The Hacker News | #1 Trusted Source for Cybersecurity News

Cybersecurity researchers are warning of continued risks posed by a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) malware known as XorDDoS , with 71.3 percent of the attacks between November 2023 and February 2025 targeting the United States. "From 2020 to 2023, the XorDDoS trojan has increased significantly in prevalence," Cisco Talos researcher Joey Chen said in a Thursday analysis.  "This trend is not only due to the widespread global distribution of the XorDDoS trojan but also an uptick in malicious DNS requests linked to its command-and-control (C2) infrastructure. In addition to targeting commonly exposed Linux machines, the trojan has expanded its reach to Docker servers, converting infected hosts into bots." Nearly 42 percent of the compromised devices are located in the United States, followed by Japan, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Morocco, and China. XorDDoS is a well-known malware that has a track record of striking Linux systems for over a decade. In May 2022...

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Thursday added a medium-severity security flaw impacting Microsoft Windows to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities ( KEV ) catalog, following reports of active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability, assigned the CVE identifier CVE-2025-24054 (CVSS score: 6.5), is a Windows New Technology LAN Manager ( NTLM ) hash disclosure spoofing bug that was patched by Microsoft last month as part of its Patch Tuesday updates. NTLM is a legacy authentication protocol that Microsoft officially deprecated last year in favor of Kerberos. In recent years, threat actors have found various methods to exploit the technology, such as pass-the-hash and relay attacks, to extract NTLM hashes for follow-on attacks. "Microsoft Windows NTLM contains an external control of file name or path vulnerability that allows an unauthorized attacker to perform spoofing over a network," CISA said. In a bulletin published in March, Mi...

The China-linked threat actor known as Mustang Panda has been attributed to a cyber attack targeting an unspecified organization in Myanmar with previously unreported tooling, highlighting continued effort by the threat actors to increase the sophistication and effectiveness of their malware. This includes updated versions of a known backdoor called TONESHELL , as well as a new lateral movement tool dubbed StarProxy, two keyloggers codenamed PAKLOG, CorKLOG, and an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) evasion driver referred to as SplatCloak . "TONESHELL, a backdoor used by Mustang Panda, has been updated with changes to its FakeTLS command-and-control (C2) communication protocol as well as to the methods for creating and storing client identifiers," Zscaler ThreatLabz researcher Sudeep Singh said in a two-part analysis . Mustang Panda, also known as BASIN, Bronze President, Camaro Dragon, Earth Preta, HoneyMyte, and RedDelta, is a China-aligned state-sponsored threat ...

Multiple state-sponsored hacking groups from Iran, North Korea, and Russia have been found leveraging the increasingly popular ClickFix social engineering tactic to deploy malware over a three-month period from late 2024 through the beginning of 2025. The phishing campaigns adopting the strategy have been attributed to clusters tracked as TA427 (aka Kimsuky), TA450 (aka MuddyWater), UNK_RemoteRogue, and TA422 (aka APT28). ClickFix has been an initial access technique primarily affiliated with cybercrime groups, although the effectiveness of the approach has led to it also being adopted by nation-state groups. "The incorporation of ClickFix is not revolutionizing the campaigns carried out by TA427, TA450, UNK_RemoteRogue, and TA422 but instead is replacing the installation and execution stages in existing infection chains," enterprise security firm Proofpoint said in a report published today. ClickFix , in a nutshell, refers to a sneaky technique that tricks users int...

Talking about AI: Definitions Artificial Intelligence (AI) — AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines, enabling them to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as decision-making and problem-solving. AI is the broadest concept in this field, encompassing various technologies and methodologies, including Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning. Machine Learning (ML) — ML is a subset of AI that focuses on developing algorithms and statistical models that allow machines to learn from and make predictions or decisions based on data. ML is a specific approach within AI, emphasizing data-driven learning and improvement over time. Deep Learning (DL) — Deep Learning is a specialized subset of ML that uses neural networks with multiple layers to analyze and interpret complex data patterns. This advanced form of ML is particularly effective for tasks such as image and speech recognition, making it a crucial component of many AI applications. Larg...

A critical security vulnerability has been disclosed in the Erlang/Open Telecom Platform (OTP) SSH implementation that could permit an attacker to execute arbitrary code sans any authentication under certain conditions. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-32433 , has been given the maximum CVSS score of 10.0. "The vulnerability allows an attacker with network access to an Erlang/OTP SSH server to execute arbitrary code without prior authentication," Ruhr University Bochum researchers Fabian Bäumer, Marcus Brinkmann, Marcel Maehren, and Jörg Schwenk said . The issue stems from improper handling of SSH protocol messages that essentially permit an attacker to send connection protocol messages prior to authentication. Successful exploitation of the shortcomings could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the SSH daemon . Further exacerbating the risk, if the daemon process is running as root, it enables the attacker to have full control of the device, i...

AI agents have rapidly evolved from experimental technology to essential business tools. The OWASP framework explicitly recognizes that Non-Human Identities play a key role in agentic AI security. Their analysis highlights how these autonomous software entities can make decisions, chain complex actions together, and operate continuously without human intervention. They're no longer just tools, but an integral and significant part of your organization's workforce. Consider this reality: Today's AI agents can analyze customer data, generate reports, manage system resources, and even deploy code, all without a human clicking a single button. This shift represents both tremendous opportunity and unprecedented risk. AI Agents are only as secure as their NHIs Here's what security leaders are not necessarily considering: AI agents don't operate in isolation . To function, they need access to data, systems, and resources. This highly privileged, often overlooked acces...

Blockchain is best known for its use in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, but it also holds significant applications for online authentication. As businesses in varying sectors increasingly embrace blockchain-based security tools, could the technology one day replace passwords? How blockchain works  Blockchain is a secure way to maintain, encrypt, and exchange digital records of transactions. Its security benefits stem from its decentralized nature: this distributed ledger can be accessed by participants across various nodes , and is unalterable. All users retain control as a group, meaning no single person can change the ledger. How could this provide security benefits? One advantage is the ability to create a 'self-sovereign ID' that alters the way that a user identifies themselves online. Essentially, it creates a private ID for a user that they control, rather than relying on a centralized institution : they can logon to a particular website or service using their identity on...

Microsoft is calling attention to an ongoing malvertising campaign that makes use of Node.js to deliver malicious payloads capable of information theft and data exfiltration. The activity, first detected in October 2024, uses lures related to cryptocurrency trading to trick users into installing a rogue installer from fraudulent websites that masquerade as legitimate software like Binance or TradingView. The downloaded installer comes embedded with a dynamic-link library ("CustomActions.dll") that's responsible for harvesting basic system information using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) and setting up persistence on the host via a scheduled task. In an attempt to keep up the ruse, the DLL launches a browser window via " msedge_proxy.exe " that displays the legitimate cryptocurrency trading website. It's worth noting that "msedge_proxy.exe" can be used to display any website as a web application. The scheduled task, in the meanwhile...

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Wednesday added a security flaw impacting SonicWall Secure Mobile Access ( SMA ) 100 Series gateways to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities ( KEV ) catalog, based on evidence of active exploitation. The high-severity vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2021-20035 (CVSS score: 7.2), relates to a case of operating system command injection that could result in code execution. "Improper neutralization of special elements in the SMA100 management interface allows a remote authenticated attacker to inject arbitrary commands as a 'nobody' user, which could potentially lead to code execution," SonicWall said in an advisory released in September 2021. The flaw impacts SMA 200, SMA 210, SMA 400, SMA 410, and SMA 500v (ESX, KVM, AWS, Azure) devices running the following versions - 10.2.1.0-17sv and earlier (Fixed in 10.2.1.1-19sv and higher) 10.2.0.7-34sv and earlier (Fixed in 10.2.0.8-37sv and higher) 9.0...

Apple on Wednesday released security updates for iOS, iPadOS, macOS Sequoia, tvOS, and visionOS to address two security flaws that it said have come under active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerabilities in question are listed below - CVE-2025-31200 (CVSS score: 7.5) - A memory corruption vulnerability in the Core Audio framework that could allow code execution when processing an audio stream in a maliciously crafted media file CVE-2025-31201 (CVSS score: 6.8) - A vulnerability in the RPAC component that could be used by an attacker with arbitrary read and write capability to bypass Pointer Authentication The iPhone maker said it addressed CVE-2025-31200 with improved bounds checking and CVE-2025-31201 by removing the vulnerable section of code. Both the vulnerabilities have been credited to Apple, along with Google Threat Analysis Group (TAG) for reporting CVE-2025-31200. Apple, as is typically the case with such advisories, said it's aware that the issues have b...