Kaspersky is tracking an active campaign that spreads through WhatsApp by hijacking real accounts and sending their contacts a script file disguised as a business or financial document, with no accompanying message. If a Windows user opens it, the script disables User Account Control protections and silently installs ManageEngine Endpoint Central, a legitimate IT remote-management tool, configured to connect to attacker servers and hand them remote control of the machine. Using trusted contacts and signed, legitimate software helps the attack slip past suspicion and many security tools. The campaign spans several countries, with most confirmed victims in Malaysia, and how the WhatsApp accounts are compromised is still unknown.
A critical flaw in SimpleHelp, a remote support and management tool used by IT teams and managed service providers, lets an unauthenticated attacker create a privileged technician account and skip multi-factor authentication. The bug (CVE-2026-48558) only affects servers configured to use OpenID Connect (OIDC) single sign-on, including Azure AD, and stems from how the server validates identity assertions from the login provider. A rogue technician can then remote into managed machines and run scripts, giving attackers a foothold across every connected endpoint. Researchers found roughly 14,000 SimpleHelp servers exposed online, with about 7 percent using the vulnerable OIDC setup. The flaw affects versions 5.5.15 and earlier.
Mandiant has detailed how the extortion crew Silent Ransom Group (also tracked as Luna Moth and UNC3753) is breaking into US law firms and other professional-services companies through phone calls rather than malware. Attackers send a harmless-looking invoice or data-migration email, then call the target pretending to be internal IT support, talk them into starting a screen-share, and get them to install a remote management tool that hands over access. From there, Mandiant has seen data located, staged, and stolen in under an hour. The group skips encryption entirely, instead threatening to leak stolen files unless paid. A recent FBI alert added in-person office visits to the playbook.
CISA added four flaws to KEV on April 24 with a May 8 federal deadline. The headline is CVE-2024-57726 (CVSS 9.9), a missing authorization in SimpleHelp RMM that lets a low-privileged technician mint API keys above their role and escalate to server admin; companion CVE-2024-57728 (CVSS 7.2) chains a path traversal for RCE. SimpleHelp featured in DragonForce and Akira ransomware campaigns last year. CVE-2024-7399 (CVSS 8.8) is a Samsung MagicINFO 9 path traversal with a public PoC since 2024. The fourth, CVE-2025-29635, is the D-Link DIR-823X bug we covered last week.