Researchers Uncover Windows Flaws Granting Hackers Rootkit-Like Powers

New research has found that the DOS-to-NT path conversion process could be exploited by threat actors to achieve rootkit-like capabilities to conceal and impersonate files, directories, and processes. “When a user executes a function that has a path argument in Windows, the DOS path at which the file or folder exists is converted to an […]

Critical ‘BatBadBut’ Rust Vulnerability Exposes Windows Systems to Attacks

A critical security flaw in the Rust standard library could be exploited to target Windows users and stage command injection attacks. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-24576, has a CVSS score of 10.0, indicating maximum severity. That said, it only impacts scenarios where batch files are invoked on Windows with untrusted arguments. “The Rust standard library […]

Detecting Windows-based Malware Through Better Visibility

Despite a plethora of available security solutions, more and more organizations fall victim to Ransomware and other threats. These continued threats aren’t just an inconvenience that hurt businesses and end users – they damage the economy, endanger lives, destroy businesses and put national security at risk. But if that wasn’t enough – North Korea appears […]

New DEEP#GOSU Malware Campaign Targets Windows Users with Advanced Tactics

A new elaborate attack campaign has been observed employing PowerShell and VBScript malware to infect Windows systems and harvest sensitive information. Cybersecurity company Securonix, which dubbed the campaign DEEP#GOSU, said it’s likely associated with the North Korean state-sponsored group tracked as Kimsuky (aka Emerald Sleet, Springtail, or Velvet Chollima). “The malware payloads used in the […]

CVE-2023-5528: Kubernetes Flaw Jeopardizing Windows Node That Can’t Be Ignored

In recent developments, cybersecurity experts have raised alarms over a high-severity vulnerability identified in Kubernetes, marked as CVE-2023-5528. This critical flaw has the potential to allow attackers to execute arbitrary code with system privileges across all Windows endpoints within a cluster. Akamai, a leading global content delivery network, cybersecurity, and cloud service company, has issued […]

Researchers Detail Kubernetes Vulnerability That Enables Windows Node Takeover

Details have been made public about a now-patched high-severity flaw in Kubernetes that could allow a malicious attacker to achieve remote code execution with elevated privileges under specific circumstances. “The vulnerability allows remote code execution with SYSTEM privileges on all Windows endpoints within a Kubernetes cluster,” Akamai security researcher Tomer Peled said. “To exploit this […]

RedCurl Cybercrime Group Abuses Windows PCA Tool for Corporate Espionage

The Russian-speaking cybercrime group called RedCurl is leveraging a legitimate Microsoft Windows component called the Program Compatibility Assistant (PCA) to execute malicious commands. “The Program Compatibility Assistant Service (pcalua.exe) is a Windows service designed to identify and address compatibility issues with older programs,” Trend Micro said in an analysis published this month. “Adversaries can exploit […]

Lazarus Hackers Exploited Windows Kernel Flaw as Zero-Day in Recent Attacks

The notorious Lazarus Group actors exploited a recently patched privilege escalation flaw in the Windows Kernel as a zero-day to obtain kernel-level access and disable security software on compromised hosts. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2024-21338 (CVSS score: 7.8), which can permit an attacker to gain SYSTEM privileges. It was resolved by Microsoft earlier this […]

Meta Warns of 8 Spyware Firms Targeting iOS, Android, and Windows Devices

Meta Platforms said it took a series of steps to curtail malicious activity from eight different firms based in Italy, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) operating in the surveillance-for-hire industry. The findings are part of its Adversarial Threat Report for the fourth quarter of 2023. The spyware targeted iOS, Android, and Windows devices. […]

Microsoft Rolls Out Patches for 73 Flaws, Including 2 Windows Zero-Days

Microsoft has released patches to address 73 security flaws spanning its software lineup as part of its Patch Tuesday updates for February 2024, including two zero-days that have come under active exploitation. Of the 73 vulnerabilities, 5 are rated Critical, 65 are rated Important, and three and rated Moderate in severity. This is in addition […]

New Mispadu Banking Trojan Exploiting Windows SmartScreen Flaw

The threat actors behind the Mispadu banking Trojan have become the latest to exploit a now-patched Windows SmartScreen security bypass flaw to compromise users in Mexico. The attacks entail a new variant of the malware that was first observed in 2019, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 said in a report published last week. Propagated via […]

New ZLoader Malware Variant Surfaces with 64-bit Windows Compatibility

Threat hunters have identified a new campaign that delivers the ZLoader malware, resurfacing nearly two years after the botnet’s infrastructure was dismantled in April 2022. A new variant of the malware is said to have been in development since September 2023, Zscaler ThreatLabz said in an analysis published this month. “The new version of ZLoader […]

Malicious PyPI Packages Slip WhiteSnake InfoStealer Malware onto Windows Machines

Cybersecurity researchers have identified malicious packages on the open-source Python Package Index (PyPI) repository that deliver an information stealing malware called WhiteSnake Stealer on Windows systems. The malware-laced packages are named nigpal, figflix, telerer, seGMM, fbdebug, sGMM, myGens, NewGends, and TestLibs111. They have been uploaded by a threat actor named “WS.” “These packages incorporate Base64-encoded […]

How to steal Windows password via Outlook email exploiting vulnerabilities in Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) and File Explorer

Varonis Threat Labs has uncovered a significant vulnerability in Microsoft Outlook (CVE-2023-35636) that allows attackers to access NTLM v2 hashed passwords. This discovery also includes vulnerabilities in Windows Performance Analyzer (WPA) and Windows File Explorer, posing serious security risks. What is CVE-2023-35636? CVE-2023-35636 is an exploit targeting the calendar sharing function in Microsoft Outlook. By […]

52% of Serious Vulnerabilities We Find are Related to Windows 10

We analyzed 2,5 million vulnerabilities we discovered in our customer’s assets. This is what we found. Digging into the data The dataset we analyze here is representative of a subset of clients that subscribe to our vulnerability scanning services. Assets scanned include those reachable across the Internet, as well as those present on internal networks. […]

Hackers Weaponize Windows Flaw to Deploy Crypto-Siphoning Phemedrone Stealer

Threat actors have been observed leveraging a now-patched security flaw in Microsoft Windows to deploy an open-source information stealer called Phemedrone Stealer. “Phemedrone targets web browsers and data from cryptocurrency wallets and messaging apps such as Telegram, Steam, and Discord,” Trend Micro researchers Peter Girnus, Aliakbar Zahravi, and Simon Zuckerbraun said. “It also takes screenshots […]

How to exploit Windows Defender Antivirus to infect a device with malware

Trend Micro’s recent threat hunting efforts have uncovered active exploitation of CVE-2023-36025, a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Defender SmartScreen, by a new strain of malware known as Phemedrone Stealer. This malware targets web browsers, cryptocurrency wallets, and messaging apps like Telegram, Steam, and Discord, stealing data and sending it to attackers via Telegram or command-and-control […]

Opera MyFlaw Bug Could Let Hackers Run ANY File on Your Mac or Windows

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed a now-patched security flaw in the Opera web browser for Microsoft Windows and Apple macOS that could be exploited to execute any file on the underlying operating system. The remote code execution vulnerability has been codenamed MyFlaw by the Guardio Labs research team owing to the fact that it takes advantage […]

New Bandook RAT Variant Resurfaces, Targeting Windows Machines

A new variant of a remote access trojan called Bandook has been observed being propagated via phishing attacks with an aim to infiltrate Windows machines, underscoring the continuous evolution of the malware. Fortinet FortiGuard Labs, which identified the activity in October 2023, said the malware is distributed via a PDF file that embeds a link […]