Tag: powershell
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Kazuar Backdoor Uses DLL Side-Loading and PowerShell Loaders for Stealthy Execution
Turla’s Kazuar backdoor has re-emerged as a technically sophisticated persistence and reconnaissance tool that combines DLL side-loading with PowerShell-based loaders to achieve stealthy execution and resilient command-and-control. This side-loading technique minimizes disk activity tied to novel executables and leverages trusted host processes to bypass naive allowlists and detection heuristics. The delivery chain frequently uses multi-layered,…
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Go-Based Gentlemen Ransomware Uses PsExec, WMIC, and PowerShell Remoting for Network Propagation
Gentlemen, a Go-based ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) active since mid-2025, has distinguished itself with a potent combination of modern cryptography, aggressive worm-like propagation, and a broad toolkit for remote execution. Operators offer the platform to affiliates, and recent recruitment ties to major breach forums appear to have expanded its reach since the affiliate program launch in late…
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Hackers Exploit WinRAR CVE-2025-8088 to Plant Startup Shortcut and Run PowerShell Loader
Hackers have weaponized a WinRAR path-traversal flaw tracked as CVE-2025-8088 to silently plant a Startup shortcut and run a multi-stage PowerShell loader that maps a headerless, reflectively loaded PE in memory. The campaign reuses the Ukrainian reconnaissance-themed lure seen in earlier UAC-0226/GIFTEDCROOK activity but significantly advances operational packaging: instead of relying on a user to…
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Malicious npm Package Masquerades as PostCSS Utility to Deliver PowerShell Downloader
A malicious npm package, postcss-minify-selector-parser, has been discovered masquerading as a benign PostCSS utility and delivering a multi-stage Windows remote access trojan (RAT). The imposter deliberately mimics the widely used postcss-selector-parser a legitimate library with more than 150 million weekly downloads by reusing the same keyword space (postcss, selector, parser, css) and depending on the…
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Hackers Inject Malicious JavaScript Into WordPress Sites to Deploy ErrTraffic ClickFix Lures
Hackers are injecting malicious JavaScript into compromised WordPress sites to deploy ErrTraffic-powered ClickFix lures, a campaign that achieved nearly 60% victim conversion rates an unprecedented figure in malware ecosystems. Threat actors exploit WordPress vulnerabilities to inject a single line of JavaScript that visually glitches websites, then trick users into executing malicious PowerShell commands under the…
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Hackers Inject Malicious JavaScript Into WordPress Sites to Deploy ErrTraffic ClickFix Lures
Hackers are injecting malicious JavaScript into compromised WordPress sites to deploy ErrTraffic-powered ClickFix lures, a campaign that achieved nearly 60% victim conversion rates an unprecedented figure in malware ecosystems. Threat actors exploit WordPress vulnerabilities to inject a single line of JavaScript that visually glitches websites, then trick users into executing malicious PowerShell commands under the…
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Hackers Use Fake Claude Code Guide and AI PDFs to Spread AsyncRAT Malware
Hackers are using fake Claude Code guide and AI PDFs to spread AsyncRAT malware via Windows attack using PowerShell and Defender exclusions. First seen on hackread.com Jump to article: hackread.com/hackers-fake-claude-code-guide-ai-pdfs-asyncrat/
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Hackers Weaponize Trusted Tools to Deploy Notorious Malware
Attackers are leaning harder on legitimate, preinstalled, or widely used system tools to deliver and operate notorious malware families, creating a stealthy, high-velocity threat that outpaces many traditional defenses. The operational logic for attackers is straightforward. Native utilities such as PowerShell, Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), certutil, mshta, and JavaScript execution contexts already enjoy elevated privileges…
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Mustang Panda Uses LNK, PowerShell Chain to Deploy PlugX RAT
Mustang Panda is using a fake “Browser Updater” and a multi”‘stage LNKPowerShell loader to sideload PlugX through a legitimate G DATA antivirus binary, ultimately beaconing over HTTPS to a hard”‘coded C2 while hiding configuration and strings behind layered encryption and API hashing. Mustang Panda is a China”‘nexus APT group, long associated with PlugX remote access…
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Hackers Use SEO Poisoning to Fake Gemini CLI, Claude Installers
Financially motivated threat actors are running an active campaign that impersonates Google’s Gemini CLI and Anthropic’s Claude Code, using SEO poisoning to deliver a fileless PowerShell infostealer to developer workstations worldwide. First identified in early March 2026 by EclecticIQ researchers, the campaign represents a calculated escalation in supply-chain-focused eCrime targeting AI developer tooling. The infection…
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Hackers Use SEO Poisoning to Fake Gemini CLI, Claude Installers
Financially motivated threat actors are running an active campaign that impersonates Google’s Gemini CLI and Anthropic’s Claude Code, using SEO poisoning to deliver a fileless PowerShell infostealer to developer workstations worldwide. First identified in early March 2026 by EclecticIQ researchers, the campaign represents a calculated escalation in supply-chain-focused eCrime targeting AI developer tooling. The infection…
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Legacy Microsoft Utility Fuels New Wave of Malware
Researchers Link MSHTA Windows Utility to Lumma Stealer, ClickFix Campaigns. Cybercriminals continue abusing Microsoft’s legacy MSHTA utility to deliver malware, with researchers saying that the default-enabled Windows component remains a favored living-off-the-land tool for PowerShell attacks, info stealers and multi-stage malware loaders. First seen on govinfosecurity.com Jump to article: www.govinfosecurity.com/legacy-microsoft-utility-fuels-new-wave-malware-a-31716
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Internet Explorer may be dead, but its ghost still runs malware
A legacy Windows tool that refuses to die: Bitdefender’s findings suggest MSHTA remains attractive because it checks several boxes attackers like. These include it being Microsoft-signed, preinstalled on Windows, capable of in-memory execution, and still implicitly trusted in many environments.Other sophisticated campaigns picked it up too. Bitdefender detailed PurpleFox using MSHTA to launch ‘msiexec’ commands…
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JavaScript Malware Campaign Drops Crypto Clipper via PowerShell
A large-scale CountLoader campaign that uses layered obfuscation, multi-stage payload delivery, and covert command-and-control (C2) communication to deploy cryptocurrency clipper malware. The campaign stands out for its complex infection chain, combining JavaScript, PowerShell, and in-memory shellcode execution to evade detection and maintain persistence across infected systems. The attack begins with a malicious executable that launches…
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What 45 Days of Watching Your Own Tools Will Tell You About Your Real Attack Surface
In Your Biggest Security Risk Isn’t Malware, It’s What You Already Trust, we made a simple argument: the most dangerous activity inside most organizations no longer looks like an attack. It looks like administration. PowerShell, WMIC, netsh, Certutil, MSBuild, the same trusted utilities your IT team uses every day are also the preferred toolkit of…
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Fake Claude Code Page Pushes PowerShell Stealer at Devs
Ontinue uncovers fake Claude Code installer pushing PowerShell stealer abusing Chrome’s IElevator2 First seen on infosecurity-magazine.com Jump to article: www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/fake-claude-code-installer/
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Active Directory Lab Setup for Penetration Testing Using PowerShell
This article provides a complete walkthrough of both phases, from clicking >>Create a New Virtual Machine<< in VMware all the way to a fully First seen on hackingarticles.in Jump to article: www.hackingarticles.in/active-directory-lab-setup-for-penetration-testing-using-powershell/
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New Global Scam Uses Fake Meeting Links to Run PowerShell Malware
BlueNoroff hackers used fake Zoom calls, ClickFix prompts, and fileless PowerShell malware to steal credentials from Web3 and crypto targets. The post New Global Scam Uses Fake Meeting Links to Run PowerShell Malware appeared first on TechRepublic. First seen on techrepublic.com Jump to article: www.techrepublic.com/article/news-lazarus-bluenoroff-fake-video-call-malware/
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North Korean Hackers Target Pharma Firms with Malware-Laced Excel Attacks
North Korean state-backed hackers are using weaponized Excel-themed files to infect pharmaceutical and life science companies with malware, abusing Windows shortcut files, PowerShell, and cloud storage for stealthy data theft. The campaign begins with highly tailored spear”‘phishing emails sent to drug manufacturers and related life science organizations. Messages typically reference legitimate”‘sounding topics such as ERP…
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North Korean Hackers Target Pharma Firms with Malware-Laced Excel Attacks
North Korean state-backed hackers are using weaponized Excel-themed files to infect pharmaceutical and life science companies with malware, abusing Windows shortcut files, PowerShell, and cloud storage for stealthy data theft. The campaign begins with highly tailored spear”‘phishing emails sent to drug manufacturers and related life science organizations. Messages typically reference legitimate”‘sounding topics such as ERP…
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ClickFix Attack Swaps PowerShell for Cmdkey, Remote Regsvr32 Payloads
A newly identified ClickFix attack variant is raising concerns among cybersecurity researchers after it was observed replacing traditional PowerShell-based delivery with a stealthier technique leveraging native Windows utilities. The infection begins with a familiar ClickFix tactic: a phishing page disguised as a CAPTCHA verification prompt. Victims are instructed to press Win + R, paste a…
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Hackers Exploit Pastebin PowerShell Script to Hijack Telegram Sessions
Hackers are experimenting with a new Telegram”‘focused session stealer that hides in a Pastebin”‘hosted PowerShell script posing as a Windows telemetry update, giving defenders a rare view into how such tools are built and tested. The script does not attempt to grab passwords or browser credentials; instead, it focuses entirely on Telegram’s desktop client data…
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Hackers Tie Iranian Espionage to CastleRAT and ChainShell
A direct operational link between Iran’s MuddyWater espionage group and the Russian TAG-150 CastleRAT malware-as-a-service (MaaS) platform, showing how state and criminal ecosystems are now tightly intertwined. Investigators recovered 15 malware samples, including at least two CastleRAT “builds” and a PowerShell script named reset.ps1 that deploys a previously undocumented JavaScript/Node.js agent dubbed ChainShell. On this server, two native…
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PureRAT Hides PE Payloads in PNGs for Fileless Execution
A multi-stage PureRAT campaign that hides portable executable (PE) payloads inside PNG images and executes them almost entirely in memory, making detection and forensics significantly harder for defenders. The campaign combines steganography, PowerShell-based loaders, UAC bypass, process hollowing, and anti-virtualization checks to remain stealthy on compromised systems. The attack begins with a weaponized .LNK file…