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A critical security flaw in Issabel Framework , a web-based framework for the open-source unified communications PBX software, has come under active exploitation. The vulnerability in question is CVE-2026-89026 (CVSS v3.1 score: 9.8/CVSS v4.0 score: 9.3), which can allow an unauthenticated remote attacker to execute arbitrary operating system (OS) commands by taking advantage of a hard-coded JSON Web Token (JWT) signing key. The Issabel Framework "contains a hard-coded HS256 JWT signing key in the pbxapi index.php file that is identical across every installation, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to forge valid bearer tokens," VulnCheck said in an alert. "Attackers can use the forged token to call the manager '/pbxapi/manager/originate' endpoint with the System application parameter, causing Asterisk to execute arbitrary OS commands as the Asterisk user." A patch for the vulnerability was pushed on August 1, 2026, and plugs the flaw by r...

Enterprises in Russia have emerged as the target of three threat activity clusters tracked as NightEagle , Hacking Cat , and Toy Ghouls , according to multiple reports from Kaspersky. The cybersecurity vendor said it has identified attacks mounted by NightEagle (aka APT-Q-95), a threat actor known to be active since at least 2023, that involve new techniques for persistence and lateral movement. "In most incidents, the attackers used compromised valid credentials to gain access to corporate VPNs," Kaspersky said in an analysis published today. "VPN connections originated from IP addresses in the Russian segment linked to Cloudflare WARP tunnels, as well as from IP addresses associated with European virtual infrastructure providers." The attacks, as highlighted in July 2025, involve the deployment of GhostContainer , a known modular backdoor that grants the operators complete access to a victim's Microsoft Exchange Server, as well as run arbitrary code, ...

Security researchers at Forever Security have shown that one ordinary browser extension could take control of the AI assistants built into five Chromium-based products: Gemini Live in Chrome, Perplexity Comet, Microsoft Edge, Opera Neon and the Claude in Chrome extension. Once the extension was installed, it could access each product's built-in AI with a single click. On Comet, Edge, Opera Neon, and Claude in Chrome, it could drive the AI agent to act on behalf of the attacker; on Chrome and Comet, it could read files from the user's computer, and on Chrome, it could also switch on the camera and microphone. The findings are researcher demonstrations, not attacks seen in the wild, and each requires the attacker's extension to be already running in the victim's browser. These products all work the same way. The AI has a "body" inside the browser that can see the screen, open files, use the camera, and take actions, and a "brain" that runs on th...

Mandiant says an attacker hijacked an active AI coding-assistant session at an unnamed software-as-a-service provider and later spread  Shai-Hulud  across about 100 internal code repositories. Before the repository spread, the assistant recommended software that the attacker had poisoned, and the recommendation was accepted. The worm stole repository secrets and source code for the company's products. The case appears in  Mandiant's September 2026 report . The public case study does not say when the intrusion happened or how the attacker took over the active coding-assistant session. How the Attack Unfolded After the recommendation was accepted, the attacker used the developer's active session to install an infostealer through a poisoned PyPI package. The attacker also stole GitHub OAuth tokens. The attacker then deployed the self-spreading Shai-Hulud worm across approximately 100 internal code repositories. The attacker also poisoned a package in the company...

Parallels Desktop for Mac has a flaw that lets an ordinary local account run code as root, the highest level of access on a Mac, software company JFrog said this week. The attack needs code already running on the machine as a normal user, so it does not work over the network. JFrog says the fix is in Parallels Desktop 27, a version that Intel Macs cannot install. Yuval Moravchick, who leads JFrog's vulnerability research team,  published the finding  on Tuesday and calls it ParaShells. The flaw is tracked as  CVE-2026-90894 , an identifier JFrog assigned itself, and JFrog rates it 7.8 out of 10. Parallels Desktop runs Windows and Linux inside virtual machines on a Mac. It installs a background service called prl_disp_service that runs as root, because its work includes setting up host networking and unpacking virtual machine packages. The flaw is on the Mac side of the product, so the machine at risk is the Mac itself rather than the virtual machines on...

N0va is targeting organizations across North America and Europe with phishing campaigns that impersonate trusted services and abuse legitimate authentication flows. Successful attacks can give threat actors access to valid accounts without relying on obvious malware activity. From there, a single compromised identity can open the door to sensitive data, business systems, and additional cloud resources. The longer that access goes unnoticed, the greater the potential for wider compromise, operational disruption, and financial loss. N0va Is Reaching Organizations Across High-Risk Sectors N0va activity has been observed across organizations in government, technology, consulting, healthcare, and other sectors in North America and Europe. Its use of trusted business platforms and cloud services makes the campaign relevant across a wide range of organizations. N0va phishing campaign attack details Related activity can be traced in ANY.RUN’s Threat Intelligence Lookup using a chara...

Google has disclosed that a high-severity security flaw in its Pixel Cellular Modem has come under exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-58704 (CVSS score: 8.0), is a privilege escalation flaw. "In Cellular Modem, there is a possible permission bypass due to a logic error in the code," according to a description of the bug in the NIST National Vulnerability Database (NVD). "This could lead to remote (proximal/adjacent) escalation of privilege with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is not needed for exploitation." In an advisory issued Tuesday, Google acknowledged that it has found indications that "CVE-2026-58704 may be under limited, targeted exploitation" but stopped short of sharing any further details surrounding the nature of the attacks exploiting it, as well as the identity of the threat actor behind them. Besides CVE-2026-58704, Google has addressed 109 other security flaws as part of...

A leaked credential shows up in a criminal marketplace, or a vulnerability gets a disclosure advisory, and either one can be weaponized against a real target before most security teams have triaged the alert. Attackers are combining that kind of intelligence with AI-assisted exploitation to accelerate the path from exposure to breach faster than most security programs are built to react. Intelligence is still the earliest signal defenders get, and a leaked credential turning up in a feed is proof of how useful that signal has become. The problem sits one step later, in what happens after the signal arrives. The Queue Where Risk Accumulates In most organizations, a high-value indicator waits in a queue instead of getting acted on right away, until someone with the offensive skill to test it actually has the time to determine whether it's exploitable in that specific environment, on that specific day. That queue, more than any shortage of intelligence, is where exposure builds...

Acronis has warned that a high-severity security flaw in its Backup plugin for cPanel and Web Host Manager (WHM) deployments has been exploited in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-87886 (CVSS score: 7.8), is described as a case of local privilege escalation due to insecure file permissions. It affects the following versions - Acronis Backup plugin for cPanel & WHM (Linux) before build 1.9.3.1021 - Fixed in 1.9.3 HF3 Acronis Backup extension for Plesk (Linux) before build 1.8.11.638 Successful exploitation of the flaw could allow an attacker with low privileges to escalate their permissions on a susceptible Linux version, potentially enabling them to perform unauthorized actions or run arbitrary code that could impact the confidentiality and integrity of the application. "This update contains fixes for 1 high-severity security vulnerability and should be installed immediately by all users," Acronis noted in a separate advisory for 1.9.3 HF3...

Threat actors are exploiting a critical security flaw in WooCommerce Wholesale Lead Capture, a premium WordPress plugin that has more than 6,000 active installs. "This vulnerability can be leveraged by unauthenticated attackers to upload arbitrary files, including PHP backdoors, and achieve remote code execution," Wordfence said . The WordPress security company said it has blocked over 100,000 exploit attempts targeting the vulnerability since June 2026, with 99 of those attack attempts recorded over the past 24 hours. The vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-27540 (CVSS score: 9.8). The issue is a case of arbitrary file uploads due to missing file type validation in an AJAX action named "wwlc_file_upload_handler" that impacts all versions of the plugin up to, and including, 2.0.3.1. This opens the door for an unauthenticated attacker to upload arbitrary files on the affected site's server, paving the way for remote code execution. In the attack obse...

A critical security flaw in WSO2 API Manager has come under active exploitation in the wild, according to findings from watchTowr. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-5430 (CVSS score: 9.8/10.0), is a case of improper verification of a cryptographic signature that could result in account takeover. Hacktron Team has been credited with discovering and reporting the flaw. "JWT authentication can be bypassed when a token is signed using an unsupported algorithm, allowing unauthorized access," according to an advisory released by WSO2 in May 2026. "Successful exploitation of the vulnerability may lead to unauthorized access, including potential compromise of administrative accounts and full account takeover." The shortcoming affects the following products - WSO2 API Control Plane: 4.6.0, 4.5.0 WSO2 API Manager: 4.6.0, 4.5.0, 4.4.0, 4.3.0, 4.2.0, 4.1.0 WSO2 Traffic Manager: 4.6.0, 4.5.0 WSO2 Universal Gateway: 4.6.0, 4.5.0 Fixes are available...

Cybersecurity researchers have shed light on a previously undocumented Brazilian banking malware operation that delivers a toolkit called KREMLIN . Elastic Security Labs is tracking the activity under the moniker REF9334 . Active since at least May 2025, the threat actor has used lures that impersonate a dozen Brazilian banks and install a malicious browser extension on Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge. "The KREMLIN malware ecosystem employs multi-stage JavaScript loaders, custom C++ installers, and malicious browser extensions to steal credentials, session tokens, and sensitive data," security researchers Cyril François and Andrew Pease said in a technical report shared with The Hacker News. "Malicious browser extensions bypass Chromium integrity mechanisms by manipulating Secure Preferences and regenerating required HMACs, and App-Bound encrypted hashes." A defining aspect of the operation is the use of blockchain to conceal the threat actor-controlled...

Cybersecurity agencies in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands have detailed a Windows malware that they say Iran's intelligence service uses to spy on dissidents, journalists, and activists around the world. The malware is controlled via the Telegram messaging app and can copy a target's emails and chat messages, take screenshots, and activate the microphone to record audio. The FBI calls it HEAVYGRAM , and the U.K.'s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) calls it CHOSEN BRICK . The  joint advisory  was published on September 15 by the NCSC , the FBI, and the Netherlands' intelligence service, the AIVD. The FBI also released an  updated analysis  of the malware that expands on a  March 2026 alert , the first to describe the campaign, with more technical detail and new indicators of compromise. The FBI attributes the malware to Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), the country's main intelligence agency, and dates th...

Cybersecurity researchers have disclosed details of a multi-platform campaign that uses the Message Queueing Telemetry Transport ( MQTT ) protocol as a communication channel to control Windows and Linux systems. The emerging malware family, codenamed BambooToken , is assessed to be active since at least February 2023 and put to use in attacks targeting organizations across Asia and South America. Activity linked to the malware has been detected as recently as July 2026. Lumen Black Lotus Labs said it discovered the previously undocumented malware on VirusTotal in early 2026, with evidence pointing to a skilled threat actor that has managed to stay undetected until now. The initial access vector used to deliver BambooToken remains undetermined. "The actor used Tendyron's 'OnKey' software to sideload agents into targeted machines," Black Lotus Labs said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "Tendyron creates hardware-based tokens employed in high-se...

With artificial intelligence (AI) shrinking the window between vulnerability discovery and exploitation and lowering the barrier to entry for bad actors, new findings from Sysdig show that skilled human operators can move just as swiftly after gaining initial access. In one instance highlighted by the cloud security company, the threat actor pivoted from a vulnerable Marimo notebook to an SSH bastion host in eight seconds using a custom Python toolkit they "wrote and debugged by hand" without any AI agent in the loop. "Eight seconds is the kind of speed we expect to see in AI-assisted attacks," the Sysdig Threat Research Team said . "This operator got there on skill alone, and along the way walked straight past a trap that every agentic threat actor (ATA) we've profiled against this same CVE fell into. Not only can skilled human attackers move at machine speed, but they can also often better evade defenders' detections." The attack chain ha...

Introduction Security teams have gotten pretty good at testing against what can hurt them. Can this EDR agent catch this payload? Will my organization fail the phishing simulation? Does this SIEM rule fire on this particular technique? And, in more mature organizations, this testing happens continuously rather than as a one-off exercise. But no matter how much you validate against these exposures, it doesn't fix the main problem the industry is facing: these are isolated, disconnected testing.  And real attackers, increasingly AI Powered ones, don't test techniques one at a time. They chain them. A phishing email leads to a credential harvest. That harvest leads to an initial foothold. The foothold leads to privilege escalation, then lateral movement, then data staging, then exfiltration… until the damage is irreversibly done.  Any one of those individual steps might be something a security control is theoretically capable of catching - but there's just too many po...