AsyncRAT Campaign Uses Python Payloads and TryCloudflare Tunnels for Stealth Attacks
Feb 05, 2025
Malware / Network Security
A malware campaign has been observed delivering a remote access trojan (RAT) named AsyncRAT by making use of Python payloads and TryCloudflare tunnels. "AsyncRAT is a remote access trojan (RAT) that exploits the async/await pattern for efficient, asynchronous communication," Forcepoint X-Labs researcher Jyotika Singh said in an analysis. "It allows attackers to control infected systems stealthily, exfiltrate data and execute commands while remaining hidden – making it a significant cyberthreat." The starting point of the multi-stage attack chain is a phishing email that contains a Dropbox URL that, upon clicking, downloads a ZIP archive. Present within the file is an internet shortcut (URL) file, which serves as a conduit for a Windows shortcut (LNK) file responsible for taking the infection further, while a seemingly benign decoy PDF document is displayed to the message recipient. Specifically, the LNK file is retrieved by means of a TryCloudflare URL embed...