network security | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

As many as 159 CVE identifiers have been flagged as exploited in the wild in the first quarter of 2025, up from 151 in Q4 2024. "We continue to see vulnerabilities being exploited at a fast pace with 28.3% of vulnerabilities being exploited within 1-day of their CVE disclosure," VulnCheck said in a report shared with The Hacker News. This translates to 45 security flaws that have been weaponized in real-world attacks within a day of disclosure. Fourteen other flaws have been exploited within a month, while another 45 flaws were abused within the span of a year.  The cybersecurity company said a majority of the exploited vulnerabilities have been identified in content management systems (CMSes), followed by network edge devices, operating systems, open-source software, and server software. The breakdown is as follows - Content Management Systems (CMS) (35) Network Edge Devices (29) Operating Systems (24) Open Source Software (14) Server Software (14) The leading...

Phishing attacks remain a huge challenge for organizations in 2025. In fact, with attackers increasingly leveraging identity-based techniques over software exploits, phishing arguably poses a bigger threat than ever before.  Attackers are increasingly leveraging identity-based techniques over software exploits, with phishing and stolen credentials (a byproduct of phishing) now the primary cause of breaches. Source: Verizon DBIR Attackers are increasingly leveraging identity-based techniques over software exploits, with phishing and stolen credentials (a byproduct of phishing) now the primary cause of breaches. Source: Verizon DBIR Attackers are turning to identity attacks like phishing because they can achieve all of the same objectives as they would in a traditional endpoint or network attack, simply by logging into a victim's account. And with organizations now using hundreds of internet apps across their workforce, the scope of accounts that can be phished or targeted with s...

The problem is simple: all breaches start with initial access, and initial access comes down to two primary attack vectors – credentials and devices. This is not news; every report you can find on the threat landscape depicts the same picture.  The solution is more complex. For this article, we'll focus on the device threat vector. The risk they pose is significant, which is why device management tools like Mobile Device Management (MDM) and Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) are essential components of an organization's security infrastructure. However, relying solely on these tools to manage device risk actually creates a false sense of security. Instead of the blunt tools of device management, organizations are looking for solutions that deliver device trust . Device trust provides a comprehensive, risk-based approach to device security enforcement, closing the large gaps left behind by traditional device management solutions. Here are 5 of those limitations and how to ov...

ASUS has disclosed a critical security flaw impacting routers with AiCloud enabled that could permit remote attackers to perform unauthorized execution of functions on susceptible devices. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-2492 , has a CVSS score of 9.2 out of a maximum of 10.0. "An improper authentication control vulnerability exists in certain ASUS router firmware series," ASUS said in an advisory. "This vulnerability can be triggered by a crafted request, potentially leading to unauthorized execution of functions." The shortcoming has been addressed with firmware updates for the following branches - 3.0.0.4_382 3.0.0.4_386 3.0.0.4_388, and 3.0.0.6_102 For optimal protection, it's recommended to update their instances to the latest version of the firmware. "Use different passwords for your wireless network and router administration page," ASUS said. "Use passwords that have at least 10 characters, with a mix of capital letter...

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 ...

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, in ...

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...

Cybersecurity researchers have unearthed a new controller component associated with a known backdoor called BPFDoor as part of cyber attacks targeting telecommunications, finance, and retail sectors in South Korea, Hong Kong, Myanmar, Malaysia, and Egypt in 2024. "The controller could open a reverse shell," Trend Micro researcher Fernando Mercês said in a technical report published earlier in the week. "This could allow lateral movement, enabling attackers to enter deeper into compromised networks, allowing them to control more systems or gain access to sensitive data. The campaign has been attributed with medium confidence to a threat group it tracks as Earth Bluecrow, which is also known as DecisiveArchitect, Red Dev 18, and Red Menshen. The lower confidence level boils down to the fact that the BPFDoor malware source code was leaked in 2022 , meaning it could also have bee adopted by other hacking groups. BPFDoor is a Linux backdoor that first came to light in...

Fortinet has revealed that threat actors have found a way to maintain read-only access to vulnerable FortiGate devices even after the initial access vector used to breach the devices was patched. The attackers are believed to have leveraged known and now-patched security flaws, including, but not limited to, CVE-2022-42475 , CVE-2023-27997 , and CVE-2024-21762 . "A threat actor used a known vulnerability to implement read-only access to vulnerable FortiGate devices," the network security company said in an advisory released Thursday. "This was achieved via creating a symbolic link connecting the user file system and the root file system in a folder used to serve language files for the SSL-VPN." Fortinet said the modifications took place in the user file system and managed to evade detection, causing the symbolic link (aka symlink) to be left behind even after the security holes responsible for the initial access were plugged. This, in turn, enabled the threa...

What are IABs? Initial Access Brokers (IABs) specialize in gaining unauthorized entry into computer systems and networks, then selling that access to other cybercriminals. This division of labor allows IABs to concentrate on their core expertise: exploiting vulnerabilities through methods like social engineering and brute-force attacks.  By selling access, they significantly mitigate the risks associated with directly executing ransomware attacks or other complex operations. Instead, they capitalize on their skill in breaching networks, effectively streamlining the attack process for their clients. This business model enables IABs to operate with a lower profile and reduced risk, while still profiting from their technical skills. Operating primarily on dark web forums and underground markets, IABs can function independently or as part of larger organizations like Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) gangs.  They act as a crucial link in the cybercrime ecosystem, providing the i...

Palo Alto Networks has revealed that it's observing brute-force login attempts against PAN-OS GlobalProtect gateways, days after threat hunters warned of a surge in suspicious login scanning activity targeting its appliances. "Our teams are observing evidence of activity consistent with password-related attacks, such as brute-force login attempts, which does not indicate exploitation of a vulnerability," a spokesperson for the company told The Hacker News. "We continue to actively monitor this situation and analyze the reported activity to determine its potential impact and identify if mitigations are necessary." The development comes after threat intelligence firm GreyNoise alerted of a spike in suspicious login scanning activity aimed at PAN-OS GlobalProtect portals. The company further noted that the activity commenced on March 17, 2025, hitting a peak of 23,958 unique IP addresses before dropping off towards the end of last month. The pattern indicates...

Fortinet has released security updates to address a critical security flaw impacting FortiSwitch that could permit an attacker to make unauthorized password changes. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2024-48887 , carries a CVSS score of 9.3 out of a maximum of 10.0. "An unverified password change vulnerability [CWE-620] in FortiSwitch GUI may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to modify admin passwords via a specially crafted request," Fortinet said in an advisory released today. The shortcoming impacts the following versions - FortiSwitch 7.6.0 (Upgrade to 7.6.1 or above) FortiSwitch 7.4.0 through 7.4.4 (Upgrade to 7.4.5 or above) FortiSwitch 7.2.0 through 7.2.8 (Upgrade to 7.2.9 or above) FortiSwitch 7.0.0 through 7.0.10 (Upgrade to 7.0.11 or above), and FortiSwitch 6.4.0 through 6.4.14 (Upgrade to 6.4.15 or above) The network security company said the security hole was internally discovered and reported by Daniel Rozeboom of the FortiSwitch web UI develo...

Cybersecurity agencies from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States have published a joint advisory about the risks associated with a technique called fast flux that has been adopted by threat actors to obscure a command-and-control (C2) channel. "'Fast flux' is a technique used to obfuscate the locations of malicious servers through rapidly changing Domain Name System (DNS) records associated with a single domain name," the agencies said . "This threat exploits a gap commonly found in network defenses, making the tracking and blocking of malicious fast flux activities difficult." The advisory comes courtesy of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Australian Signals Directorate's Australian Cyber Security Centre, Canadian Centre for Cyber Security, and New Zealand's National Cyber Security Centre. Fast flux has been embraced by many...

Ivanti has disclosed details of a now-patched critical security vulnerability impacting its Connect Secure product that has come under active exploitation in the wild. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-22457 (CVSS score: 9.0), concerns a case of a stack-based buffer overflow that could be exploited to execute arbitrary code on affected systems. "A stack-based buffer overflow in Ivanti Connect Secure before version 22.7R2.6, Ivanti Policy Secure before version 22.7R1.4, and Ivanti ZTA Gateways before version 22.8R2.2 allows a remote unauthenticated attacker to achieve remote code execution," Ivanti said in an alert released Thursday. The flaw impacts the following products and versions - Ivanti Connect Secure (versions 22.7R2.5 and prior) - Fixed in version 22.7R2.6 (Patch released on February 11, 2025) Pulse Connect Secure (versions 9.1R18.9 and prior) - Fixed in version 22.7R2.6 (Contact Ivanti to migrate as the device has reached end-of-support as of December ...

When assessing an organization's external attack surface, encryption-related issues (especially SSL misconfigurations) receive special attention . Why? Their widespread use, configuration complexity, and visibility to attackers as well as users make them more likely to be exploited.  This highlights how important your SSL configurations are in maintaining your web application security and minimizing your attack surface. However, research shows that most (53.5%) websites have  inadequate security and that  weak SSL/TLS configuration is amongst the most common application vulnerabilities. Get your SSL configuration right, and you'll enhance your cyber resilience and keep your apps and data safe. Get it wrong, however, and you can increase your organization's attack surface, exposing your business to more cyberattacks. We'll explore the impacts of SSL misconfigurations and explain why they present such a significant attack surface risk. Then, we'll show you how a s...