The Rising Threat of ToolShell: Unpacking the July 2025 SharePoint Zero-Day Exploits

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Anatomy of the ToolShell Exploit Chain Beginning around July 7, 2025, adversaries exploited a deserialization flaw in SharePoint’s on-premises service (CVE-2025-53770) to upload a malicious spinstall0.aspx payload, triggering code execution within the w3wp.exe process. A secondary path-traversal flaw (CVE-2025-53771) then enabled privilege escalation and lateral movement across corporate networks . Security researchers at Eye Security and Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42 observed attackers bypassing identity controls – MFA and SSO – to exfiltrate machine keys, deploy persistent backdoors, and chain ransomware operations within hours of initial compromise . State-Backed Actor Involvement Microsoft attributes the campaign primarily to Storm-2603, assessed with moderate confidence to be China-based, alongside historically linked groups Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon . These actors have a track record of blending cyber-espionage with financially motivated ransomware like Warlock and Lo...
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Berkeley Research Group Data Breach Exposes Sensitive Information

 



The recent cyberattack on Berkeley Research Group (BRG) has exposed sensitive data related to Catholic Church bankruptcy filings, potentially compromising information on sexual abuse victims. The breach occurred when a hacker posed as IT staff on Microsoft Teams, deploying Chaos ransomware. BRG paid a ransom and received a "destruction log," but the U.S. Justice Department has raised concerns about delays in public notification and potential conflicts of interest.

This incident underscores the need for robust cybersecurity measures and transparent communication, especially when handling sensitive information. It also highlights the importance of holding organizations accountable for protecting data privacy.

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