CyberHappenings logo
☰
Home Browse About

Track cybersecurity events as they unfold. Sourced timelines. Filter, sort, and browse. Fast, privacy‑respecting. No invasive ads, no tracking.

GeoServer RCE Exploit Used in Federal Agency Breach

First reported
Last updated
3 unique sources, 4 articles

Summary

Hide ▲

A U.S. federal civilian executive branch (FCEB) agency was breached in July 2024 after attackers exploited an unpatched GeoServer instance. The attackers gained initial access through a critical remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability (CVE-2024-36401) and moved laterally within the network, deploying web shells and scripts for persistence and privilege escalation. The breach remained undetected for three weeks until the agency's Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) tool alerted the Security Operations Center (SOC). The attackers exploited the vulnerability in GeoServer, which was patched in June 2024 but remained unpatched in the agency's environment. They used brute force techniques for lateral movement and privilege escalation, accessing service accounts and deploying web shells like China Chopper. The breach highlights the importance of timely patching, continuous monitoring of EDR alerts, and comprehensive incident response plans. Recently, CISA added a high-severity XML External Entity (XXE) flaw (CVE-2025-58360) in GeoServer to its KEV catalog due to evidence of active exploitation. This flaw affects versions prior to and including 2.25.5, and versions 2.26.0 through 2.26.1. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to access arbitrary files, conduct SSRF attacks, or launch DoS attacks. Federal agencies are advised to apply the required fixes by January 1, 2026. CISA has ordered federal agencies to patch the actively exploited GeoServer vulnerability (CVE-2025-58360) by January 1, 2026. The flaw is being actively exploited in XML External Entity (XXE) injection attacks, allowing threat actors to launch denial-of-service attacks, access confidential data, or perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) to interact with internal systems. The vulnerability is present in GeoServer 2.26.1 and prior versions and can be exploited through the /geoserver/wms operation GetMap endpoint.

Timeline

  1. 12.12.2025 07:01 2 articles · 1d ago

    CISA adds GeoServer XXE flaw to KEV catalog

    CISA added a high-severity XML External Entity (XXE) flaw (CVE-2025-58360) in GeoServer to its KEV catalog due to evidence of active exploitation. This flaw affects versions prior to and including 2.25.5, and versions 2.26.0 through 2.26.1. Successful exploitation could allow attackers to access arbitrary files, conduct SSRF attacks, or launch DoS attacks. The flaw is being actively exploited in XML External Entity (XXE) injection attacks, allowing threat actors to launch denial-of-service attacks, access confidential data, or perform Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) to interact with internal systems. The vulnerability is present in GeoServer 2.26.1 and prior versions and can be exploited through the /geoserver/wms operation GetMap endpoint. Federal agencies are advised to apply the required fixes by January 1, 2026.

    Show sources
    Open in new tab
  2. 23.09.2025 18:07 3 articles · 2mo ago

    GeoServer RCE Exploit Used in Federal Agency Breach

    The attackers discovered the vulnerable GeoServer instances by conducting network scanning with Burp Suite. They exploited the vulnerability to gain access to a public-facing GeoServer instance and downloaded open-source scripts and tools for lateral movement. On July 24, 2024, the attackers exploited the same vulnerability to gain access to a second GeoServer instance and moved laterally to a Web server and SQL server, where they dropped web shells, including China Chopper. The attackers also used Stowaway for command-and-control (C2) traffic and attempted to exploit CVE-2016-5195 for privilege escalation. The agency's incident response plan was inadequate, and some public-facing resources lacked endpoint protection, contributing to the breach remaining undetected for three weeks.

    Show sources
    Open in new tab

Information Snippets

Similar Happenings

Critical React Server Components (RSC) Bugs Enable Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution

A critical security vulnerability (CVE-2025-55182, CVSS 10.0) in React Server Components (RSC) allows unauthenticated remote code execution due to unsafe deserialization of payloads. The flaw affects multiple versions of React and Next.js, potentially impacting any application using RSC. The issue has been patched, but 39% of cloud environments remain vulnerable. Cloudflare experienced a widespread outage due to an emergency patch for this vulnerability, and multiple China-linked hacking groups have begun exploiting it. NHS England National CSOC has warned of the likelihood of continued exploitation in the wild. Major companies such as Google Cloud, AWS, and Cloudflare immediately responded to the vulnerability. The security researcher Lachlan Davidson disclosed the vulnerability on November 29, 2025, to the Meta team. The flaw has been dubbed React2Shell, a nod to the Log4Shell vulnerability discovered in 2021. The US National Vulnerability Database (NVD) rejected CVE-2025-66478 as a duplicate of CVE-2025-55182. Exploitation success rate is reported to be nearly 100% in default configurations. React servers that use React Server Function endpoints are known to be vulnerable. The Next.js web application is also vulnerable in its default configuration. At the time of writing, it is unknown if active exploitation has occurred, but there have been some reports of observed exploitation activity as of December 5, 2026. OX Security warned that the flaw is now actively exploitable on December 5, around 10am GMT. Hacker maple3142 published a working PoC, and OX Security successfully verified it. JFrog identified fake proof-of-concepts (PoC) on GitHub, warning security teams to verify sources before testing. Cloudflare started investigating issues on December 5 at 08:56 UTC, and a fix was rolled out within half an hour, but by that time outages had been reported by several major internet services, including Zoom, LinkedIn, Coinbase, DoorDash, and Canva. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added the vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on December 6, 2025, following confirmed active exploitation. The vulnerability is tracked as React2Shell and is related to a remote code execution flaw in React Server Components (RSC). The flaw is due to insecure deserialization in the Flight protocol used by React to communicate between a server and client. The vulnerability affects versions 19.0, 19.1.0, 19.1.1, and 19.2.0 of react-server-dom-webpack, react-server-dom-parcel, and react-server-dom-turbopack. Patched versions of React are 19.0.1, 19.1.2, and 19.2.1. Downstream frameworks impacted include Next.js, React Router, Waku, Parcel, Vite, and RedwoodSDK. Amazon reported attack attempts from Chinese hacking groups like Earth Lamia and Jackpot Panda within hours of public disclosure. Coalition, Fastly, GreyNoise, VulnCheck, and Wiz reported seeing exploitation efforts targeting the flaw. Some attacks involved the deployment of cryptocurrency miners and the execution of "cheap math" PowerShell commands. Censys identified about 2.15 million instances of internet-facing services potentially affected by the vulnerability. Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 confirmed over 30 affected organizations across numerous sectors, with activity consistent with Chinese hacking group UNC5174. Security researcher Lachlan Davidson released multiple proof-of-concept (PoC) exploits for the vulnerability. Another working PoC was published by a Taiwanese researcher with the GitHub handle maple3142. Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies have until December 26, 2025, to apply the necessary updates to secure their networks. Over 77,000 Internet-exposed IP addresses are vulnerable to the critical React2Shell remote code execution flaw (CVE-2025-55182). Researchers have confirmed that attackers have already compromised over 30 organizations across multiple sectors using the React2Shell flaw. Shadowserver detected 77,664 IP addresses vulnerable to the React2Shell flaw, with approximately 23,700 in the United States. GreyNoise recorded 181 distinct IP addresses attempting to exploit the flaw over the past 24 hours, with most of the traffic appearing automated. Attackers frequently begin with PowerShell commands that perform a basic math function to confirm the device is vulnerable to the remote code execution flaw. Once remote code execution was confirmed, attackers were seen executing base64-encoded PowerShell commands that download additional scripts directly into memory. One observed command executes a second-stage PowerShell script from the external site (23[.]235[.]188[.]3), which is used to disable AMSI to bypass endpoint security and deploy additional payloads. The PowerShell script observed by GreyNoise installs a Cobalt Strike beacon on the targeted device, giving threat actors a foothold on the network. Amazon AWS threat intelligence teams saw rapid exploitation hours after the disclosure of the React CVE-2025-55182 flaw, with infrastructure associated with China-linked APT hacking groups known as Earth Lamia and Jackpot Panda. Palo Alto Networks observed similar exploitation, attributing some of it to UNC5174, a Chinese state-sponsored threat actor believed to be tied to the Chinese Ministry of State Security. The deployed malware in these attacks includes Snowlight and Vshell, both commonly used by Chinese hacking groups for remote access, post-exploitation activity, and to move laterally through a compromised network. Earth Lamia is known for exploiting web application vulnerabilities to target organizations across Latin America, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Earth Lamia has historically targeted sectors across financial services, logistics, retail, IT companies, universities, and government organizations. Jackpot Panda primarily targets entities in East and Southeast Asia. The Shadowserver Foundation has identified over 77,000 vulnerable IPs following a scan of exposed HTTP services across a wide variety of exposed edge devices and other applications. Censys observed just over 2.15 million instances of internet-facing services that may be affected by this vulnerability, including exposed web services using React Server Components and exposed instances of frameworks such as Next.js, Waku, React Router, and RedwoodSDK. The bug is a pre-authentication remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability which exists in React Server Components versions 19.0.0, 19.1.0, 19.1.1, and 19.2.0. React issued a security advisory with the relevant patches and updates on December 3. Any internet-accessible server running the affected React Server Components code should be assumed vulnerable until updated as a precaution. AWS observed that many threat actors are attempting to use public PoCs that don’t work in real-world scenarios. AWS noted that the use of these PoCs shows that threat actors prioritize rapid operationalization over thorough testing, attempting to exploit targets with any available tool. Using multiple PoCs to scan for vulnerable environments also gives threat actors a higher chance of identifying vulnerable configurations, even if the PoCs are non-functional. The availability of the PoCs also allows less sophisticated actors to participate in exploitation campaigns. Finally, AWS noted that even failed exploitation attempts create significant noise in logs, potentially masking more sophisticated attacks. The invalid PoCs can give developers a false sense of security when testing for React2Shell. The Shadowserver Foundation detected 28,964 IP addresses vulnerable to the React2Shell flaw as of December 7, 2025, down from 77,664 on December 5, with approximately 10,100 located in the U.S., 3,200 in Germany, and 1,690 in China. Huntress observed attackers targeting numerous organizations via CVE-2025-55182, with a focus on the construction and entertainment industries. The first recorded exploitation attempt on a Windows endpoint by Huntress dates back to December 4, 2025, when an unknown threat actor exploited a vulnerable instance of Next.js to drop a shell script, followed by commands to drop a cryptocurrency miner and a Linux backdoor. Attackers were observed launching discovery commands and attempting to download several payloads from a command-and-control (C2) server. Huntress identified a Linux backdoor called PeerBlight, a reverse proxy tunnel named CowTunnel, and a Go-based post-exploitation implant referred to as ZinFoq. PeerBlight shares code overlaps with two malware families RotaJakiro and Pink that came to light in 2021, installs a systemd service to ensure persistence, and masquerades as a "ksoftirqd" daemon process to evade detection. CowTunnel initiates an outbound connection to attacker-controlled Fast Reverse Proxy (FRP) servers, effectively bypassing firewalls that are configured to only monitor inbound connections. ZinFoq implements a post-exploitation framework with interactive shell, file operations, network pivoting, and timestomping capabilities. Huntress assessed that the threat actor is likely leveraging automated exploitation tooling, supported by the attempts to deploy Linux-specific payloads on Windows endpoints, indicating the automation does not differentiate between target operating systems. PeerBlight supports capabilities to establish communications with a hard-coded C2 server ("185.247.224[.]41:8443"), allowing it to upload/download/delete files, spawn a reverse shell, modify file permissions, run arbitrary binaries, and update itself. ZinFoq beacons out to its C2 server and is equipped to parse incoming instructions to run commands using "/bin/bash," enumerate directories, read or delete files, download more payloads from a specified URL, exfiltrate files and system information, start/stop SOCKS5 proxy, enable/disable TCP port forwarding, alter file access and modification times, and establish a reverse pseudo terminal (PTY) shell connection. ZinFoq takes steps to clear bash history and disguises itself as one of 44 legitimate Linux system services to conceal its presence.

Open in new tab

FortiWeb Zero-Day Exploitation (CVE-2025-58034)

Fortinet has released security updates to address a new zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-58034) in FortiWeb, which is being actively exploited in the wild. The flaw, an OS command injection vulnerability with a CVSS score of 6.7, allows authenticated attackers to execute unauthorized code via crafted HTTP requests or CLI commands. Fortinet advises upgrading FortiWeb devices to the latest versions to mitigate the risk. CISA has added CVE-2025-58034 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, urging federal agencies to patch it within a week. This follows another FortiWeb zero-day (CVE-2025-64446) that was silently patched in October and added to CISA's actively exploited vulnerabilities catalog. CVE-2025-64446 has a CVSS score of 9.1 and was patched in version 8.0.2. Fortinet has patched CVE-2025-58034 in FortiWeb versions 8.0.2, 7.6.6, 7.4.11, 7.2.12, and 7.0.12.

Open in new tab

Critical vulnerabilities in Elementor King Addons plugin affect 10,000 WordPress sites

The Elementor King Addons plugin, used by over 10,000 WordPress sites, has two unauthenticated critical vulnerabilities. These flaws can lead to full site takeovers. The vulnerabilities include an arbitrary file upload flaw (CVE-2025-6327) and a privilege escalation issue (CVE-2025-6325). The plugin's vendor has released version 51.1.37 to address these issues. The arbitrary file upload vulnerability allows attackers to place files in web-accessible directories due to improper nonce handling and file validation. The privilege escalation flaw permits attackers to create administrator accounts by exploiting the registration endpoint. A critical security flaw, CVE-2025-8489 (CVSS score: 9.8), is under active exploitation, allowing unauthenticated attackers to grant themselves administrative privileges. The vulnerability affects versions from 24.12.92 through 51.1.14 and was patched in version 51.1.35 released on September 25, 2025. Site administrators should update the plugin immediately, audit their environments for any suspicious admin users, and monitor for any signs of abnormal activity. The flaw in the plugin’s registration handler allows anyone signing up to specify their user role on the website, including the administrator role, without enforcing any restrictions. Attackers send a crafted 'admin-ajax.php' request specifying 'user_role=administrator,' to create rogue admin accounts on targeted sites. The peak in exploitation activity occurred between November 9 and 10, with two IP addresses being the most active: 45.61.157.120 (28,900 attempts) and 2602:fa59:3:424::1 (16,900 attempts). Wordfence provides a list of offensive IP addresses and recommends that website administrators look for them in the log files.

Open in new tab

Active Exploitation of Critical Microsoft WSUS Flaw

A critical vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server Update Service (WSUS), CVE-2025-59287, is being actively exploited in the wild. This flaw, with a CVSS score of 9.8, allows attackers to drop malicious payloads and execute arbitrary commands on infected hosts. The vulnerability affects WSUS versions 3.32.x and was discovered by Eye Security and Huntress. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has ordered U.S. government agencies to patch the flaw, which was added to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Organizations using WSUS are advised to apply the out-of-band security updates provided by Microsoft to mitigate the risk of exploitation. The flaw was originally patched by Microsoft as part of its Patch Tuesday updates, but attackers have since weaponized it to deploy .NET executables and Base64-encoded PowerShell scripts. Shadowserver is tracking over 2,800 WSUS instances with default ports exposed online. The vulnerability is a deserialization of untrusted data flaw that allows unauthenticated attackers to achieve remote code execution with system privileges by sending malicious encrypted cookies to the GetCookie() endpoint. A compromised WSUS server could potentially be used to distribute malicious updates to the entire network of client computers, making it particularly dangerous for large enterprises. Huntress advised isolating network access to WSUS and blocking inbound traffic to TCP ports 8530 and 8531 as remediation steps. The out-of-band (OOB) security update KB5070881 for CVE-2025-59287 broke hotpatching on some Windows Server 2025 devices. Microsoft has released a new update, KB5070893, to address the issue without disrupting hotpatching. Administrators are advised to install this update to maintain hotpatching functionality.

Open in new tab

Flax Typhoon APT Group Exploits ArcGIS for Persistent Access

The Flax Typhoon APT group, also tracked as Ethereal Panda and RedJuliett, exploited a legitimate ArcGIS application to establish a persistent backdoor for over a year. The attack involved modifying the ArcGIS server’s Java server object extension (SOE) to function as a web shell, enabling command execution, lateral movement, and data exfiltration. The malicious SOE persisted even after remediation and patching, highlighting the need for proactive threat hunting and treating all public-facing applications as high-risk assets. The group targeted a public-facing ArcGIS server connected to an internal server, compromising a portal administrator account and deploying a malicious SOE. They used a base64-encoded payload and a hardcoded key to execute commands and upload a renamed SoftEther VPN executable for long-term access. The attack targeted IT staff workstations within the scanned subnet, demonstrating the potential for significant operational disruption and data exposure. The attackers used a public-facing ArcGIS server connected to a private, internal ArcGIS server for backend computations, a common default configuration. They sent disguised commands to the portal server, creating a hidden system directory that became Flax Typhoon's private workspace. The attackers ensured the compromised component was included in system backups, turning the organization's own recovery plan into a guaranteed method of reinfection. ReliaQuest worked with the customer organization and Esri to fully evict Flax Typhoon actors from the environment, which included rebuilding the entire server stack and deploying custom detections for the threat activity. ReliaQuest urged organizations to treat all public-facing applications as high-risk assets and recommended security teams audit and harden such applications. The researchers also highlighted the need for behavioral analytics to complement signature-based detection, as Flax Typhoon did not use any malware or known malicious files. Strong credential hygiene was emphasized, noting that a weak administrator password gave the attackers a foothold in the organization's network. ReliaQuest recommended implementing multifactor authentication and practicing the principle of least privilege to enhance security. The ArcGIS geographic information system (GIS) is developed by Esri and supports server object extensions (SOE) that can extend basic functionality. The software is used by municipalities, utilities, and infrastructure operators to manage spatial and geographic data through maps. Researchers at cybersecurity company ReliaQuest have moderate confidence that the threat actor is Flax Typhoon. The attackers used valid administrator credentials to log into a public-facing ArcGIS server linked to a private, internal ArcGIS server. The malicious SOE accepted base64-encoded commands through a REST API parameter (layer) and executed them on the internal ArcGIS server. The exchange was protected by a hardcoded secret key, ensuring only the attackers had access to this backdoor. The attackers downloaded and installed SoftEther VPN Bridge, registering it as a Windows service that started automatically. The VPN established an outbound HTTPS tunnel to the attacker's server at 172.86.113[.]142, linking the victim's internal network to the threat actor's machine. The VPN used normal HTTPS traffic on port 443, blending with legitimate traffic, and remained active even if the SOE was detected and deleted. The attackers scanned the local network, moved laterally, accessed internal hosts, dumped credentials, or exfiltrated data using the VPN connection. The attackers targeted two workstations belonging to the target organization's IT staff, attempting to dump the Security Account Manager (SAM) database, security registry keys, and LSA secrets. Flax Typhoon is known for espionage campaigns to establish long-term, stealthy access through legitimate software. The FBI linked Flax Typhoon to the massive "Raptor Train" botnet, impacting the U.S. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned companies that supported the state-sponsored hackers. Esri confirmed this is the first time an SOE has been used this way and will update their documentation to warn users of the risk of malicious SOEs. The attackers used the JavaSimpleRESTSOE ArcGIS extension to invoke a REST operation to run commands on the internal server via the public portal. The attackers specifically targeted two workstations belonging to IT personnel to obtain credentials and further burrow into the network. The attackers reset the password of the administrative account.

Open in new tab