBHackers · 1d agoExploit / PoC in the wild 3 sourcesCVE-2024-21762CVE-2020-1938