All news with #zero day exploitation tag

🔒 Check Point researchers say attackers rapidly weaponized CVE-2025-8088, a path traversal flaw in the Microsoft Windows version of WinRAR, to deliver crafted archives that execute arbitrary code and maintain persistence. The campaign used the open-source Havoc Framework and targeted government and law-enforcement organisations in Southeast Asia. Check Point attributes the activity to a group dubbed Amaranth-Dragon, whose tools and tactics resemble APT41. Organisations are advised to prioritise patching and monitor for suspicious archive files.

🔒 Datadog Security Labs disclosed an active web-traffic hijacking campaign that leverages the critical React2Shell vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182, CVSS 10.0) to inject malicious nginx configurations. Attackers use multi-stage shell scripts to create proxy_pass rules that route requests to attacker-controlled backends, focusing on Asian and government/education TLDs and Baota management panels. GreyNoise telemetry links the activity to two dominant IPs and over 1,000 unique sources.

🔒 CISA has flagged a critical SolarWinds Web Help Desk vulnerability (CVE-2025-40551) as actively exploited and ordered federal agencies to patch within three days under BOD 22-01. The flaw is an untrusted data deserialization weakness that can enable unauthenticated remote command execution; SolarWinds released Web Help Desk 2026.1 on January 28 to address it. Administrators are urged to apply the patch immediately and verify affected systems.

🛡️ Google disrupted the IPIDEA residential proxy network by seizing or sinkholing command-and-control domains, cutting operators' ability to route traffic and reducing millions of exit nodes that had been recruited via bundled SDKs or monetization lures. Microsoft released an out‑of‑band patch for an actively exploited Office zero‑day (CVE-2026-21509), while Ivanti fixed two EPMM RCEs. CERT Polska attributed destructive intrusions against Polish energy assets to Static Tundra, and criminals were observed hijacking exposed LLM endpoints for resale and lateral access. Researchers also documented new modular frameworks, open BYOB C2 repositories, and continued exploitation of web platforms and DevOps tooling.

⚠️ Ivanti has released security updates addressing two critical zero-day code-injection flaws in Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) — CVE-2026-1281 and CVE-2026-1340 (both CVSS 9.8) — which enable unauthenticated remote code execution and have been observed in limited attacks. One of the defects, CVE-2026-1281, was added to CISA’s KEV catalog, imposing a Federal remediation deadline of February 1, 2026. A temporary RPM patch is available for affected 12.x releases but does not persist through upgrades; Ivanti plans a permanent fix in EPMM 12.8.0.0 due Q1 2026. Customers are urged to check Apache access logs using the provided regex, inspect administrative and configuration changes, and restore or rebuild compromised appliances if indicators of attack are found.

⚠ Ivanti disclosed two critical code-injection vulnerabilities in Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM), CVE-2026-1281 and CVE-2026-1340, both rated 9.8 and observed in limited zero-day exploitation. The flaws allow unauthenticated remote arbitrary code execution and exposure of administrator, user, and managed-device data. Ivanti published RPM hotfixes to mitigate affected builds, advised immediate application, and warned hotfixes must be reapplied after upgrades until a permanent 12.8.0.0 fix is released in Q1 2026.

⚠️ Fortinet disclosed a critical authentication-bypass zero-day (CVE-2026-24858) that affects FortiCloud SSO and can let attackers compromise FortiGate, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer devices. The vendor temporarily disabled FortiCloud SSO globally on Jan 26 to stop active exploitation and re-enabled it Jan 27 with server-side blocking that prevents logins from vulnerable firmware. FortiOS 7.4.11 is available and additional patched releases are being rolled out; most fixes are still listed as "upcoming."

⚠️ Google’s Threat Intelligence Group warns that multiple actors — including state-backed clusters from Russia and China and financially motivated groups — are actively exploiting CVE-2025-8088, a WinRAR path-traversal bug patched in WinRAR 7.13. Attackers craft malicious archives that drop payloads into the Windows Startup folder (often via ADS-hidden LNKs) to achieve persistence and execute on login. Google advises upgrading to WinRAR 7.13+, monitoring Startup items and alternate data streams, and blocking malicious archive extraction.

🔒 Microsoft warns administrators of a critical Office security-bypass zero-day, CVE-2026-21509, that is being actively exploited. The flaw leverages legacy OLE document support to bypass protections similar to Office macros, enabling code execution when a user opens a malicious file. Microsoft has released fixes — automatic for Office 2021 and later, and separate updates for Office 2016 and 2019 — and notes affected applications must be restarted for patches to take effect.

🔒 Security researchers report that the high-severity CVE-2025-8088 path traversal in WinRAR is being actively exploited by both state-sponsored and criminal groups to gain initial access. The flaw leverages Alternate Data Streams (ADS) inside archives to hide payloads and uses directory traversal to drop LNK, HTA, BAT, CMD or script files, frequently into the Windows Startup folder for persistence. ESET and Google observed campaigns beginning in July 2025 and continuing into 2026, tied to actors such as RomCom, Turla and APT44 as well as financially motivated operators. Organizations should apply patches, monitor ADS/archive extraction behavior, and block or alert on suspicious startup items.

⚠️A critical sandbox escape in Pyodide used by Grist-Core allows remote code execution from a single malicious spreadsheet formula. Discovered by Cyera Research Labs and rated CVSS 9.1, the flaw leverages Python's object model, ctypes and exposed Emscripten runtime hooks to traverse from cell data into host runtimes. Grist patched the issue in v1.7.9 by running Pyodide under Deno and adding permission-based isolation; operators should upgrade promptly and treat formula execution as a privileged capability.

🛡️ Microsoft has released a patch addressing a high-severity zero-day in Microsoft Office that the company says has been exploited in the wild. Tracked as CVE-2026-21509 with a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.8, the flaw lets an attacker bypass OLE mitigations by relying on untrusted inputs in a security decision and requires only that a user open a malicious Office file. Microsoft urges users of Office 2016 and 2019 to install the update; Office 2021 and later will receive a service-side fix but require application restarts to take effect.

🛡️ Microsoft released an out-of-band patch for a high-severity Microsoft Office zero-day, tracked as CVE-2026-21509, rated CVSS 7.8 for a security feature bypass exploited in attacks. The flaw bypasses OLE mitigations for COM/OLE controls and requires a specially crafted Office file and user interaction; Microsoft says the Preview Pane is not an attack vector. Customers running Office 2021 and later receive a service-side fix (restart Office); Office 2016 and 2019 require installed updates. Microsoft also published a manual registry mitigation, and CISA added the flaw to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

🔒 Microsoft has issued emergency out-of-band updates to patch a high-severity Office zero-day, tracked as CVE-2026-21509, which is being actively exploited. The vulnerability allows an unauthenticated local attacker to bypass Office security features by convincing a user to open a malicious file; Microsoft says the preview pane is not an attack vector. Updates cover Microsoft 365 Apps and Office LTSC 2021/2024; fixes for Office 2016 and 2019 are pending. Microsoft and reporting outlets published registry-based mitigations administrators can apply until official updates are available.

🚗 The third annual Pwn2Own Automotive contest in Tokyo revealed 76 unique zero-day vulnerabilities across targets from Tesla infotainment to EV chargers, with Trend Micro's Zero Day Initiative paying out more than $1 million. A Fuzzware.io team took top honors, earning Master of Pwn with $215,500 and a $60,000 single-exploit prize for an Alpitronic HYC50 out-of-bounds write. Other teams compromised Automotive Grade Linux and exploited charger logic to install a playable Doom on a charger's screen. Vendors are urged to patch promptly.

⚠️ CISA has added CVE-2024-37079, a critical heap overflow in Broadcom VMware vCenter's DCE/RPC implementation, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog citing evidence of active exploitation. The flaw (CVSS 9.8) can enable remote code execution via a crafted network packet; Broadcom released fixes in June 2024 alongside CVE-2024-37080, with related patches issued in September 2024. Broadcom confirms in‑the‑wild abuse and Federal civilian agencies must update to the latest vCenter release by February 13, 2026.

🔒 Fortinet has confirmed a new attack campaign that exploits an unpatched zero-day vulnerability to bypass authentication across SAML SSO implementations, including FortiCloud SSO. The activity, observed in mid-January, involves extraction of firewall configurations and creation of administrative and VPN-capable accounts. Fortinet is working on a fix and recommends updating to the latest releases, restoring clean backups, rotating all credentials, disabling FortiCloud SSO administrative logins, and restricting administrative access to trusted subnets.

🔒 Pwn2Own Automotive 2026 concluded in Tokyo with researchers awarded $1,047,000 for exploiting 76 zero-day vulnerabilities between January 21 and 23. The contest targeted fully patched in-vehicle infotainment systems, EV chargers, and car operating systems including Automotive Grade Linux. Team Fuzzware.io won top prize with $215,000; vendors have 90 days to issue fixes before public disclosure by the Zero Day Initiative.

🔐 A critical vulnerability in GNU InetUtils telnetd (CVE-2026-24061) enables remote attackers to bypass authentication and gain root access by supplying a crafted USER environment string. The flaw, present in releases 1.9.3 through 2.7, occurs because telnetd forwards an unvalidated USER value to /usr/bin/login, which interprets "-f root" as an authentication bypass. Administrators should apply patches or disable telnetd until updates are installed.

🔍 VulnCheck’s State of Exploitation 2026 report finds 28.96% of known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs) were exploited before or on the day they were disclosed, up from 23.6% in 2024. In 2025 the firm observed exploitation of 884 vulnerabilities — a 15% year‑over‑year increase — across hundreds of vendors and products. Network edge devices (191 KEVs), content management systems (163) and open source software (129) were the most targeted, while operating systems saw the highest share of zero‑day and one‑day exploits. The report also notes time‑to‑exploitation patterns remained consistent and that ransomware attribution often lagged initial exploit disclosures.