Article
Akira Targeting SonicWall Devices (Again)
Arete Analysis
Threat Actors
Cybersecurity Trends
A recent wave of Akira ransomware attacks targets SonicWall firewall devices, exploiting a previously identified flaw. Since July, there have been multiple reports of ransomware intrusions leveraging unauthorized access to SonicWall SSLVPN connections. Arete has observed that in the majority of engagements attributed to Akira in July and August, the victim organization used SonicWall devices. Following the recent spike in Akira ransomware attacks, SonicWall released an update stating that the attacks were not related to any new zero-day vulnerability, but instead are correlated with CVE-2024-40766, an older SonicWall VPN access control flaw that was first detected in August 2024.
In line with similar attacks discovered since at least October 2024, attackers swiftly switched from initial network access via SSLVPN accounts to data encryption during this spike in ransomware activity, suggesting a persistent campaign aimed at SonicWall devices.
Akira Activity in 2025
Akira frequently exploits vulnerabilities and targets unsecured VPNs and firewalls, taking advantage of gaps in a target’s infrastructure. Akira’s affinity towards SonicWall is nothing new, as the group has repeatedly found success exploiting vulnerabilities in SonicWall products in the past.
Akira was the most active threat group observed by Arete in 2024 and started 2025 as the top threat in January and February after successfully targeting another critical SonicWall VPN access control flaw (CVE-2024-40766) that multiple other threat groups also exploited.
Following a short hiatus in the middle of 2025, possibly due to the group staging for new attacks, Akira returned to its typical high monthly activity levels. In the past few months, the group has dominated the threat landscape, responsible for over 36% of all ransomware and extortion activity seen by Arete in July and already accounting for over half of Arete’s new engagements in August.
Analyst Comments
Akira remains a mainstay of the cyber ecosystem in 2025 and will likely remain one of the most active ransomware threats this year. Given the group’s past and present focus on vulnerable SonicWall products, it is especially important for users to be aware of this potential threat. Organizations are advised to review SonicWall firewalls with SSLVPN enabled for unauthorized logins, examine device settings, evaluate all configurations as possibly compromised, and carry out the necessary recovery procedures. SonicWall also advises users to disable SSLVPN whenever feasible, limit access to trusted IPs, activate security services like Botnet Protection and Geo-IP Filtering, enforce multi-factor authentication (although this may not completely stop the threat), delete unused accounts, particularly those with SSLVPN access, and use strong passwords. Protecting publicly accessible management interfaces is a fundamental security best practice.
Sources
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CMS Vulnerability Leads to ClickFix Campaign
Threat actors compromised at least 700 education and technology websites in a recent ClickFix campaign by exploiting a critical SQL injection flaw (CVE-2026-26980) in the Ghost content management system (CMS). Adversaries combined the vulnerability with the ClickFix social engineering tactic to steal admin keys and inject a malicious JavaScript that delivers a fake Cloudflare or CAPTCHA verification pop-up, tricking victims into copying and pasting a malicious command into their systems.
What’s Notable and Unique
Rather than targeting the end user first, this campaign is unique in its initial exploitation of the system, followed by social engineering attempts. This hybrid attack style is likely being leveraged to bypass traditional defenses.
This recent campaign also highlights how trusted web properties can be weaponized at scale and coupled with unpatched CMS vulnerabilities. Rather than using the CMS compromise to perpetrate a single attack, threat actors turned it into a supply-chain attack that ultimately affected over 700 trusted websites.
Analyst Comments
As network defenders and their tools enhance threat detection capabilities, adversaries increasingly seek methods to bypass these defenses. By combining vulnerability exploitation, social engineering techniques, and staging for ancillary attacks, this campaign successfully bypassed traditional defenses and inflicted significant impact. Defending against hybrid cyberattacks requires comprehensive security controls beyond simply patching vulnerabilities. Organizations should focus on limiting movement within the environment, detecting abuse of trusted applications, and preventing end-user manipulation.
Sources
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Threat Actors Leverage Fake JPEG Files for Initial Access
In a recent campaign, researchers observed threat actors using fake JPEG image files as a delivery mechanism to initiate the deployment of additional malicious components. The false JPEG files are typically distributed via phishing emails or other social engineering-based lures, and are actually PowerShell-based malware that deploys a trojanized version of ConnectWise ScreenConnect to establish and maintain persistence in the compromised environment.
What’s Notable and Unique
This campaign leverages JPEG images as the initial lure, where the images are not merely decoys but part of the infection workflow. Victims are typically led to download or open an image that triggers hidden execution logic or redirects them to a payload-delivery sequence that initiates later stages of the intrusion chain.
The attack chain is designed to blend into legitimate environments, making detection more difficult. Execution typically relies on scripted or native Windows components, often including PowerShell or other living-off-the-land binaries, enabling fileless or near-fileless execution and reducing forensic artifacts on disk.
The multistage design ensures that the initial JPEG does not directly contain the full payload but instead triggers retrieval or decryption steps that progressively assemble the final malicious components in memory.
Analyst Comments
This campaign illustrates how threat actors continue to blur the line between legitimate file handling and malicious execution chains, indicating potential overlap with remote management or administrative tooling. The use of JPEG-based staging combined with script-based execution reflects a broader evolution toward a stealth-first intrusion design, in which file formats serve as triggers rather than payload containers.
Sources
OPERATION SILENTCANVAS : JPEG BASED MULTISTAGE POWERSHELL INTRUSION
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