Exploring a Use Case of Artificial Intelligence Assistance with Understanding an Attack Jennifer Wilson took a weird string found in a recent honeypot sample and worked with ChatGPT to figure out what it is all about. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/%5BGuest%20Diary%5D%20Exploring%20a%20Use%20Case%20of%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20Assistance%20with%20Understanding%20an%20Attack/31980 Ransomware Deployed via SimpleHelp Vulnerabilities Ransomware actors are using vulnerabilities in SimpleHelp to Read More
SSH authorized_keys File One of the most common techniques used by many bots is to add rogue keys to the authorized_keys file, implementing an SSH backdoor. Managing these files and detecting unauthorized changes is not hard and should be done if you operate Unix systems. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Securing%20Your%20SSH%20authorized_keys%20File/31986 REMOTE COMMAND EXECUTION ON Read More
SVG Steganography Steganography is not only limited to pixel-based images but can be used to embed messages into vector-based formats like SVG. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/SVG%20Steganography/31978 Fortinet Vulnerability Details CVE-2025-32756 Horizon3.ai shows how it was able to find the vulnerability in Fortinet s products, and how to possibly exploit this issue. The vulnerability Read More
Resilient Secure Backup Connectivity for SMB/Home Users Establishing resilient access to a home network via a second ISP may lead to unintended backdoors. Secure the access and make sure you have the visibility needed to detect abuse. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Resilient%20Secure%20Backup%20Connectivity%20for%20SMB%20Home%20Users/31972 BadSuccessor: Abusing dMSA to Escalate Privileges in Active Directory An attacker with Read More
New Variant of Crypto Confidence Scam Scammers are offering login credentials for what appears to be high value crypto coin accounts. However, the goal is to trick users into paying for expensive VIP memberships to withdraw the money. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/New%20Variant%20of%20Crypto%20Confidence%20Scam/31968 Malicious Chrome Extensions Malicious Chrome extensions mimick popular services like VPNs Read More
Researchers Scanning the Internet A newish RFC, RFC 9511, suggests researchers identify themselves by adding strings to the traffic they send, or by operating web servers on machines from which the scan originates. We do offer lists of researchers and just added three new groups today https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Researchers%20Scanning%20the%20Internet/31964 Cloudy with a Read More
RAT Dropped By Two Layers of AutoIT Code Xavier explains how AutoIT was used to install a remote admin tool (RAT) and how to analyse such a tool https://isc.sans.edu/diary/RAT%20Dropped%20By%20Two%20Layers%20of%20AutoIT%20Code/31960 RVTools compromise confirmed Robware.net, the site behind the popular tool RVTools now confirmed that it was compromised. The site is currently Read More
xorsearch.py: Python Functions Didier s xorsearch tool now supports python functions to filter output https://isc.sans.edu/diary/xorsearch.py%3A%20Python%20Functions/31858 Pwn2Own Berlin 2025 Last weeks Pwn2Own contest in Berlin allowed researchers to demonstrate a number of new exploits with a large focus on privilege escalation and virtual machine escape. https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/blog/2025/5/17/pwn2own-berlin-2025-day-three-results Senior US Officials Impersonated in Read More
Web Scanning SonicWall for CVE-2021-20016 - Update Scans for SonicWall increased by an order of magnitude over the last couple of weeks. Many of the attacks appear to originate from Global Host , a low-cost virtual hosting provider. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Web%20Scanning%20SonicWall%20for%20CVE-2021-20016%20-%20Update/31952 Google Update Patches Exploited Chrome Flaw Google released an update for Read More
Another day, another phishing campaign abusing google.com open redirects Google s links from it s maps page to hotel listings do suffer from an open redirect vulnerability that is actively exploited to direct users to phishing pages. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Another%20day%2C%20another%20phishing%20campaign%20abusing%20google.com%20open%20redirects/31950 Adobe Patches Adobe patched 12 different applications. Of particular interest is the Read More
Microsoft Patch Tuesday Microsoft patched 70-78 vulnerabilities (depending on how you count them). Five of these vulnerabilities are already being exploited. In particular, a remote code execution vulnerability in the scripting engine should be taken seriously. It requires the Microsoft Edge browser to run in Internet Explorer mode. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Microsoft%20Patch%20Tuesday%3A%20May%202025/31946 Security Read More
Apple Updates Everything Apple patched all of its operating systems. This update ports a patch for a recently exploited vulnerability to older versions of iOS and macOS. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/31942 It Is 2025, And We Are Still Dealing With Default IoT Passwords And Stupid 2013 Router Vulnerabilities Versions of the Mirai botnet Read More
Steganography Challenge Didier revealed the solution to last weekend s cryptography challenge. The image used the same encoding scheme as Didier described before, but the columns and rows were transposed. https://isc.sans.edu/forums/diary/Steganography%20Challenge%3A%20My%20Solution/31912/ FBI Warns of End-of-life routers The FBI is tracking larger botnets taking advantage of unpatched routers. Many of these Read More
No Internet Access: SSH to the Rescue If faced with restrictive outbound network access policies, a single inbound SSH connection can quickly be turned into a tunnel or a full-blown VPN https://isc.sans.edu/diary/No%20Internet%20Access%3F%20SSH%20to%20the%20Rescue!/31932 SAMSUNG magicINFO 9 Server Flaw Still exploitable The SAMSUNG magicINFO 9 Server Vulnerability we found being exploited last Read More
Example of Modular Malware Xavier analyzes modular malware that downloads DLLs from GitHub if specific features are required. In particular, the webcam module is inspected in detail. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Example%20of%20%22Modular%22%20Malware/31928 Sysaid XXE Vulnerabilities IT Service Management Software Sysaid patched a number of XXE vulnerabilities. Without authentication, an attacker is able to obtain Read More
Python InfoStealer with Embedded Phishing Webserver Didier found an interesting infostealer that, in addition to implementing typical infostealer functionality, includes a web server suitable to create local phishing sites. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Python%20InfoStealer%20with%20Embedded%20Phishing%20Webserver/31924 Android Update Fixes Freetype 0-Day Google released its monthly Android update. As part of the update, it patched a vulnerability Read More
Mirai Now Exploits Samsung MagicINFO CMS CVE-2024-7399 The Mirai botnet added a new vulnerability to its arsenal. This vulnerability, a file upload and remote code execution vulnerability in Samsung s MagicInfo 9 CMS, was patched last August but attracted new attention last week after being mostly ignored so far. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Mirai+Now+Exploits+Samsung+MagicINFO+CMS+CVE20247399/31920 Read More
Steganography Challenge Didier published a fun steganography challenge. A solution will be offered on Saturday. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Steganography+Challenge/31910 Microsoft Makes Passkeys Default Authentication Method Microsoft is now encouraging new users to use Passkeys as the default and only login method, further moving away from passwords https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/security/blog/2025/05/01/pushing-passkeys-forward-microsofts-latest-updates-for-simpler-safer-sign-ins/ Microsoft Authenticator Autofill Changes Microsoft will Read More
Steganography Analysis With pngdump.py: Bitstreams More details from Didiear as to how to extract binary content hidden inside images https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Steganography%20Analysis%20With%20pngdump.py%3A%20Bitstreams/31904 Using Trusted Protocols Against You: Gmail as a C2 Mechanism Attackers are using typosquatting to trick developers into installing malicious python packages. These python packages will use GMail as a Read More
Web Scanning for Sonicwall Vulnerabilities CVE-2021-20016 For the last week, scans for Sonicwall API login and domain endpoints have skyrocketed. These attacks may be exploiting an older vulnerability or just attempting to brute force credentials. https://isc.sans.edu/diary/Web%20Scanning%20Sonicwall%20for%20CVE-2021-20016/31906 The Wizards APT Group SLAAC Spoofing Adversary in the Middle Attacks ESET published an Read More