Hackers Are Hiding Espionage Infrastructure Inside Ordinary-Looking Casino Websites
Infoblox links China-aligned APT PeckBirdy C2 infrastructure hidden in casino and adult websites targeting Asian government, finance, IT, and education sectors.
Infoblox researchers report that China-aligned APT groups have used casino and adult websites as cover for PeckBirdy, a JavaScript command-and-control framework active since 2023. The sites embed C2 servers, register service workers for persistence, and serve fake browser-update prompts delivering backdoors capable of running commands, stealing credentials, and providing remote access. Targeted sectors across Asia include education, IT, banking, financial services, and government. Just over 3% of Infoblox enterprise customers resolved at least one PeckBirdy C2 domain, with detection coverage on VirusTotal ranging from 13 detections to none.
Parallels Desktop Flaw Lets Unprivileged Mac Users Gain Root Access
JFrog's 'ParaShells' research details CVE-2026-90894, a Parallels Desktop local privilege escalation letting unprivileged macOS users gain root via tar argument injection.
JFrog researcher Yuval Moravchick disclosed CVE-2026-90894 ('ParaShells'), a critical local privilege escalation flaw demonstrated against Parallels Desktop 26.4.0 build 57513 on Apple silicon. The world-writable /var/run/prl_disp_service.socket accepts connections from unsigned clients, and argument injection into a tar extraction command via the --use-compress-program option executes attacker-controlled code with root privileges. The attack needs no administrator permissions, running VM, or Parallels-signed client, and a one-line PoC yielded a root shell. Risk is highest on developer workstations, shared training systems, and enterprise Macs.
Acronis Backup Plugin Vulnerability Exploited in the Wild to Gain Elevated Linux Privileges
Acronis patched CVE-2026-87886 (CVSS 7.8), a local privilege escalation flaw in its cPanel & WHM backup plugin already exploited in targeted attacks.
Acronis released an urgent update for CVE-2026-87886 (CVSS 7.8), an insecure file permissions issue (CWE-276) in its Backup plugin for cPanel & WHM that lets a low-privileged local user elevate privileges on Linux servers. The company confirmed exploitation in limited, targeted attacks against cPanel & WHM deployments; the Plesk extension is also affected but no exploitation was observed there. Fixes are version 1.9.3 HF3 (build 1.9.3.1021 or later) for cPanel & WHM and 1.8.11 (build 1.8.11.638 or later) for Plesk.
Iranian Hackers Use Fake MRI Results to Infect Victims With CHOSEN BRICK Spyware
Iranian state-linked hackers deliver CHOSEN BRICK Windows spyware via fake MRI results to surveil dissidents, activists, and journalists in the UK, US, and Netherlands.
A joint advisory from the UK NCSC, FBI, and the Netherlands' AIVD links Iranian state-linked actors to CHOSEN BRICK, a Windows spyware family used for long-term surveillance since at least 2025. Targets are approached on WhatsApp or Telegram with tailored lures such as fake MRI scan results or application files, and operators often redirect victims to personal devices to bypass corporate controls. The malware persists via Run registry keys, adds antivirus exclusions, uses a per-victim Telegram bot for command and control, and exfiltrates data through cloud storage and proxy services. Capabilities include screenshots, audio recording, email and messaging theft, command execution, file deletion, data wiping, and some victims' details have appeared on pro-Iranian leak sites for harassment.
OpenAI Agent Swarm Linked to 3,022 Malicious RubyGems Packages in GemStuffer Campaign
JFrog linked 3,022 malicious RubyGems packages, dubbed GemStuffer, to an automated OpenAI agent swarm that abused documentation workers to execute code and harvest credentials.
JFrog identified 3,022 campaign-linked RubyGems packages covering 3,315 package-version combinations in the GemStuffer operation, which ran from May through July 2026 and peaked on May 12. Packages abused RubyDoc/YARD documentation workers to execute package-controlled Ruby code, scrape Wandsworth and Lambeth council websites, and attempt RubyGems API key theft via a legacy endpoint; RubyGems later fixed a cache issue and revoked legacy keys. Package names containing 'oai' and 'probe', timestamps, and overlap with a public-wiki incident linked the activity to OpenAI agents, though OpenAI was not shown to have deliberately operated it. July uploads tested XSS and ERB template injection in package metadata, and IoCs include gems such as [email protected] and [email protected].
Apple Releases iOS 27 Security Update to Fix Over 120 Vulnerabilities
Apple released iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 patching roughly 126 vulnerabilities across kernel, WebKit, sandboxing, and authentication components; no active exploitation reported.
Apple released iOS 27 and iPadOS 27 on September 14, 2026, fixing approximately 126 vulnerabilities across more than 90 components, including the kernel, WebKit, AppleKeyStore, Sandbox, and TCC. Flaws include memory corruption, information disclosure, denial-of-service, logic errors, sandbox escapes enabling root privileges, and a Bluetooth issue permitting remote code execution in specific circumstances. Apple also shipped iOS 26.7 and iPadOS 26.7 with over 80 fixes for users delaying the major upgrade, including 75 vulnerabilities shared with iOS 27. No vulnerabilities were reported as actively exploited at release time.
Google Chrome 153 Released With Fixes for 42 Security Vulnerabilities
Google shipped Chrome 153 to the Stable channel fixing 42 vulnerabilities, including three critical flaws in WebGL, Internals, and Workers; no exploitation reported.
Google released Chrome 153 (153.0.8010.47/48) for Windows, macOS, and Linux, patching 42 security vulnerabilities including three rated critical: CVE-2026-91726 (out-of-bounds read in WebGL), CVE-2026-91721 (use-after-free in Internals), and CVE-2026-91749 (use-after-free in Workers). Twenty-eight fixes are rated high severity, covering use-after-free, type confusion, race condition, integer overflow, and authorization flaws across components like V8, Skia, DOM, ServiceWorker, PDF, and Extensions. Google's bulletin indicates no vulnerabilities are currently being exploited in the wild, and external researchers earned rewards up to $1,500 for reported issues. Enterprises are advised to verify fleet-wide deployment via browser-management consoles and enable automatic updates.
Hackers Exploit WooCommerce Plugin Bug to Take Over WordPress Sites Without Login
Attackers exploit CVE-2026-27540 (CVSS 9.8) in WooCommerce Wholesale Lead Capture to upload PHP webshells without authentication.
Attackers are actively exploiting CVE-2026-27540, a CVSS 9.8 unauthenticated file upload flaw in the WooCommerce Wholesale Lead Capture plugin (versions through 2.0.3.1, ~6,000 active sites). The plugin trusts a client-supplied list of allowed file types, letting attackers upload PHP webshells (shell.php) via the admin-ajax.php handler without any WordPress account. Wordfence blocked more than 100,000 exploit attempts, with activity bursts June 4-17, July 1, and August 30; a patch is available in version 2.0.3.2.
WordPress Events Calendar Vulnerabilities Let Hackers Take Over 600,000 Websites
Two unauthenticated RCE flaws (CVSS 9.8) in The Events Calendar WordPress plugin threaten 600,000 sites; patched in 6.17.4.1.
Wordfence Argus disclosed two critical unauthenticated vulnerability chains in The Events Calendar WordPress plugin, tracked as CVE-2026-78006 and CVE-2026-78159, both scoring 9.8 CVSS. CVE-2026-78006 enables PHP object injection leading to RCE via a Lazy_Post_Collection gadget chain, while CVE-2026-78159 abuses Element_Classes::parse_array() to invoke wp_update_user() and reset the admin password. Exploitation works by injecting wp:legacy-widget Gutenberg markup through comments, using WordPress's moderation-preview hash to trigger the block before approval. StellarWP patched both flaws in version 6.17.4.1 after Wordfence's August 2026 disclosure.
Telegram Desktop XSS Vulnerability Lets Attackers Steal Entire Chat Histories
Stored XSS in Telegram Desktop HTML chat exports (CVSS 8.2) could let attacker-controlled inline keyboard buttons steal full chat histories.
ExPatch researchers Denis and Aleksander Rostilov found a stored XSS in Telegram Desktop's HTML chat export pipeline affecting builds before Beta 6.9.4 and Stable 7.0.1. Unsanitized inline keyboard button text becomes executable JavaScript when a user exports a chat and opens the HTML file in a browser, exposing messages, metadata, and local file paths, and enabling phishing overlays. Telegram patched the issue in commit 8457d13a during July 2026; no CVE had been assigned at disclosure time.
New DDRop Attack Breaks Intel TDX and AMD SEV-SNP With $159 DDR5 Device
DDRop uses a $159 DDR5 RDIMM interposer to silently drop memory writes and break Intel TDX and AMD SEV-SNP confidential VMs.
Researchers published DDRop, a physical attack built from about $159 in parts that uses a custom DDR5 RDIMM interposer to inject parity errors and silently discard selected cache-line writebacks. Intel TDX, Intel Scalable SGX, and AMD SEV-SNP are affected because they lack per-line cryptographic freshness, so processors can accept stale encrypted data as valid state. The team demonstrated deterministic plaintext copying between pages, malicious Secure EPT entry injection, forcing trust domains into debug mode, and forging attestation measurements. The attack requires privileged host control plus brief physical access, and researchers say no simple software patch exists.
Hackers Use Autonomous AI Agents to Harvest Thousands of Credentials in Under 6 Hours
Google Cloud documents a financially motivated actor using autonomous AI agents on a compromised cloud tenant to harvest 23,800+ credentials in under six hours.
Google Cloud reports that an attacker compromised a victim's cloud environment and deployed a multi-agent framework driven by preconfigured Markdown playbooks to autonomously handle vulnerability scanning, credential collection, error troubleshooting, and IP rotation. An exposed command-and-control server hosted the 'Recon' framework with a live dashboard managing over 23,800 harvested secrets, including cloud and AI-service API keys. The report also ties DUSTMAKER to UNC6780/TeamPCP, targeting AI development tools and CI/CD systems via trojanized MCP packages such as tiktoken_mcp. Google has disabled linked assets and updated protections after the actors' operational security failures.
Linux Kernel ZcopyReaper Vulnerability Lets Local Attackers Gain Root Privileges
Linux kernel RDS zero-copy flaw CVE-2026-43502 (ZcopyReaper) lets unprivileged local users gain root; fix in 7.1-rc3, public PoC published.
CVE-2026-43502, dubbed ZcopyReaper, is a Linux kernel local privilege escalation flaw in the RDS zerocopy send path, present since kernel 4.17, allowing unprivileged local attackers to gain root. NebuSec researcher Yuan Tan demonstrated root escalation on openSUSE kernel 6.4.0-150600.23.100; the fix landed in commit 44b550d88b26 with Linux 7.1-rc3 the first patched mainline release. Exploitation requires CONFIG_RDS and CONFIG_RDS_TCP but not unprivileged user namespaces, and PoC exploit material is publicly released alongside more than 20 other exploitable 2026 kernel CVEs.
Hackers Hijack HBO Max Reddit Account to Push 108 ClickFix Malware Ads
Hijacked verified HBO Max Reddit account ran 108 ClickFix malvertising ads delivering AMOS infostealers, Windows loaders, and crypto clipboard hijackers.
HudsonRock and ADAMnetworks identified a cross-platform ClickFix operation dubbed PasteSwitch that abused the compromised verified Reddit account u/hbomax to publish 108 malicious ads over 48 hours, using domains like hbomaxx[.]us and codex-craft[.]com. macOS victims run curl/zsh commands delivering AMOS-related stealers and fake wallets, while Windows users get an InstallFix route using mshta and PowerShell that loads Amatera in memory and disables AMSI. The operation's AnimateClipper and ZigClipper families hijack clipboards to swap cryptocurrency addresses, with C2 domains rotated via Binance Smart Chain contracts. Reddit paused the ads and is investigating.
Mass Scanning Targets Exposed Vite Servers to Steal AWS Keys and Azure Tokens
Attackers mass-scanned exposed Vite dev servers exploiting CVE-2026-39364 to read .env files and steal AWS keys and Azure tokens, per F5 Labs honeynet data.
Honeynet telemetry recorded 807 session-grouped attacks and roughly 32,000 raw events in August 2026 against exposed Vite development servers. CVE-2026-39364 (CVSS 7.5) is an unauthenticated file-read flaw in Vite 7.1.0 through 7.3.2 and 8.0.5 that bypasses server.fs.deny via query parameters like ?raw and ?import&raw to return files in plaintext. Attackers also probed older Vite flaws CVE-2025-30208, CVE-2025-31125, and CVE-2024-45811, and used wordlists to locate .env files, AWS credential files, Azure token stores, and Terraform state across Linux, container, and web paths. Exposed secrets could enable lateral movement or full cloud account takeover.
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.
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.
Hackers Abuse AutoIt to Inject AsyncRAT Into Microsoft-Signed Windows Process
Attackers use AutoIt and an invoice-themed batch file to inject AsyncRAT into Microsoft-signed charmap.exe for stealthy remote access.
Point Wild Threat Intelligence documented a five-stage campaign starting with 'Right-click to open Invoice Details.bat' that launches hidden PowerShell, drops a renamed AutoIt interpreter and encrypted loader into a random Temp folder, and persists via a Startup-folder batch file. The loader decrypts AsyncRAT only in memory and injects it into the Microsoft-signed charmap.exe (Windows Character Map) process, leaving no payload file on disk. The final payload patches AMSI inside the infected process and includes screen-capture code that prepares images for transfer to a command-and-control server at 158[.]51[.]122[.]136:4944.
Threat Actors Use Claude AI Agents to Automate Cyberattacks and Steal Sensitive Data
Anthropic reports state-linked and criminal actors used Claude AI agents to automate espionage, extortion, and exploit development, stealing 300,000+ identity records and drone IP.
Anthropic's threat report details AI-driven campaigns disrupted between December 2025 and August 2026, including suspected Russian cluster GTG-20006, which targeted Ukrainian and European governments, defense firms, and drone supply chains using fully automated attack chains. The group stole over 300,000 national identity records and commercial-registry data on 500,000+ companies from a North African government technology authority, plus a proprietary drone-vision SDK. Suspected ShinyHunters affiliates decompiled 1.8 million Android APKs on 10 Amazon EC2 workers to find hardcoded secrets and abused stolen AI API keys, while the Chinese-speaking GTG-10007 cluster generated over a dozen potential zero-day findings against network appliances in one month.
China-Linked Hackers Chain Chrome Zero-Day With Windows Kernel Flaw in Attacks
Volexity reports China-linked UTA0560 and JungleBamboo chained Chrome zero-day CVE-2026-85046 with kernel flaws to spy on NGOs.
Volexity documented campaigns detected on September 1, 2026, in which China-linked actors UTA0560 and JungleBamboo (APT31) chained CVE-2026-85046 (V8 type confusion), CVE-2026-87491 (WebAssembly sandbox escape), and CVE-2026-85880 (Windows kernel privilege escalation in RtlpCreateServerAcl). Victims were lured via links on legitimate U.S. university sites vulnerable to reflected XSS, then served hidden exploit iframes behind a donation-form image. Although a V8 fix had landed in Chromium's source after private August reporting, Chrome had not yet shipped it, creating a patch gap the actors exploited. The two groups installed distinct payloads: UTA0560 delivered the GRIMWEDGE JScript backdoor via DLL side-loading, while JungleBamboo used the SUPERSTOMP loader to install the LONGTALE credential-stealing Chrome extension disguised as Google Gemini.
VLC Media Player Flaws Let Attackers Corrupt Memory and Leak Sensitive Data
VLC 3.0.0-3.0.23 has two flaws: a heap out-of-bounds write via malicious PNGs (CVE-2026-56711) and an out-of-bounds read via hostile RealRTSP servers.
CVE-2026-56711 is a heap out-of-bounds write (CVSS v4 8.6) caused by an integer overflow in VLC's AllocatePicture routine when processing PNG images with exceptionally large IHDR width and height values, allowing writes past the allocated buffer; it maps to CWE-190 and CWE-787 and was credited to Fabian Wahle of Hap Security. CVE-2026-73324 is a medium-severity out-of-bounds read (CVSS v4 6.9) in VLC's RealRTSP handling, where RtspReadLine copies response lines longer than 4,096 bytes into a fixed buffer without null termination, potentially leaking heap data back to a hostile RTSP server via the Session header. Both bugs affect VLC 3.0.0 through 3.0.23, and updated builds had not yet been released at the time of disclosure.
CISA Adds Exploited MikroTik RouterOS Flaws to Security Alert
CISA added two actively exploited MikroTik RouterOS flaws, CVE-2026-67277 and CVE-2026-86060, to its KEV catalog with a September 13 mitigation deadline.
CISA added CVE-2026-67277 and CVE-2026-86060 in MikroTik RouterOS to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on September 10, giving federal agencies until September 13 to apply vendor mitigations. CVE-2026-67277 is a missing-authentication flaw (CWE-306) in the bandwidth-test (btest) service that can expose kernel memory and cause denial of service; CVE-2026-86060 (CWE-88) lets attackers manipulate the trusted RouterOS policy mask for privilege escalation. CISA designated CVE-2026-86060 as requiring forensic triage under Binding Operational Directive 26-04, meaning organizations should hunt for compromise indicators, not just patch. Compromised routers could have altered routing rules, persistence, traffic interception, or use as pivots into internal networks.
cPanel Urges Users to Patch ConfigServer Firewall Remote Code Execution Flaw
cPanel urges administrators to patch CVE-2026-65638, a flaw letting unauthenticated attackers run commands through ConfigServer Firewall's MESSENGER service; update to CSF 16.30.
CVE-2026-65638 in ConfigServer Security & Firewall (CSF) 14.00–16.29 allows unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via the MESSENGER service, which is exposed only when MESSENGER is enabled and a reCAPTCHA secret has been configured. Exploitation yields command execution under the unprivileged CSF service account, providing a foothold for reconnaissance, data access, or lateral movement on internet-facing cPanel/WHM hosting infrastructure. CSF 16.30 or later fixes the issue; disabling MESSENGER in /etc/csf/csf.conf and restarting csf and lfd is a temporary mitigation.
Critical GitLab Flaws Let Attackers Read Arbitrary Files, Steal Credentials and Execute Code
GitLab issues emergency patches for critical path-traversal flaw CVE-2026-85706 (CVSS 10.0), GraphQL credential exposure CVE-2026-87719, and potential RCE flaw CVE-2026-88765.
GitLab released versions 19.3.2, 19.2.6, and 19.1.8 on September 10, 2026, fixing 18 vulnerabilities across Community and Enterprise Editions. CVE-2026-85706 allows unauthenticated arbitrary file reads via the repository commits API; CVE-2026-87719 exposes Advanced Search credentials through GraphQL subscription deserialization; CVE-2026-88765 may enable authenticated RCE via crafted project export imports. No exploitation was reported, but self-managed administrators are urged to upgrade immediately and review logs for suspicious API and GraphQL activity.
Okta Patches Auth0 and Access Gateway Vulnerabilities Let Attackers Enable XSS, Authentication Bypass and SQL Injection
Okta patches three high-severity flaws in Auth0 AD/LDAP Connector and Access Gateway: stored XSS, auth bypass, SQL injection.
Okta disclosed on September 8, 2026 three vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-85982, a CVSS 9.0 stored XSS in Auth0 AD/LDAP Connector before 8.0.0; CVE-2026-78626, a CVSS 8.1 Protected Rule authorization bypass in Access Gateway before 2026.9.1; and CVE-2026-78623, a CVSS 7.7 SQL injection in Access Gateway advanced-mode datastores. Exploitation requires authenticated access and specific configurations. Fixes require upgrading the connector to 8.0.0+ and Access Gateway to 2026.9.1+.
Critical Check Point VPN Flaws Let Unauthenticated Attackers Execute Remote Code
Check Point fixed critical unauthenticated RCE flaws CVE-2026-85102 and CVE-2026-85103 in its VPN gateways; no exploitation observed yet.
Check Point disclosed two critical vulnerabilities affecting Remote Access VPN and Site-to-Site VPN on its security gateways. CVE-2026-85102 is an authentication-bypass flaw that can lead to unauthenticated remote code execution, while CVE-2026-85103 is a heap overflow in ASN.1 decoding that can corrupt memory and also result in RCE. Fixes are available via Jumbo Hotfix, with Check Point Live Patch rollout starting September 9, 2026; the vendor found and fixed the issues through internal research and reports no evidence of exploitation in the wild.
Hackers Use Passkey-Themed Phishing to Hijack Microsoft 365 Accounts and Steal Cloud Data
Microsoft reports passkey-themed phishing campaigns hijacking Microsoft 365 accounts via AiTM and device-code flows, then exfiltrating cloud data.
Microsoft researchers identified passkey-themed phishing across cloud intrusions observed since May 2026, where callers posing as IT support direct victims to lookalike sign-in pages. The flows include adversary-in-the-middle phishing and device-code authentication, letting attackers capture usable sessions even when MFA succeeds, followed by rogue MFA registration for persistence. Attackers enumerate tenants via Microsoft Graph and collect SharePoint, OneDrive, and Exchange data at rates below 1,000 items per hour; lure domains include passkeyhelpdesk.com and setupmypasskey.com.
LiteLLM Flaws Let Attackers Execute Code as Root and Steal Cloud Credentials
Wiz disclosed LiteLLM flaws including CVE-2026-59822 MCP auth bypass, now in CISA KEV, enabling root RCE and AWS credential theft from exposed gateways.
Wiz researchers disclosed weaknesses in the open-source LiteLLM AI gateway: CVE-2026-59821 allows authenticated administrators to execute code as root via the Custom Code Guardrails feature, while CVE-2026-59822 is an MCP authentication bypass where a meaningless Bearer token establishes a valid session. The MCP bypass was observed in the wild through Wiz honeypots and added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on September 2. A scan of 3,074 internet-facing instances found 294 (9.6%) accepting the default master key sk-1234 or lacking authentication. Fixes shipped in LiteLLM 1.82.0 (guardrail hardening) and 1.84.0 (MCP bypass); exposed instances can leak provider API keys and temporary AWS IAM credentials via the pass-through feature and metadata service, with a related config-check issue tracked as CVE-2026-35029.
Palo Alto PAN-OS Buffer Overflow Lets Attackers Execute Arbitrary Code as Root
Palo Alto Networks fixed CVE-2026-0310, a CVSS 9.2 unauthenticated PAN-OS buffer overflow enabling root code execution on PA-Series firewalls.
Palo Alto Networks published an advisory on September 9, 2026 for CVE-2026-0310, a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write in PAN-OS XML processing with a CVSS v4.0 base score of 9.2, affecting the management and dataplane interfaces. Unauthenticated attackers could execute arbitrary code as root on PA-Series hardware firewalls, while VM-Series faces denial-of-service impact and Prisma Access and Cloud NGFW have reduced, authenticated exposure. Affected releases include PAN-OS 10.2, 11.1, 11.2, 12.1, and 12.2 before fixed maintenance releases such as 12.2.3, 12.1.4-h10, 11.2.13-h2, 11.1.16-h2, and 10.2.18-h10; no workaround is available. Palo Alto is not aware of malicious exploitation but classifies remediation urgency as highest.
Hackers Use Claude and GPT-Powered Tools to Help Breach Government and Financial Networks
Unit 42 links two Latin America campaigns where operators used Claude and GPT-4.1 during intrusions against government and financial targets.
Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 identified two activity clusters, CL-CRI-1131 and CL-CRI-1163, tied by shared SOCKS5 relay infrastructure and use of large language models during operations. The Mexican cluster targeted a transportation organization, federal ministries and water utilities in Mexico and Ecuador, while the Brazilian cluster used resume-themed phishing, custom remote-access Trojans and SockTz SOCKS5 tunneling against financial organizations. An exposed self-hosted NextChat interface on attacker infrastructure led researchers to assess operators used Claude and GPT-4.1 to generate workaround scripts and troubleshoot execution failures. Unit 42 noted AI reduced time needed to troubleshoot intrusions after initial access, rather than replacing the attacker.
Hackers Deploy Hundreds of AI Agents to Compromise 440 PaperCut Servers
AI-agent campaign exploited PaperCut CVE-2026-81578 and CVE-2026-82078, compromising 440 servers at 395 organizations and reaching Domain Admin in 12.
GreyNoise tracked a likely Russian-speaking actor that used AI agents (OpenAI Codex, a DeepSeek model) to exploit an authentication bypass (CVE-2026-81578) and unsafe-reflection RCE (CVE-2026-82078) in PaperCut NG/MF starting August 31, 2026. At least 440 servers across 395 organizations in 48 countries were compromised, with one US high school going from initial access to Domain Admin in seven minutes. Escalation relied on LSASS and registry credential harvesting, pass-the-hash, the noPac technique (CVE-2021-42278/CVE-2021-42287), new Domain Admin accounts, and DCSync to steal NTDS.DIT data. Operators staged registry hives, used Ligolo tunneling and certutil Base64 encoding for exfiltration, and one attempt was blocked by Cloudflare WAF.
Critical ArangoDB Flaws Allow Authentication Bypass and Remote Code Execution as Root
Two critical ArangoDB flaws (CVSS 9.8 and 9.9) enable unauthenticated API access and root code execution; fixes shipped in version 3.12.11
Remedio researchers found two ArangoDB flaws: GHSA-rrgq-978q-36mq (CVSS 9.8), an authentication bypass caused by the server inconsistently interpreting URL-encoded '/_api' paths, and GHSA-rvhw-4hpw-9vrx (CVSS 9.9), which lets users with database write access run JavaScript tasks with root privileges via the isSystem flag. Chained, they allow administrative database access without credentials, theft of the root password hash, and root code execution, exposing files such as /etc/shadow, TLS keys and cluster signing material on the official container image. ArangoDB shipped fixes in version 3.12.11 on August 31, 2026, with advisories published September 6; CVE identifiers were still pending. Users on 3.12.10.1 or earlier should upgrade, restrict exposure and rotate potentially exposed credentials.
FortiPAM Chrome Extension Vulnerability Lets Malicious Sites Control Browser Proxy and Record Tabs
Fortinet patched CVE-2026-84388 (CVSS 9.1) in its FortiPAM Chrome extension, letting malicious websites alter proxy settings, open tabs and record sessions.
The Fortinet FortiPAM Chrome extension flaw (CVE-2026-84388, CVSS 9.1) lets attacker-controlled domains be trusted as FortiPAM servers because a webRequest listener adds requested hostnames without verifying the initiator. A second issue exposes the extension's message interface to all URLs and accepts non-JWT tokens without validation, enabling unauthenticated session launches, proxy manipulation, tab control and recording; the consent dialog can also be bypassed via shadow-root clicks. Fortinet issued advisory FG-IR-26-168 after a July 17 report and released a fix on August 1, 2026, with no confirmed exploitation in the wild.
Critical MapLibre GL JS Vulnerability Enables Zero-Click XSS Attacks
MapLibre GL JS 6.4.1 patches CVE-2026-85061, a critical zero-click XSS in DOM.sanitize() affecting versions 6.4.0 and earlier.
A critical cross-site scripting vulnerability, CVE-2026-85061 (GHSA-jrc7-96c5-q579), affects maplibre-gl versions 6.4.0 and earlier and is fixed in 6.4.1. The flaw stems from DOM.sanitize() iterating a live NamedNodeMap while deleting attributes, causing the sanitizer to skip adjacent dangerous event-handler attributes that later execute via innerHTML. GitHub rates the issue Critical with CVSS v3.1 vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N, exploitable without user interaction when untrusted attribution strings are rendered. Organizations should upgrade to 6.4.1 or later, rebuild affected bundles, and sanitize attribution fields as an interim measure.
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.
Windows Defender ShieldCrash 0-Day Lets Attackers Read Arbitrary Files as SYSTEM
Unpatched Windows Defender zero-day 'ShieldCrash' PoC lets local attackers read arbitrary files as SYSTEM, apparently bypassing the CVE-2026-69414 patch.
Researcher MSNightmare published a skeleton proof-of-concept for 'ShieldCrash', an unpatched Microsoft Defender flaw enabling arbitrary file reads with SYSTEM privileges that reportedly persists on supported Windows versions after September 2026 updates. It appears to bypass the recent fix for the Malware Protection Engine elevation-of-privilege flaw CVE-2026-69414 (ShieldBreak), patched in engine version 1.1.26080.3. SYSTEM-level file disclosure could expose credentials, application secrets and registry hives and support post-compromise reconnaissance. No active exploitation is confirmed and Microsoft had issued no specific patch or mitigation at disclosure time.
cPanel EmailTrack SQL Injection Flaw Lets Attackers Execute Code as Root
cPanel disclosed CVE-2026-67401, an authenticated SQL injection in EmailTrack that lets attackers write files and execute code as root.
cPanel disclosed CVE-2026-67401 on September 8, 2026: a SQL injection in the EmailTrack feature that allows authenticated account holders with mail-related permissions to create arbitrary files and execute code with root privileges. Fixes shipped in v11.110.0.143, v11.134.0.55, v11.136.0.39, v11.138.0.4, and WP2 channel v11.138.1.9, with all supported versions before those releases affected. Root-level execution poses severe risk to shared hosting providers and multi-tenant servers, as it removes isolation between cPanel accounts, websites, mailboxes, and backups. Researchers Ali Mustafa (rz1027) and abed1526 responsibly reported the flaw.
Fortinet FortiSandbox Vulnerability Allows Unauthenticated Attackers to Access Sensitive Information
Fortinet fixed CVE-2026-26084, an unauthenticated access-control flaw in FortiSandbox GUI rated 8.9 CVSS, with no known exploitation yet.
Fortinet disclosed CVE-2026-26084 (advisory FG-IR-26-166), a CWE-284 improper access control flaw in the GUI of FortiSandbox, FortiSandbox Cloud and FortiSandbox PaaS, rated 8.9 CVSS v3.1. An unauthenticated remote attacker can send specially crafted HTTP requests to control NAT rules and expose sensitive information. Affected versions include FortiSandbox 4.4.0-4.4.8 and 5.0.0-5.0.5 (plus Cloud/PaaS 5.0.4-5.0.5), fixed in 4.4.9 and 5.0.6. Fortinet researcher Adham El Karn found the flaw internally and the September 8 advisory reports no known exploitation.
Ivanti Patches 10 EPMM, Neurons for ITSM and Sentry Flaws Enabling RCE and Admin Access
Ivanti patches 10 flaws in EPMM, Neurons for ITSM, and Sentry, including two 9.8-rated unauthenticated RCEs in ITSM.
Ivanti released fixes for 10 vulnerabilities across Endpoint Manager Mobile, Neurons for ITSM, and Sentry, and said it was not aware of active exploitation at disclosure. The most severe are CVE-2026-12744 and CVE-2026-12745, unauthenticated deserialization RCEs rated 9.8 in Neurons for ITSM, alongside authenticated deserialization and missing-authorization RCEs rated up to 9.9. CVE-2026-18851 is an 8.8-rated EPMM privilege escalation to administrator, and CVE-2026-83527 is an 8.1-rated unauthenticated authentication bypass in Sentry granting administrative access. Ivanti said the ITSM weaknesses were found using large language models; Cloud/SaaS fixes shipped August 9, 2026, and on-premises patches are available from September 2026.