Article
Velociraptor DFIR Tool Used in Ransomware Attacks
Arete Analysis
Cyber Threats
Recent reporting indicates that threat actors are exploiting Velociraptor – a DFIR tool designed for legitimate endpoint monitoring and incident response across Windows, Linux, and macOS systems – by using outdated versions vulnerable to privilege escalation, allowing arbitrary command execution and complete host compromise. As a result, the threat actors were able to deploy variants of Warlock, LockBit, and Babuk ransomware. This activity is believed to be attributed to the Storm-2603, a suspected China-based threat actor that has been observed deploying Warlock and LockBit ransomware in previous attacks.
What’s Notable and Unique
Researchers first identified in August 2025 that threat actors were abusing Velociraptor for remote access, leveraging the tool to download and execute Visual Studio Code on compromised hosts, which was then used to establish a secure communication tunnel with its command and control (C2) infrastructure.
In this recent campaign, threat actors are exploiting an outdated version of Velociraptor that is vulnerable to CVE-2025-6264, which enables arbitrary command execution and endpoint takeover, allowing the attackers to maintain persistence, run programs remotely, and create scheduled tasks to execute batch scripts.
Analyst Comments
The misuse of legitimate software such as Velociraptor in ransomware campaigns presents a significant challenge for defenders. By exploiting trusted security tools, threat actors can conceal their malicious activity within normal administrative behavior, making detection and response more difficult. This tactic not only undermines confidence in security utilities but also underscores the need for strict version control, continuous monitoring of administrative tool usage, and robust behavioral analytics to effectively distinguish between legitimate and malicious actions within enterprise environments. Arete does not use Velociraptor and maintains rigorous controls over the tools we use to ensure they are secure.
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Article
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
700+ education and tech websites hijacked in huge ClickFix malware campaign
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Article
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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