Cyware Daily Threat Intelligence, March 19, 2025

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Daily Threat Briefing • March 19, 2025

Cyber threats are increasingly targeting sensitive industries and posing national security concerns. Ukraine’s CERT-UA has raised alarms about a wave of cyberattacks leveraging the DarkCrystal RAT to target defense industry professionals and military entities. The attackers are using Signal messenger to send phishing messages disguised as trusted contacts, luring victims into opening a fake PDF file containing a malware dropper.

When even your AI assistant can be tricked into working for hackers, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Security researchers have uncovered a supply chain attack known as the 'Rules File backdoor,' which compromises AI-powered code editors like GitHub Copilot and Cursor. Meanwhile, in the healthcare sector, PoC exploits have surfaced for vulnerabilities in Sante PACS servers. These flaws, including CVE-2025-2263 through CVE-2025-2284, could enable unauthorized data access and system disruption.

Top Malware Reported in the Last 24 Hours

CERT-UA warns of DarkCrystal RAT attacks

Ukraine's CERT-UA issued a security alert about targeted cyberattacks using the DarkCrystal RAT against defense industry workers and military entities. These attacks, ongoing since March 2025, use the Signal messenger to spread phishing messages containing harmful files. Attackers use social engineering, often sending messages pretending to be from trusted contacts. The harmful files include a bogus “.pdf” and an executable named DarkTortilla, which launches the remote administration tool DarkCrystal RAT (DCRAT) to give attackers remote access to systems.

ClearFake campaign drops Lumma and Vidar

A new ClearFake campaign was found using fake reCAPTCHA and Cloudflare Turnstile verifications to trick users into downloading malware like Lumma Stealer and Vidar Stealer. First observed in July 2023, it employs fake web browser update alerts on compromised WordPress sites for malware distribution. The campaign also relies on another technique called EtherHiding to fetch payloads by utilizing Binance's Smart Chain (BSC) contracts. Both Windows and macOS systems are targeted. Another attack chain infected over 9,300 websites and exposed around 200,000 users to malware lures.

Ox Thief employs ransomware extortion tactics

A threat group dubbed Ox Thief threatened a victim to pay to protect its data, claiming it had stolen 47GB of sensitive files. The group showed samples of the stolen data and warned of severe consequences if the ransom wasn't paid, including legal issues and reputational harm. The group also mentioned contacting journalist Brian Krebs, Troy Hunt, EFF, and Edward Snowden for further pressure.

Top Vulnerabilities Reported in the Last 24 Hours

Rules File backdoor impacts AI code editors

Researchers revealed a new supply chain attack dubbed 'Rules File backdoor' that affects AI code editors like GitHub Copilot and Cursor, allowing hackers to inject malicious code. Hackers can add harmful instructions to configuration files used by these tools, leading to silently compromised AI-generated code. The technique manipulates the AI into producing vulnerable code by embedding malicious prompts and using invisible characters.

PoC exploits released for Sante PACS servers

Multiple serious security vulnerabilities have been found in the Sante PACS Server, commonly used for managing medical images. These issues could let attackers access sensitive data and disrupt services. Key vulnerabilities include CVE-2025-2263, CVE-2025-2264, CVE-2025-2265, and CVE-2025-2284. These flaws pose various risks, including stack-based buffer overflow, unauthenticated file downloads, and denial of service. Users are urged to upgrade to version 4.2.0 or later to mitigate these risks.

State-backed actors abuse Windows zero-day

An unpatched security flaw in Microsoft Windows has been exploited by 11 state-backed groups from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia since 2017, targeting data theft and espionage. This zero-day vulnerability, tracked as ZDI-CAN-25373 by the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), allows attackers to run harmful commands using specially crafted Windows Shortcut (.lnk) files. Exploit detection becomes challenging due to hidden command line arguments filled with whitespace characters. Nearly 1,000 affected files have been found, mostly linked to Evil Corp and Kimsuky. Significant targets include governments and organizations in the US, Canada, and South Korea. Microsoft has deemed the issue low severity and will not provide a fix, although there are detection measures in place through Microsoft Defender.

Authentication bypass in AMI's MegaRAC BMC 

A critical vulnerability in AMI's MegaRAC Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) software can allow attackers to take control of servers. The security flaw, CVE-2024-54085, can be exploited without user interaction. Attackers could potentially deploy malware, tamper with firmware, or cause servers to reboot endlessly. Several servers, including models from HPE Cray XD670 and Asus RS720A-E11-RS24U, are vulnerable if not patched. Over 1,000 servers are exposed online.

Synology issues update for a critical flaw

Synology released updates for a critical security vulnerability affecting its products, including Synology BeeStation Manager (BSM), DiskStation Manager (DSM), and Unified Controller (DSMUC). The most severe issue, CVE-2024-10441, allows remote code execution (RCE) with a severity score of 9.8. Other vulnerabilities include CVE-2024-10445, which has a moderate severity score of 4.3, and CVE-2024-50629, with a moderate severity score of CVSS 5.3. Users are advised to upgrade to the latest versions to stay secure.

Top Scams Reported in the Last 24 Hours

AMOS and Lumma stealers hit Reddit users

Researchers spotted a phishing scam targeting cryptocurrency trading communities on Reddit with links to cracked versions of the TradingView software, laced with Lumma Stealer and AMOS malware. The scam targets both Windows and macOS users. Hosted on a compromised Dubai cleaning company site, the double-zipped, password-protected payload files steal personal data and crypto wallets, with command servers linked to Russia and the Seychelles, exploiting victims and spreading phishing links further.

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