The Breach News

Google Unveils Unpatched and Poorly Fixed Windows 0-Day Vulnerability

Dec 24, 2020

Google’s Project Zero team has disclosed details about a poorly addressed zero-day security flaw in the Windows print spooler API, potentially allowing malicious actors to execute arbitrary code. The flaw was made public after Microsoft failed to resolve it within 90 days of responsible disclosure on September 24. Initially identified as CVE-2020-0986, the vulnerability involves an elevation of privilege exploit in the GDI Print / Print Spooler API (“splwow64.exe”) reported to Microsoft by an anonymous user collaborating with Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) in late December 2019. With no patch provided for nearly six months, ZDI publicly issued a zero-day advisory on May 19, which led to exploitation in a campaign known as “Operation PowerFall” targeting an unnamed South Korean company. “splwow64.exe” is a core Windows system binary that facilitates 32-bit application compatibility.

Google Exposes Unpatched Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability On December 24, 2020, Google’s Project Zero disclosed details about a critical yet poorly patched zero-day vulnerability within the Windows print spooler API. This flaw opens the door for malicious actors to execute arbitrary code, creating significant risks for affected systems. The decision to…

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Google Unveils Unpatched and Poorly Fixed Windows 0-Day Vulnerability

Dec 24, 2020

Google’s Project Zero team has disclosed details about a poorly addressed zero-day security flaw in the Windows print spooler API, potentially allowing malicious actors to execute arbitrary code. The flaw was made public after Microsoft failed to resolve it within 90 days of responsible disclosure on September 24. Initially identified as CVE-2020-0986, the vulnerability involves an elevation of privilege exploit in the GDI Print / Print Spooler API (“splwow64.exe”) reported to Microsoft by an anonymous user collaborating with Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) in late December 2019. With no patch provided for nearly six months, ZDI publicly issued a zero-day advisory on May 19, which led to exploitation in a campaign known as “Operation PowerFall” targeting an unnamed South Korean company. “splwow64.exe” is a core Windows system binary that facilitates 32-bit application compatibility.

Cybercrime Groups ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider Unite for Targeted Extortion Campaign Against Businesses

August 12, 2025
Cybercrime / Financial Security

A continuing data extortion initiative targeting Salesforce clients may soon expand its focus to encompass financial services and tech providers, as recent findings suggest collaboration between ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider. “This latest series of attacks attributed to ShinyHunters indicates a significant tactical shift, moving past their prior methods of credential theft and database exploitation,” reports ReliaQuest to The Hacker News. Their new approach incorporates strategies akin to those used by Scattered Spider, including highly-targeted vishing (voice phishing) and social engineering tactics, the use of applications that pose as legitimate tools, and Okta-themed phishing pages to deceive victims into revealing credentials during vishing attempts, alongside VPN obfuscation for data exfiltration. ShinyHunters, which first emerged in 2020, is a financially motivated group that has executed numerous data breaches targeting major corporations.

Cybercrime Alliances: ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider Collaborate in Targeted Extortion Campaigns August 12, 2025 Cybercrime / Financial Security Recent developments reveal an alarming partnership in the cybercrime landscape, as the notorious groups ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider are joining forces to escalate extortion attacks specifically targeting businesses, including Salesforce customers. This…

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Cybercrime Groups ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider Unite for Targeted Extortion Campaign Against Businesses

August 12, 2025
Cybercrime / Financial Security

A continuing data extortion initiative targeting Salesforce clients may soon expand its focus to encompass financial services and tech providers, as recent findings suggest collaboration between ShinyHunters and Scattered Spider. “This latest series of attacks attributed to ShinyHunters indicates a significant tactical shift, moving past their prior methods of credential theft and database exploitation,” reports ReliaQuest to The Hacker News. Their new approach incorporates strategies akin to those used by Scattered Spider, including highly-targeted vishing (voice phishing) and social engineering tactics, the use of applications that pose as legitimate tools, and Okta-themed phishing pages to deceive victims into revealing credentials during vishing attempts, alongside VPN obfuscation for data exfiltration. ShinyHunters, which first emerged in 2020, is a financially motivated group that has executed numerous data breaches targeting major corporations.

Google Docs Vulnerability Could Have Exposed Your Private Documents to Hackers

On December 29, 2020, a bug in Google’s feedback tool was patched, which could have allowed attackers to access sensitive screenshots of Google Docs by embedding the documents on malicious websites. Discovered by security researcher Sreeram KL on July 9, this flaw earned him a reward of $3,133.70 through Google’s Vulnerability Reward Program. The feedback feature, designed to let users report issues while optionally including screenshots, is implemented across various Google services. Instead of replicating this feature, Google utilizes an iframe element that pulls content from “feedback.googleusercontent.com,” thereby posing a security risk.

Google Docs Vulnerability Exposed: Potential Risk for Private Documents Dec 29, 2020 A recently patched vulnerability in Google’s feedback mechanism poses the risk of exposing sensitive documents within Google Docs to potential attackers. The flaw allowed malicious actors to exploit the integration of the feedback feature across various Google services,…

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Google Docs Vulnerability Could Have Exposed Your Private Documents to Hackers

On December 29, 2020, a bug in Google’s feedback tool was patched, which could have allowed attackers to access sensitive screenshots of Google Docs by embedding the documents on malicious websites. Discovered by security researcher Sreeram KL on July 9, this flaw earned him a reward of $3,133.70 through Google’s Vulnerability Reward Program. The feedback feature, designed to let users report issues while optionally including screenshots, is implemented across various Google services. Instead of replicating this feature, Google utilizes an iframe element that pulls content from “feedback.googleusercontent.com,” thereby posing a security risk.

Charon Ransomware Targets Middle East Industries with Advanced Evasion Techniques

Aug 13, 2025
Endpoint Security / Cybercrime

Cybersecurity researchers have unveiled a new campaign featuring an undocumented ransomware variant named Charon, targeting the public sector and aviation industry in the Middle East. According to Trend Micro, the attackers employed tactics reminiscent of advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, including DLL side-loading and process injection, successfully evading endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems. The use of DLL side-loading parallels techniques associated with the China-linked hacking group Earth Baxia, which has previously targeted government entities in Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region to deploy a backdoor known as EAGLEDOOR, following the exploitation of a now-patched vulnerability in OSGeo GeoServer GeoTools. “The attack chain utilized a legitimate browser-related file, Edge.exe (originally cookie_exporter.exe), to sideload a…”

Charon Ransomware Targets Middle East Sectors with Advanced Evasion Techniques August 13, 2025 Endpoint Security / Cybercrime Recent investigations by cybersecurity experts have unveiled a new wave of malicious activity involving a previously unknown ransomware variant named Charon. This campaign has specifically targeted the public sector and aviation industry across…

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Charon Ransomware Targets Middle East Industries with Advanced Evasion Techniques

Aug 13, 2025
Endpoint Security / Cybercrime

Cybersecurity researchers have unveiled a new campaign featuring an undocumented ransomware variant named Charon, targeting the public sector and aviation industry in the Middle East. According to Trend Micro, the attackers employed tactics reminiscent of advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, including DLL side-loading and process injection, successfully evading endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems. The use of DLL side-loading parallels techniques associated with the China-linked hacking group Earth Baxia, which has previously targeted government entities in Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region to deploy a backdoor known as EAGLEDOOR, following the exploitation of a now-patched vulnerability in OSGeo GeoServer GeoTools. “The attack chain utilized a legitimate browser-related file, Edge.exe (originally cookie_exporter.exe), to sideload a…”

Warning: Publicly Available Exploit for SAP Solution Manager Vulnerability Discovered

Cybersecurity experts have issued a warning regarding a fully-functional exploit now circulating online, which targets SAP enterprise software. This exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability, identified as CVE-2020-6207, resulting from a lack of authentication checks in SAP Solution Manager (SolMan) version 7.2. SAP SolMan is a comprehensive application management solution that facilitates end-to-end application lifecycle management across distributed environments, serving as a central hub for managing SAP systems, including ERP, CRM, HCM, SCM, BI, and more. Researchers at Onapsis stated that successful exploitation could enable a remote, unauthenticated attacker to perform highly privileged administrative tasks within connected SAP SMD Agents, utilized for analyzing and monitoring SAP systems. This vulnerability has a critical CVSS base score of 10.0 and was addressed by SAP in a recent update.

Warning Issued for Fully-Functional Exploit Targeting SAP Solution Manager Vulnerability January 23, 2021 Cybersecurity experts have issued a cautionary alert regarding a newly released, publicly accessible exploit that poses significant risks to SAP enterprise software. This exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability, identified as CVE-2020-6207, which arises from a lack…

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Warning: Publicly Available Exploit for SAP Solution Manager Vulnerability Discovered

Cybersecurity experts have issued a warning regarding a fully-functional exploit now circulating online, which targets SAP enterprise software. This exploit takes advantage of a vulnerability, identified as CVE-2020-6207, resulting from a lack of authentication checks in SAP Solution Manager (SolMan) version 7.2. SAP SolMan is a comprehensive application management solution that facilitates end-to-end application lifecycle management across distributed environments, serving as a central hub for managing SAP systems, including ERP, CRM, HCM, SCM, BI, and more. Researchers at Onapsis stated that successful exploitation could enable a remote, unauthenticated attacker to perform highly privileged administrative tasks within connected SAP SMD Agents, utilized for analyzing and monitoring SAP systems. This vulnerability has a critical CVSS base score of 10.0 and was addressed by SAP in a recent update.

Surge in Brute-Force Attacks on Fortinet SSL VPNs Precedes Focus on FortiManager

August 12, 2025
Threat Intelligence / Enterprise Security

Cybersecurity experts are reporting a significant increase in brute-force traffic directed at Fortinet SSL VPN devices. A coordinated effort, noted by threat intelligence firm GreyNoise, was detected on August 3, 2025, involving over 780 unique IP addresses participating in the attack. In the last 24 hours alone, 56 unique malicious IP addresses have been identified, originating from countries including the United States, Canada, Russia, and the Netherlands.

Targets of this brute-force activity span across the United States, Hong Kong, Brazil, Spain, and Japan. GreyNoise emphasized that the attacks were specifically aimed at their FortiOS profile, indicating a deliberate targeting strategy rather than opportunistic behavior. The firm also reported observing two distinct waves of assaults before and after August 5, with one being a prolonged brute-force attack.

Fortinet SSL VPNs Targeted by Surge in Brute-Force Attacks as Threat Actors Shift Focus to FortiManager August 12, 2025 Threat Intelligence / Enterprise Security Cybersecurity experts have identified a notable increase in brute-force attack traffic directed at Fortinet SSL VPN devices, raising alarms in the cybersecurity community. According to the…

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Surge in Brute-Force Attacks on Fortinet SSL VPNs Precedes Focus on FortiManager

August 12, 2025
Threat Intelligence / Enterprise Security

Cybersecurity experts are reporting a significant increase in brute-force traffic directed at Fortinet SSL VPN devices. A coordinated effort, noted by threat intelligence firm GreyNoise, was detected on August 3, 2025, involving over 780 unique IP addresses participating in the attack. In the last 24 hours alone, 56 unique malicious IP addresses have been identified, originating from countries including the United States, Canada, Russia, and the Netherlands.

Targets of this brute-force activity span across the United States, Hong Kong, Brazil, Spain, and Japan. GreyNoise emphasized that the attacks were specifically aimed at their FortiOS profile, indicating a deliberate targeting strategy rather than opportunistic behavior. The firm also reported observing two distinct waves of assaults before and after August 5, with one being a prolonged brute-force attack.

Why a Recent Supply Chain Attack Targeted Security Companies Checkmarx and Bitwarden

Checkmarx has reported that a recent data breach appears to have stemmed from its GitHub repositories, with access facilitated by a supply chain attack that occurred on March 23, 2023. While the exact types of data that were compromised remain undisclosed, this incident highlights the vulnerabilities inherent in software development…

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Top 5 Bug Bounty Platforms to Watch in 2021

February 8, 2021

While Gartner has yet to establish a dedicated Magic Quadrant for Bug Bounty or Crowd Security Testing, its Peer Insights platform currently lists 24 vendors in the “Application Crowdtesting Services” category. We’ve identified the top 5 most promising bug bounty platforms for those looking to enhance their software testing strategies with insights and expertise from global security researchers:

  1. HackerOne
    As a leading name in the bug bounty space, backed by notable venture capitalists, HackerOne is widely recognized worldwide. According to their latest annual report, over 1,700 companies rely on HackerOne to strengthen their in-house application security testing. The report highlights that their security researchers earned around $40 million in bounties in 2019 alone, contributing to a cumulative total of $82 million. HackerOne is also known for coordinating bug bounty programs for the US government, among others.

Emerging Bug Bounty Platforms to Spotlight in 2021 As of February 8, 2021, while there is currently no dedicated Magic Quadrant for Bug Bounties or Crowd Security Testing from Gartner, Gartner Peer Insights recognizes 24 vendors in the category of “Application Crowdtesting Services.” This evolving landscape warrants attention from business…

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Top 5 Bug Bounty Platforms to Watch in 2021

February 8, 2021

While Gartner has yet to establish a dedicated Magic Quadrant for Bug Bounty or Crowd Security Testing, its Peer Insights platform currently lists 24 vendors in the “Application Crowdtesting Services” category. We’ve identified the top 5 most promising bug bounty platforms for those looking to enhance their software testing strategies with insights and expertise from global security researchers:

  1. HackerOne
    As a leading name in the bug bounty space, backed by notable venture capitalists, HackerOne is widely recognized worldwide. According to their latest annual report, over 1,700 companies rely on HackerOne to strengthen their in-house application security testing. The report highlights that their security researchers earned around $40 million in bounties in 2019 alone, contributing to a cumulative total of $82 million. HackerOne is also known for coordinating bug bounty programs for the US government, among others.

From HealthKick to GOVERSHELL: Tracing the Development of UTA0388’s Espionage Malware

Oct 09, 2025
Cyber Espionage / Artificial Intelligence

A China-aligned threat group referred to as UTA0388 has been linked to a series of spear-phishing campaigns targeting North America, Asia, and Europe, with the intent of deploying a Go-based implant known as GOVERSHELL. According to a report from Volexity, “The initial campaigns were meticulously crafted for specific targets, using messages that appeared to come from senior researchers and analysts at convincingly fake organizations.” The aim of these spear-phishing efforts was to manipulate targets into clicking links leading to a remotely hosted archive containing a malicious payload. Over time, the threat actor has employed various lures and invented identities, utilizing multiple languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, French, and German. Early versions of these campaigns often included links to phishing content hosted on either cloud services or their own infrastructure.

From HealthKick to GOVERSHELL: The Rise of UTA0388’s Espionage Malware On October 9, 2025, a significant cybersecurity threat emerged from a China-aligned group known as UTA0388, which has been linked to a series of spear-phishing campaigns targeting entities in North America, Asia, and Europe. These operations are primarily aimed at…

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From HealthKick to GOVERSHELL: Tracing the Development of UTA0388’s Espionage Malware

Oct 09, 2025
Cyber Espionage / Artificial Intelligence

A China-aligned threat group referred to as UTA0388 has been linked to a series of spear-phishing campaigns targeting North America, Asia, and Europe, with the intent of deploying a Go-based implant known as GOVERSHELL. According to a report from Volexity, “The initial campaigns were meticulously crafted for specific targets, using messages that appeared to come from senior researchers and analysts at convincingly fake organizations.” The aim of these spear-phishing efforts was to manipulate targets into clicking links leading to a remotely hosted archive containing a malicious payload. Over time, the threat actor has employed various lures and invented identities, utilizing multiple languages, including English, Chinese, Japanese, French, and German. Early versions of these campaigns often included links to phishing content hosted on either cloud services or their own infrastructure.