Elastic Security Labs discovered a new Contagious Interview campaign (REF9403) attributed to DPRK-aligned threat actors that uses fake coding challenges to deliver malware hidden via SVG steganography. The trojanized repositories contain a four-stage JavaScript payload aligned with OTTERCOOKIE, combining browser credential/crypto wallet theft, file exfiltration, a Socket.IO RAT, and clipboard stealing. The malware uses obfuscator.io for code protection, custom Base64 decoding to evade detection, and masquerades as npm-cache processes while exfiltrating data to rightwidth.dev C2 infrastructure.
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New North Korean campaign uses fake coding interviews to steal developer credentials Cyber Centre Daily Advisory Digest — 2026-07-17 (3 advisories) The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security published three security advisories on 2026-07-17 covering critical vulnerabilities in FreePBX (unauthenticated RCE and SQL injection), VMware Avi Load Balancer (seven CVEs under VMSA-2026-0005), and Google Chrome for Desktop. All advisories urge immediate patching to the latest versions.
Three Steps to the Terminal: A Siemens ROX II Zero-Day Trilogy A chained exploit comprising three zero-day vulnerabilities in Siemens ROX II OT switches allows an attacker to escalate from arbitrary file disclosure to full persistent root-level access. CVE-2025-40948 leverages a root-privileged xz utility to read any file on the filesystem, CVE-2025-40947 exploits unsanitized input in the feature key signature verification to achieve command injection as root, and CVE-2025-40949 enables persistent code execution by injecting commands into the root cron table via the web management task scheduler. Siemens has released firmware V2.17.1 to address all three vulnerabilities.
HelloNet campaign — new malicious modules launched through the ViPNet update system The HelloNet campaign is an active APT operation targeting large Russian organizations through the ViPNet secure networking software suite. Attackers achieve persistence by placing a malicious wtsapi32.dll in the ViPNet Update System directory, which is sideloaded by itcsrvup64.exe at OS startup. The loader (HelloInjector) injects into svchost.exe and deploys a modular toolkit including a network proxy, command executor, log cleaner, and a Rust-based backdoor. The campaign uses renamed PuTTY/Plink utilities for SSH reverse tunneling to C2 servers and employs IOCTL hooking to evade user-mode security solutions.
The TTF Trap: A Global Campaign of a Low-Detection Lua Loader A global phishing campaign active since late March 2026 deploys heavily obfuscated JScript droppers that launch LuaJIT or AutoIt-based loaders disguised as TrueType Font (.ttf) files to deliver multiple RATs and infostealers including Agent Tesla, Remcos, XWorm, and a Snake Keylogger variant dubbed Best Private LOGGER. The Lua loader leverages LuaJIT's Foreign Function Interface to call native Windows APIs for in-memory shellcode execution, employing advanced evasion techniques such as decoy memory allocation, Donut header patching, AMSI/ETW bypass, API unhooking, and VEH-based segmented shellcode decryption. The campaign has evolved from October 2025 through June 2026 with progressively more sophisticated anti-analysis capabilities.
ClaudeFix: Shared Claude Chats Meet ClickFix | Zscaler A MacSync Stealer campaign abuses Anthropic's Claude shared chat platform to host ClickFix-style malicious instructions, using Google malvertising to lure macOS users searching for Claude. Victims are tricked into running a Base64-obfuscated curl command that pipes a zsh script to execution, which in turn downloads and pipes a second stage to osascript. The stealer collects keychain data, browser credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, cloud keys, and user files, exfiltrating them in 10MB chunks via HTTP PUT before deleting all traces.
AI Has Enhanced Iran’s Asymmetric Playbook During the 2026 Conflict Between January and June 2026, Iran integrated AI technologies as a force multiplier across its hybrid warfare model — cyber operations, influence operations, military systems, and domestic surveillance — without fundamentally altering its asymmetric strategic doctrine. Iranian state-sponsored threat actors (APT42, MuddyWater, APT34, and others) leveraged LLMs to accelerate malware development, enhance spearphishing lures, and conduct ICS reconnaissance, while AI-generated propaganda and inauthentic social media accounts flooded the information environment at unprecedented scale. Russia likely transferred AI-enabled Shahed drone variants and operational tactics to Iran, though independent confirmation of AI use in 2026 kinetic operations remains limited.
Hidden Infrastructure Exposed: ANY.RUN Reveals Hijacked Gov Websites Delivering Malware PhantomEnigma is an active Brazil-focused crimeware campaign that compromises government infrastructure (.gov.br portals and police mailboxes) to deliver a modular Node.js backdoor embedded in patched Boostnote/Electron applications via Delphi-compiled Inno Setup installers. The operation uses at least two beacon generations (GET /laravel.php and POST /nbw/), rotates C2 domains weekly behind Cloudflare, and leverages trusted government email channels to bypass SPF/DKIM/DMARC checks. ANY.RUN analysts linked 231 sandbox analyses through a recurring build-chain fingerprint and connected a separate Ofício-PC QR-code phishing arm to the same operator via shared compromised government hosts.
Unpacking the AsyncAPI npm supply chain compromise and import-time payload delivery A coordinated supply chain compromise of the @asyncapi npm organization delivered malicious payloads through five package versions published via the project's legitimate GitHub Actions OIDC trusted publishing pipeline. The attack originated from a pwn request exploiting a misconfigured pullrequesttarget workflow that exposed the asyncapi-bot PAT, enabling unauthorized commits to auto-publish branches. Unlike typical npm supply-chain attacks, the payload executes at import/require time rather than through lifecycle hooks, bypassing --ignore-scripts mitigations. The second stage fetches an encrypted ~8.2 MB Miasma modular runtime from IPFS, establishing C2 at 85.137.53.71 with OS-specific persistence and decentralized fallback channels.
The Risk of Exposed Cloud Functions and How to Harden Mandiant identifies publicly exposed serverless applications lacking authentication as a significant risk during security assessments. Attackers can exploit Local File Inclusion (LFI) or command injection vulnerabilities in custom code to read sensitive files, extract hardcoded secrets, and retrieve GCP service account bearer tokens from the metadata service. Stolen tokens enable lateral movement and potential full cloud project compromise, especially when Cloud Run services use over-privileged default service accounts. The blog provides hardening guidance including least-privilege IAM, Cloud Armor WAF policies, VPC Service Controls, and Secure SDLC practices.
Forgotten UEFI shims undermining Secure Boot ESET researchers identified 11 old, Microsoft-signed UEFI shim bootloaders (version 0.9 and below) that can bypass UEFI Secure Boot on any system trusting Microsoft's third-party UEFI CA 2011 certificate. The old shims lack modern security features (MokListX enforcement, SBAT) and contain known vulnerabilities (CVE-2026-10797) that enable revocation bypass, allowing attackers to execute untrusted code during boot and deploy UEFI bootkits. Exploitation does not require the affected software to be installed — attackers can bring their own copy of the vulnerable shim to any UEFI system with the Microsoft third-party certificate enrolled.
TELEPUZ: a modular MaaS malware spreading via CLICKFIX-VIDAR chains TELEPUZ is a rapidly evolving modular MaaS malware delivered via ClickFix social engineering and VIDAR second-stage downloader chains. The 64-bit Windows DLL payload uses indirect syscalls, NTDLL unhooking, AMSI/ETW patching, and custom RC4 encryption for defense evasion, while establishing persistence as a Windows service and communicating over WebSockets with fallback C2 resolution via Telegram, Steam, DNS records, and Polygon blockchain smart contracts. The malware supports 36 commands including process hollowing, keylogging, credential theft, browser cookie extraction, and a WebInjector module that abuses Chrome DevTools Protocol to manipulate financial web forms in real-time.
When Routine Becomes the Threat: The Evolution of Finance-Themed Phishing Cofense Intelligence reports a significant evolution in finance-themed phishing from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, with threat actors shifting from urgency-driven subject lines to operational business language that mirrors routine financial workflows. By Q1 2026, 79% of finance-themed phishing campaigns used operational language rather than pressure tactics, making them harder to distinguish from legitimate correspondence and more likely to bypass SEGs. The campaigns leverage three main lure categories — New Business, Contracts in Progress, and Payments — and deliver credential phishing via embedded URLs and QR codes in PDF attachments.
Daxin Returns: Stealthy Malware Resurfaces in Taiwan Alongside a New Backdoor Symantec identified renewed activity of Backdoor.Daxin, a sophisticated China-linked kernel-mode rootkit that hijacks legitimate TCP connections for covert C2, on a Taiwan manufacturing subsidiary in May 2026, four years after its initial public disclosure. Alongside it, researchers discovered a new backdoor, Stupig, which abuses the Windows keyboard-layout provider mechanism to execute SYSTEM-level commands from the logon screen pre-authentication and hook credential-handling APIs within winlogon.exe. Compile timestamps on both tools date to 2013 despite the host having no telemetry until 2026, suggesting a potentially decade-plus dwell time enabled by likely initial access via an outdated, end-of-life Digiwin SSO/JDK deployment.
Case Study: Distribution of a CoinMiner Targeting Linux SSH Servers via Malware Distribution via Network Transmission ASEC identified a multi-component Linux malware campaign targeting poorly managed SSH servers. The attack chain uses Go-based propagation malware to worm-like spread XMRig CoinMiner across SSH-accessible servers. The XMRig variant implements robust persistence via systemd services, cron jobs, and a /dev/shm watchdog, while XHide and Shc-compiled obfuscation scripts disguise mining activity by spoofing process names and hijacking common administrative commands through .bashrc aliases.
Compromised npm Packages in the AsyncAPI Namespace Deliver Miasma Botnet Loader Socket's Threat Research Team identified four compromised npm packages in the @asyncapi namespace delivering a multi-stage botnet loader called Miasma. The attack injects obfuscated JavaScript into package source files that executes at module load time (bypassing npm lifecycle script blocking), spawns a detached Node.js process to download an encrypted payload from IPFS, and deploys a 3+ MB tasking framework with multi-channel C2 capabilities including HTTP, Nostr, IPFS, and Ethereum RPC. The malicious packages were published via GitHub Actions trusted publishing from a compromised source commit on the 'next' branch.
Beware of Phishing Emails Disguised as Project Proposals A phishing campaign distributing SnakeKeylogger is using emails disguised as project proposals to deliver JavaScript malware inside compressed attachments. Upon execution, the JS malware invokes PowerShell to decrypt and load an encrypted SnakeKeylogger payload in memory without writing to disk. The infostealer then harvests browser data, system information, and keylogging data, exfiltrating it via SMTP or Telegram to attacker-controlled infrastructure.
UK and Allies urge critical sectors to improve defences against Russian intelligence targeting A joint advisory from the UK NCSC and 18 international agencies warns that Russian FSB Centre 16 cyber actors are globally exploiting poorly configured routers and network devices to target critical national infrastructure. The group uses SNMP scanning to find devices with default or weak credentials and exploits known vulnerabilities in Cisco devices and web portals to gain control. The advisory coincides with UK sanctions and formal attribution of a December 2025 attack on Poland's energy grid to the same actor.
13th July – Threat Intelligence Report This weekly threat intelligence bulletin covers multiple significant incidents including autonomous LLM-driven ransomware (JadePuffer), a cryptocurrency supply chain compromise via malicious npm packages, and three critical CVEs affecting Langflow, Tenda routers, and Linux KVM. Iran-linked Cavern Manticore and China-linked UAT-7810 were profiled targeting Israeli and networking infrastructure respectively. The report also highlights risks in AI development tools where hidden malicious instructions in open-source files could achieve RCE through Claude Code and OpenAI Codex.
June 2026 Dark Web Threat Actor Trend Report The June 2026 Dark Web Threat Actor Trend Report from AhnLab ASEC summarizes broad activity across hacktivist, APT, and cybercrime ecosystems. Key developments include ShinyHunters' migration to dark web infrastructure, North Korean supply chain attacks on npm AI-framework packages via Sapphire Sleet, a RaaS group's EDR-killing toolkit targeting European defense/aerospace, and TA569's Web Inject framework leveraging fake browser updates. Law enforcement achieved notable wins including a Scattered Spider conviction and multiple arrests across Europe.
Seven Steps to Ransomware: CitrixBleed 2 Weaponized by Initial Access Brokers An Initial Access Broker is exploiting CVE-2025-5777 (CitrixBleed 2), a pre-authentication memory overread in Citrix NetScaler ADC/Gateway, to steal session tokens and bypass MFA. The stolen sessions are used to access Citrix published desktops, followed by a consistent privilege escalation via a registry symbolic-link LPE tool that abuses the Windows AppMgmt service and Group Policy refresh to gain SYSTEM. The operator then creates backdoor admin accounts, installs rogue ScreenConnect/Zoho Assist RMM clients, moves laterally with PsExec and Impacket, and ultimately deploys DragonForce ransomware. The full kill chain from initial access to encryption was observed completing in under one hour in at least one case.
Hiding in the Chain: Multi-Stage LNK Attack Leveraging TON Blockchain to Deliver Node.JS Backdoor A multi-stage attack campaign uses malicious LNK files delivered via booking-themed phishing emails to deploy a Node.js-based backdoor. The LNK files use bigint arithmetic obfuscation to reconstruct C2 URLs, download a PowerShell payload that deploys a legitimate node.exe binary, and execute an AES-128-CBC encrypted JavaScript backdoor. The backdoor retrieves its C2 address from the TON blockchain using the EtherHiding technique, employs a custom bytecode VM interpreter for defense evasion, and supports downloading and executing additional payloads including PE files, PowerShell, and JavaScript.
One Target, Two Flags | Rival Espionage Actors Converge On Pakistani Law Enforcement SentinelLABS identified sustained cyberespionage activity by suspected China-nexus and India-nexus threat actors against Pakistani law enforcement organizations from February 2024 to April 2026, with both converging on Balochistan Police. Four C2 clusters (PlugX, ShadowPad, Cobalt Strike, Remcos) were mapped to compromised infrastructure. A China-nexus actor compromised the Balochistan Police Complaint Management System (CMS), deploying custom implants (cms_plugin.exe) disguised as portal updates that delivered AsyncRAT and staged payloads from attacker-controlled servers, targeting both police personnel and citizens. The implants share a development environment (D:\codedome PDB prefix) with Chinese-language indicators, attributing them to a Chinese-speaking developer.
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.
CVE-2026-48282: Mitigating a Critical Vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion CVE-2026-48282 is a critical unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability in Adobe ColdFusion's RDS FILEIO handler, exploitable via the /CFIDE/main/ide.cfm?ACTION=FILEIO endpoint. An attacker can send crafted HTTP requests with traversal sequences to read or write arbitrary files on the server, potentially achieving remote code execution by writing malicious .cfm files into web-accessible directories. Adobe has released patches under bulletin APSB26-68 for affected versions (2025.9 and earlier, 2023.20 and earlier).
What if you received an email about transferring your Kakao account? Check this first. A phishing campaign disguised as Kakao account transfer notifications is targeting individuals associated with North Korea. The emails lure victims to a phishing page hosted on a compromised legitimate website, where entered credentials are encoded and exfiltrated to an attacker-controlled server. The use of a legitimate website's path increases the likelihood of user deception.
Coordinated npm and PyPI Campaign Typosquats Popular Secure Payment Apps A coordinated supply-chain campaign published 17 typosquatted npm and PyPI packages mimicking PaySafe, Skrill, and Neteller payment SDKs. The packages implement a fake SDK facade that harvests environment variables containing credentials and tokens, then exfiltrates them over HTTPS to an ngrok-based C2 server. The malware includes sandbox evasion logic and multi-layer C2 domain obfuscation to hinder analysis.
One Email Closer to the Edge: UNK_MassTraction & the Physics of Exploitation UNK_MassTraction, a suspected China-aligned threat cluster, has been exploiting chained n-day vulnerabilities in Roundcube mailservers (CVE-2024-42009 XSS followed by CVE-2025-49113 PHP deserialization) targeting physics and engineering departments at US and Canadian universities since May 2026. The campaign deploys a custom JavaScript credential stealer (IceCube), a webshell (SquareShell), and the VShell backdoor via an in-memory ELF loader, treating mailservers as edge devices for network pivot. The tooling demonstrates mature operational security including anti-forensics, fallback mechanisms, and process spoofing.
The ‘Ghost’ in the Database: Recovering Active ADFS Signing Keys via Machine DPAPI Mandiant discovered that ADFS environments with AutoCertificateRollover disabled and manually rotated certificates can expose active token-signing private keys in Machine DPAPI storage, creating a 'ghost certificate' drift condition where the WID database contains stale entries. A SYSTEM-level attacker can recover the active signing key from the machine CAPI key store using the DPAPI_SYSTEM LSA secret and machine masterkeys, bypassing LSASS and ADFS process monitoring. The recovered key enables forging valid SAML assertions for any user, including Global Administrator, which Entra ID accepts as legitimate authentication.
Rogue Agent: How a Single Code Block Could Hijack Your AI Conversations in Google’s DialogFlow Varonis Threat Labs discovered a critical vulnerability in Google Cloud Platform's Dialogflow CX service that allowed attackers with only the dialogflow.playbooks.update permission to inject persistent malicious code into the shared Cloud Run execution environment. The vulnerability enabled silent exfiltration of conversation data, bypassing VPC Service Controls, and injection of phishing prompts into chatbot conversations. Additional weaknesses included IMDS credential exposure and unrestricted outbound network access from the Cloud Run environment.
UAT-7810 continues building ORB networks using new malware UAT-7810, a China-nexus APT actor, continues to build Operational Relay Box (ORB) networks by exploiting n-day vulnerabilities in Ruckus and ASUS AiCloud routers. Talos identified four new malware families — LONGLEASH (an upgraded multi-protocol proxy backdoor), DOGLEASH (a passive C-based Linux backdoor), JARLEASH (a Java-based administrative backdoor), and LEASHTEST (a MIPS test binary) — deployed across MIPS, ARM, and x64 platforms. The actor uses at least four new servers to host payloads and deploy DOGLEASH via shell scripts that modify iptables rules on compromised devices.
Fake Installers, Fake Reviews, Fake Services – Real Proxies, Real Victims Infoblox Threat Intel identifies a threat actor tracked as 'Lurking Lizard' who operates a comprehensive malicious residential proxy ecosystem spanning victim device recruitment through trojanized software (fake 7-Zip, WireVPN), proxy service monetization via lookalike storefronts, and fake review sites for marketing. The actor controls 230+ domains and has been active since at least August 2022, with current operations centered on WireVPN-branded payloads that enroll victim devices as proxy exit nodes rather than functioning as legitimate VPN clients. A shared IPLogger telemetry beacon, consistent API structures, code signing certificate, and deployment patterns link multiple campaigns across several years to a single operator likely based in Wuhan, China.
Cyber Centre Daily Advisory Digest — 2026-07-06 (8 advisories) The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security published a daily advisory digest on 2026-07-06 compiling eight security advisories from Red Hat, Ubuntu, Dell, CISA ICS, IBM, Roundcube, OpenSSH, and Microsoft Edge. The advisories address vulnerabilities across a broad range of products including Linux kernels, industrial control systems, enterprise software suites, webmail, SSH, and browser software. No specific CVEs, IOCs, or threat actor details are provided in the digest; administrators are directed to vendor advisories for patching guidance.
Cavern Manticore: Exposing Iran-Linked Modular C2 Framework Cavern Manticore, an Iran-MOIS-linked APT group, deploys a modular .NET C2 framework targeting Israeli government and IT organizations. The framework uses three compilation formats (Mixed-Mode C++/CLI, NativeAOT, .NET Framework) as an anti-analysis layer, with DLL sideloading via WinDirStat.exe for initial execution. Post-exploitation modules provide DPAPI decryption, LDAP brute-forcing, SQL browsing, network reconnaissance, and SOCKS5 tunneling, with C2 traffic XOR-encrypted over HTTPS/WebSocket channels.
6th July – Threat Intelligence Report This weekly threat intelligence bulletin covers multiple active ransomware campaigns, four critical vulnerabilities under active exploitation, and emerging AI-driven threats. Notable items include actively exploited RCE flaws in Oracle E-Business Suite and Progress Kemp LoadMaster, a Citrix NetScaler memory disclosure flaw exploited within 24 hours of disclosure, a North Korean supply-chain campaign (PolinRider) deploying 108 malicious packages, and a proof-of-concept browser-native ransomware generated by an LLM abusing Chrome's File System Access API.
Backdoor.Mistic: New Backdoor May be Linked to Ransomware Access Broker Backdoor.Mistic is a new stealthy backdoor deployed in cybercrime intrusions since April 2026, using DLL sideloading via legitimate MpExtMs.exe and masquerading as EndpointDlp.dll. It executes payloads in memory with a self-deleting kill switch, enabling long-term covert access. Mistic is likely linked to Woodgnat (aka KongTuke), an initial access broker whose ModeloRAT toolkit has been used in attacks delivering Qilin ransomware, connecting this backdoor to the broader ransomware ecosystem.
An Analysis of ValleyRAT Infection Campaigns from Fake Installers, Japanese Malicious Emails LevelBlue GSOC has identified accelerating ValleyRAT campaigns delivered through fake installers and malicious emails targeting Chinese and Japanese-speaking users. The email-based attack chain uses DLL sideloading via a legitimate VLC executable to load a malicious DLL that downloads an RC4-encrypted, Donut-generated ValleyRAT payload, which is then injected into a suspended rundll32.exe process for fileless execution. The malware incorporates extensive anti-analysis checks (memory size, sleep timing, CPU count, VHD boot detection) and establishes persistence via registry Run keys.
AsyncRAT and Remcos Delivered in Multi-Stage Phishing Campaign An active multi-stage phishing campaign distributes AsyncRAT and Remcos RATs through weaponized Excel attachments targeting sales, procurement, and vendor management staff globally. The infection chain uses VBA macros to retrieve HTA payloads via URL shorteners and Cloudflare Workers, with final payloads hidden via PNG steganography and loaded filelessly into memory via .NET assembly loading. The campaign demonstrates high-volume, automated payload generation with consistent obfuscation patterns including Base64 encoding, character substitution, and string reversal.
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.
Threat Actors Weaponize AI Hype to Deliver AsyncRAT Threat actors are weaponizing AI-themed lure documents to deliver a complex multi-stage infection chain culminating in AsyncRAT and a custom .NET RAT called clay_Client. The attack uses hidden LNK files inside compressed archives to initiate a chain of PowerShell scripts that extract, decrypt, and execute payloads from disguised PDF containers using AES-CBC, XOR, and GZip decompression. AutoHotkey scripts perform process hollowing into legitimate .NET Framework executables, while defense evasion includes adding Microsoft Defender exclusions and restoring disabled VBS execution. The final RAT provides full remote control with screen capture, input simulation, fileless assembly loading, and process injection capabilities.
Analysis of Ongoing Ousaban Attacks Targeting the Iberian Peninsula FortiGuard Labs identified an ongoing Ousaban banking Trojan campaign targeting users in Spain and Portugal, delivered via phishing PDFs that redirect victims to geofenced malicious webpages. The attack chain involves a VBS script extracting a ZIP payload from a steganographic image, with the final Ousaban EXE establishing persistence via registry Run keys and communicating with C2 servers resolved through daily-changing DDNS hostnames. The malware targets over 25 Spanish and Portuguese financial institutions and employs a custom encryption algorithm shared with the Casbaneiro family to evade detection.
Q2 2026 Attack Techniques Trend Report The Q2 2026 trend report from AhnLab ASEC documents a significant expansion of attack surfaces into AI stacks, identity infrastructure, and public-facing applications. CISA KEV listings rose 27% year-over-year to 75 entries, with ransomware-linked vulnerabilities nearly doubling. Notable developments include prompt injection-to-RCE chains in Microsoft Semantic Kernel, data exfiltration via M365 Copilot Enterprise (SearchLeak), three Microsoft Defender zero-days used for telemetry evasion, and continued AI supply chain attacks via malicious skills. The report recommends shifting from signature-based to behavior-based detection and implementing ITDR, conditional access, and AI-specific input validation controls.
- 8 minWeekly Recap — 2026-06-29 -> 2026-07-06
Token Theft and AI Poisoning Redefine the Perimeter Attackers are shifting from breaking passwords to stealing active login sessions, bypassing multi-factor authentication entirely. This week, ARToken and ConsentFix exploited Microsoft 365 OAuth flows to hijack accounts, while Anubis ransomware used the ongoing CitrixBleed 2 vulnerability to steal session tokens from network gateways. Even a standard user can become a Global Administrator in minutes if identity settings are loose, as demonstrated by a recent M365 privilege escalation analysis. Simultaneously, artificial intelligence systems have evolved from helper tools to critical vulnerabilities, serving as both the weapon and the target. Threat actors are using AI to generate malware like InfernoGrabber v9.0 and BusySnake Stealer, while also poisoning AI agent ecosystems with malicious skills like OpenClaw and tricking AI models into executing financial fraud via indirect prompt injection. The AI arms race has accelerated breakout times to under 30 minutes, with state-sponsored groups like GTG-1002 now orchestrating entire espionage campaigns via AI. Defenders must immediately audit identity and session controls, treating session tokens as highly sensitive credentials. Security teams should also implement guardrails for AI agents, verifying external URLs and restricting autonomous financial or code execution actions.
Cyber Centre Daily Advisory Digest — 2026-07-03 (1 advisories) The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security issued advisory AV26-649 referencing WatchGuard security advisories published on July 2, 2026. The advisories cover a race condition and use-after-free vulnerability in Mobile VPN with IKEv2 LDAP Authentication on Firebox appliances, as well as a local privilege escalation in the Mobile VPN with SSL Windows client. Multiple Fireware OS branches and the Windows VPN client are affected through several recent versions. No CVE IDs, exploit details, or IOCs are provided in the advisory digest.
Indirect Prompt Injection Targets AI Agents | ThreatLabz Zscaler ThreatLabz identified two campaigns leveraging Indirect Prompt Injection (IPI) to manipulate AI agents via malicious websites. The first campaign uses SEO poisoning and hidden IPI instructions on a fraudulent API documentation site to trick AI agents into sending cryptocurrency payments for a fake API key. The second campaign uses a typosquatting domain (debank.auction) with hidden prompt injection to misclassify the fraudulent site as the legitimate DeBank platform. Testing across 26 LLMs showed 4 models vulnerable to the payment scam and 2 models susceptible to misclassification, demonstrating measurable real-world impact that varies by model and context.
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.
Cyber Centre Daily Advisory Digest — 2026-07-02 (1 advisories) A critical deserialization vulnerability (CVE-2026-45659) in Microsoft SharePoint Server is being actively exploited, enabling remote code execution by low-privileged attackers. The flaw affects SharePoint Enterprise Server 2016, Server 2019, and Subscription Edition, with fixed versions available. CISA added this CVE to its KEV catalog on July 1, 2026, and the Canadian Cyber Centre urges immediate patching, especially for internet-exposed on-premises deployments.
Field reports from Patch the Planet Trail of Bits and OpenAI's Patch the Planet initiative used GPT-5.5-Cyber to autonomously build a bespoke fuzzing harness for zlib in a single day, discovering multiple vulnerabilities now undergoing coordinated disclosure. The model independently chose dynamic fuzzing over static review, wrote C/C++ harnesses across a dozen entrypoints, used ASan/UBSan builds and compile-time variants, and demonstrated disciplined reporting by filtering out unreachable crashes. This represents a significant shift in the threat model: the expertise barrier for bespoke fuzzing has collapsed, making large-scale vulnerability discovery accessible to both skilled researchers and low-skill attackers.
Missed incidents, persistent threats, and response gaps: Insights from compromise assessment projects Kaspersky's 2025 compromise assessment report reveals that organizations consistently fail to detect long-dwelling threats, with 30.8% of incidents persisting over 3 months and 52% of high-severity compromises going undetected for 90+ days. Key findings include widespread abuse of LoLBins and remote management tools in every incident-bearing engagement, 40% of web shells surviving in backups to be restored post-remediation, and a strong correlation between in-house forensics/reverse-engineering capability and reduced incident severity. Multiple case studies document dormant crypto-mining on domain controllers (4 years), in-memory LionTail implants on critical servers, PurpleFox rootkit infections evading EDR with disabled memory scanning, and ClipBanker persistence via registry Run keys with Defender exclusions.
Chrome and Firefox Extensions Posing as Free VPNs Add Clipboard Stealers via Malicious Updates Malicious Chrome and Firefox browser extensions masquerading as free VPN tools ('VPN Go: Free VPN') were distributed via official extension marketplaces and later updated to include clipboard-stealing functionality. The extensions monitor clipboard contents on a timer, chunk copied text into ~1000-character segments, and exfiltrate data via HTTP GET requests to hardcoded attacker-controlled IP addresses using a /html/continue.php endpoint with uid, part, total, and data query parameters. Both extensions share infrastructure, code patterns, and build artifacts, confirming a common threat actor. The staged update pattern—initial versions functioning as legitimate proxy tools with later versions adding clipboard theft—highlights the risk of extension update supply chain compromise.