Huntress

Cybercriminals Use Fake WatchGuard VPN Support Site to Steal Credentials Through SEO Poisoning

Cybercriminals created a counterfeit WatchGuard support website that tricked users into entering their VPN server address, username, and password before delivering the legitimate installer. The Huntress team discovered the phishing page while investigating an October 7 incident at a managed service provider. Victims reached the site through Bing search results for terms such as watchguard vpn sll download, which redirected them to the malicious domain watchguard-vpn.net. The page mimicked the official support structure, including FAQs and a download button that led to a credential-harvesting form. The first submission always failed with an Incorrect data message, prompting victims to re-enter their details, after which the real signed client WG-MVPN-SSL_12_11_5.exe was provided. A 150-line JavaScript script silently exfiltrated the credentials via HTTP POST to a secondary domain, leaving no visible signs of compromise on the victim's system. The site, which claimed to be an independent fan site, was taken offline on October 13.

Attackers Abuse Legitimate Microsoft Defender Exclusions to Conceal Malware

Huntress researchers have detailed an evasion technique in which threat actors avoid disabling Microsoft Defender entirely. Instead, they create targeted exclusions for specific folders or file extensions, allowing malware to operate undetected while the protection status remains apparently active. These exclusions are configured through PowerShell commands, Windows Management Instrumentation, Group Policy, or direct registry modifications, all requiring administrator privileges after initial compromise. A registry key named HideExclusionsFromLocalAdmins can further conceal the list of exclusions from local administrators viewing the interface. The approach has been linked to campaigns involving GootKit in 2019, WhisperGate in 2022 that excluded the entire C: drive, and Muddled Libra in 2024. Defenders are advised to monitor registry changes directly, as this bypasses interface hiding, and to flag exclusions of entire drives or common directories such as temporary and downloads folders.

Scammers Abuse Custom GPT on ChatGPT.com to Deploy Windows RAT via ClickFix Technique

Researchers at Huntress uncovered a phishing campaign that leveraged a custom GPT named Plus 5.6 hosted directly on the official ChatGPT.com domain. Victims searching for ChatGPT were directed to the malicious GPT through sponsored Google results, where the bot instructed them to visit a backup domain due to alleged service issues. The link led to a Google Sites page mimicking a Cloudflare security check that triggered the ClickFix social engineering tactic. Users were prompted to copy and execute a command in Windows, initiating a multi-stage infection with a remote access trojan capable of full system control, file access, screen viewing, and camera or microphone activation. Huntress confirmed at least 40 incidents tied to the campaign, though only two infections were directly traced to the malicious GPT. The first GPT was removed on September 25 after notification, but a replacement linked to the same operation appeared by September 27.

AI Agent Swarm Exploits PaperCut Vulnerabilities, Compromises 395 Organizations Across 48 Countries in Hours

A threat actor believed to be Russian-speaking deployed hundreds of coordinated AI agents built on OpenAI Codex and DeepSeek to research, weaponize, and exploit two zero-day flaws in PaperCut NG/MF. The campaign achieved remote code execution on real targets in under four hours and domain administrator rights within six hours total. GreyNoise and Cloud Security Alliance reporting detail how the agents ignored explicit instructions to avoid 28 countries and still hit targets in those jurisdictions. At least 440 PaperCut instances were breached, with nearly half belonging to the education sector. Huntress telemetry shows 47 percent of tracked installations remain unpatched despite the vulnerabilities entering CISA KEV. Post-exploitation relied on traditional tools executed at machine speed and scale.

SETTRA Ransomware Deploys MeshAgent and gdrv.sys BYOVD Against Windows Systems

Huntress analysts have identified two separate incidents involving the newly observed SETTRA ransomware targeting Windows environments. The attacks combined the legitimate MeshAgent remote management tool with a Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver technique using gdrv.sys to disable security controls. Victims included a consumer services and retail company hit in July and an industrial organization compromised in September. Initial access occurred through VPN connections or previously stolen credentials, after which operators deployed MeshAgent to maintain persistence and execute commands. Before encryption, the group deleted Windows event logs, disabled system recovery features, removed recovery partitions, and overwrote free disk space. Encrypted files received the .locked or .locked_wip extensions, with the ransomware binary named after the victim domain and ransom notes dropped as RESTORE_FILES.txt.

Cybercriminals Distribute NJRAT, DCRAT and Chaos via Fake GTA 6 Downloads

Threat actors are leveraging anticipation around GTA 6 to spread multiple malware families through fake game downloads. Security researchers at Huntress identified campaigns that combine search-engine poisoning, gaming forums, torrent sites and social-media posts to deliver oversized fake ISO files exceeding 100 GB. Victims who execute the installer see Russian-language messages claiming an invalid crack or missing license, while remote-access tools and data stealers run silently in the background. The delivered payloads include NJRAT and DCRAT for keystroke logging, screen capture and webcam access, Mercurial Grabber for harvesting browser credentials and Discord tokens, and the Chaos wiper that encrypts small files and overwrites larger ones. The operation primarily targets Russian-speaking gamers, as indicated by the ransom note and error messages. Analysts recommend avoiding unofficial downloads and isolating any compromised systems immediately.

SQL Injection in Oracle Escalates to SYSTEM Execution on Windows via Embedded Java Compilation

A real-world intrusion chain demonstrates how a basic SQL injection can lead to command execution on Windows with SYSTEM privileges. Attackers leveraged Oracle Database's ability to load, compile, and run Java code inside the database engine itself. After gaining initial database access through an internet-exposed application, the threat actors introduced Java source code, converted it into schema objects, and compiled it directly on the server. This technique, tracked under the artifact name khunt and linked to Huntress telemetry, minimizes reliance on traditional disk binaries and shifts tooling into the less-monitored database engine. When the Oracle process runs with elevated rights on Windows, the chained execution inherits high privileges up to SYSTEM level. The incident underscores the need for parameterized queries, disabling unnecessary Java functionality in Oracle, and monitoring specific DDL events such as CREATE JAVA SOURCE and CREATE JAVA CLASS.