The GoSerpent campaign is a sophisticated, multi-stage attack targeting government and diplomatic entities in Southeast Asia since at least 2021, with evolved variants deployed through 2026. The Go-based GoSerpent backdoor establishes persistent access and deploys ThumbcacheService for document collection, Mimikatz and QuarksDumpLocalHash for credential dumping, and later stages use Stowaway RAT and TmcLoader/TmcPayload to exfiltrate collected data via network shares using stolen credentials. The tight integration between collection, credential theft, and exfiltration components demonstrates advanced operational planning and long-term intelligence gathering objectives.
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GoSerpent: a persistent threat evolves with sophisticated data collection and exfiltration Malicious Go Module Exposes GitHub Malware Lure Network Spanning 222 Repositories Operation Muck and Load is a supply chain attack campaign centered on a malicious Go module that impersonates a DNS scanner tool to deliver a multi-stage Windows malware loader. The campaign leverages 222 GitHub lure repositories across 190 accounts with automated commit-farming workflows to create false credibility, and uses public dead-drop resolvers across multiple platforms for resilient payload-location resolution. The final payload chain delivers AsyncRAT, Quasar, Remcos, Vidar infostealer, and cryptominers through password-protected 7z archives extracted into masqueraded Microsoft-themed directories.
Vidar Stealer Unmasked: Code Signing Abuse, Go Loaders and File Inflation A financially motivated campaign active in April 2026 delivers Vidar stealer and XMRig cryptocurrency miner to victims worldwide via malvertising for fake software cracks. The campaign uses the Factory-v3 Go loader framework with per-build unique binaries, fabricated Authenticode certificates impersonating legitimate brands, file-size inflation up to 491 MB to evade sandbox analysis, and an in-memory AMSI bypass. Vidar exfiltrates browser credentials, cookies, and crypto wallets to C2 servers, while XMRig mines Monero using the pool.supportxmr.com mining pool. The operator receives Telegram notifications for each new infection.
Hidden in Teams: DragonForce Attackers Weaponize Microsoft Teams Relays to Stay Hidden DragonForce ransomware operators deployed a novel Go-based backdoor called Backdoor.Turn that abuses Microsoft Teams TURN relay infrastructure to hide C2 traffic as legitimate Teams communications. The attack chain involves SQL/MSSQL server exploitation for initial access, DLL sideloading via VirtualBox/DbgView executables, multiple BYOVD techniques for defense evasion including a novel exploit of a Huawei driver, and ultimately DragonForce ransomware deployment. The group demonstrated exceptional sophistication with custom tooling and stealth techniques that evade standard network monitoring.
Don't Fear the Repo: UNK_DeadDrop Phishing Campaign Targets Developers to Steal Cryptocurrency UNK_DeadDrop is a likely North Korean threat actor conducting broad phishing campaigns targeting software developers with fake job offers and code review requests. The campaign delivers malicious GitHub/GitLab repositories that abuse VS Code and Cursor IDE task automation to silently execute cross-platform malware. Linux and macOS systems receive the Overlord Go RAT with custom credential and wallet theft modules, while Windows runs a fileless Node.js/Python pipeline inside the editor's Electron process. The malware exfiltrates cryptocurrency wallets, browser credentials, and OS keychain data to a hardcoded C&C server at 23.137.105.75:5173.
Miasma Mini Shai-Hulud Hits LeoPlatform npm Packages and GitHub Actions, Expands to the Go Ecosystem A new wave of the Mini Shai-Hulud/Miasma/Hades supply chain attack campaign has compromised 23 npm packages across the LeoPlatform and RStreams ecosystems, plus the Verana Blockchain Go module. The attack uses binding.gyp install-time execution (Phantom Gyp pattern) to trigger multi-stage obfuscated JavaScript loaders that decrypt AES-GCM payloads, stage execution through Bun to evade Node.js security hooks, and steal developer/CI/CD credentials including npm, GitHub, cloud, and AI-agent tokens. The campaign also poisons GitHub Actions workflows and plants persistence hooks in AI coding assistant configurations, creating delayed execution surfaces that survive package remediation.
From Langflow to Monero: Inside CVE-2026-33017 Cryptominer A cryptocurrency-mining campaign is actively exploiting CVE-2026-33017, an unauthenticated RCE vulnerability in Langflow, to deploy the lambsys malware. The attack chain involves a bash dropper that establishes SSH-based lateral movement, followed by a Go-based payload that systematically disables Linux security controls, eliminates rival miners, and deploys a customized XMRig miner.
Killing me gently: Inside Gentlemen’s EDR killer framework ESET researchers analyzed the Gentlemen ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) operation, highlighting their unique approach of providing an in-house developed EDR killer framework, GentleKiller, directly to affiliates. The framework leverages Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) techniques to terminate over 400 security processes and is augmented by third-party tools like HexKiller and HavocKiller, all standardized with a shared defense-evasion layer.
Why Use App-Level Auth When Every Database Has Auth? (Splunk Enterprise CVE-2026-20253 Pre-Auth RCE) WatchTowr Labs detailed the exploitation of CVE-2026-20253, a critical pre-authentication Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Splunk Enterprise. By abusing unauthenticated PostgreSQL Sidecar Service endpoints and injecting connection string parameters, attackers can force the server to connect to an external database, write malicious files to the filesystem, and overwrite legitimate scripts to achieve arbitrary code execution.
Impersonation, Click Hijacking, and TDS: Inside a Malware Distribution Ecosystem Check Point Research uncovered a large-scale malware distribution ecosystem that uses search engine optimization and impersonated open-source project sites to drive traffic to a sophisticated Traffic Distribution System (TDS). The TDS employs click hijacking and strict gating to selectively deliver malware, including the SessionGate loader, RemusStealer, and AnimateClipper, while actively evading automated analysis through one-time key releases and file inflation.
Pointing a Cursor at evading detection Sophos researchers uncovered a threat actor utilizing AI-native development tools, specifically the Cursor IDE and Claude Opus, to build and iteratively test a post-exploitation framework designed to evade major EDR solutions. The framework automates the ingestion of public security research to generate and refine custom Rust and Go payloads, ultimately supporting ransomware and data theft operations.
The Gentlemen ransomware: Dissecting a self-propagating Go encryptor The Gentlemen ransomware, operated by Storm-2697, is a Go-based encryptor that combines robust Curve25519/XChaCha20 encryption with aggressive lateral movement capabilities. It utilizes multiple redundant propagation methods (PsExec, WMI, scheduled tasks, services) to maximize network compromise while employing extensive defense evasion techniques to hinder detection and recovery.
AI Has Taken Over Open Source The integration of AI coding tools has fundamentally altered the open-source ecosystem, driving an exponential increase in npm package creation and automating dependency selection. This shift transforms the software supply chain into an automated black box, bypassing traditional human review processes and elevating the risk of supply chain malware infections, thereby requiring automated behavioral analysis for mitigation.
Decentralized Threat: Stealthy P2P Cryptominer Targeting Ollama Endpoints A sophisticated attack campaign is targeting Ollama AI endpoints to deploy a custom Go-based P2P remote access Trojan (RAT) and cryptominer. The malware, named 'vc', leverages decentralized networking via libp2p to evade traditional C2 blocking and utilizes RAM disk execution and process masquerading to maintain stealth.
Popular Go Decimal Library Targeted by Long-Running Typosquat with DNS Backdoor A long-running typosquat of a popular Go decimal library was weaponized to include a DNS-based backdoor. The malicious package, github.com/shopsprint/decimal, uses an init() function to poll a dynamic DNS subdomain via TXT records, executing the returned strings as arbitrary commands on the host system.
Kimsuky targets organizations with PebbleDash-based tools Kimsuky (APT43) has updated its arsenal with new PebbleDash and AppleSeed malware variants, including the Rust-based HelloDoor and httpMalice backdoors. The group is increasingly utilizing legitimate services like VSCode Remote Tunnels, Cloudflare Quick Tunnels, and DWAgent for covert C2 and post-exploitation access, primarily targeting South Korean entities and global defense sectors.
fsnotify Maintainer Dispute Sparks Supply Chain Concerns A maintainer access dispute in the widely used fsnotify Go library sparked supply chain security concerns, though no malicious code was introduced. The incident underscores the risks of ambiguous open-source governance and the heightened downstream sensitivity to sudden maintainer changes following recent supply chain attacks like the xz-utils backdoor.
Go fuzzing was missing half the toolkit. We forked the toolchain to fix it. Trail of Bits has released gosentry, an enhanced fork of the Go toolchain designed to significantly improve native Go fuzzing capabilities by integrating LibAFL and Nautilus. The tool allows security researchers and developers to perform struct-aware and grammar-based fuzzing, successfully identifying complex vulnerabilities such as integer overflows, data races, and goroutine leaks that standard Go fuzzing often misses.
Intelligence Center Cisco Talos identified UAT-8302, a China-nexus APT, targeting global government entities using a diverse toolkit of custom and shared malware. The threat actor leverages DLL side-loading to deploy implants like NetDraft, CloudSorcerer v3, and VSHELL, while utilizing open-source tools for extensive network reconnaissance, credential harvesting, and lateral movement.
Malicious Ruby Gems and Go Modules Impersonate Developer Tools to Steal Secrets and Poison CI A software supply chain campaign attributed to the GitHub account 'BufferZoneCorp' published malicious Ruby gems and Go modules designed to steal developer secrets and compromise CI/CD environments. The packages impersonate legitimate developer tools to execute install-time and runtime payloads that harvest credentials, tamper with GitHub Actions workflows, manipulate Go dependency resolution, and establish SSH persistence.
Trailmark turns code into graphs Trail of Bits has released Trailmark, an open-source library that converts source code into queryable call graphs to enhance AI-assisted security analysis. By integrating with Claude Code, Trailmark enables advanced mutation testing triage, blast radius analysis, and the identification of architectural bottlenecks in cryptographic libraries.
GopherWhisper: A burrow full of malware ESET researchers uncovered GopherWhisper, a previously undocumented China-aligned APT group targeting a Mongolian governmental entity. The group utilizes a diverse arsenal of custom, primarily Go-based malware that leverages legitimate services like Slack, Discord, and Microsoft Outlook for command and control, blending malicious traffic with normal enterprise communications.
New Lazarus APT Campaign: “Mach-O Man” macOS Malware Kit Hits Businesses Lazarus Group is conducting a new ClickFix campaign targeting macOS users in high-value sectors via Telegram. The attackers trick victims into executing a terminal command that deploys 'Mach-O Man,' a multi-stage Go-based malware kit designed to steal credentials, browser data, and macOS Keychain secrets, exfiltrating the data via Telegram.
North Korea’s Contagious Interview Campaign Spreads Across 5 Ecosystems, Delivering Staged RAT Payloads North Korea's Contagious Interview campaign has launched a coordinated supply chain attack across five major open-source ecosystems. The threat actors published malicious packages masquerading as legitimate developer tools that act as staged loaders to deliver remote access trojans (RATs) and infostealers to developer workstations.
Mutation testing for the agentic era Trail of Bits has introduced MuTON and mewt, advanced mutation testing tools designed to identify untested code paths in smart contracts and blockchain applications. These tools leverage Tree-sitter for accurate syntax parsing and integrate with AI agents to optimize testing configurations and triage results, addressing the historical performance limitations of mutation testing.
TypeScript 6.0 Released: The Final JavaScript-Based Version TypeScript 6.0 has been released as the final JavaScript-based version, serving as a transitional bridge to the upcoming Go-native TypeScript 7.0 compiler. The release introduces new standard library APIs, stricter default configurations to improve build performance, and deprecates several legacy features.
- 6 minWeekly Recap — 2026-04-27 -> 2026-05-04
AI Weaponization and Developer Supply Chain Attacks Redefine the Perimeter Attackers are aggressively targeting the software development process because compromising a single developer tool can unlock thousands of corporate networks. In parallel, artificial intelligence is collapsing the cost of attacks, allowing criminals to build convincing deepfakes and automated phishing campaigns in minutes. As a result, traditional security like multi-factor authentication is increasingly bypassed using tricks that steal active login sessions rather than passwords. These trends together suggest that relying on perimeter defenses and basic hygiene is no longer enough, as attackers hide inside trusted cloud services and legitimate software updates. This matters because organizations are losing visibility into where their sensitive data actually lives, especially as AI tools create hidden pathways into company systems. Defenders must shift their focus to monitoring user behavior after login and securing the automated systems that build their software. Watch for unusual activity in your developer tools and implement stricter checks on third-party software.
