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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Play Ransomware Exploits Windows Zero-Day Vulnerability

 



The recent exploitation of the Windows zero-day vulnerability CVE-2025-29824 by the Play ransomware group underscores the critical importance of timely patch management and vigilant cybersecurity practices. Microsoft

This vulnerability, residing in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS), allows attackers to escalate privileges from a standard user to SYSTEM level. By leveraging this flaw, threat actors can gain unauthorized access to systems, deploy malware, and potentially encrypt critical data. Cyber Security News+10BetterWorld Tech+10LinkedIn+10

The Play ransomware group, also known as Balloonfly or PlayCrypt, has been active since mid-2022 and is notorious for its double extortion tactics—exfiltrating data before encryption to pressure victims into paying ransoms. In the recent attacks, they utilized a custom information-stealing tool called Grixba, which has been previously associated with their operations. Symantec Enterprise Blogs+4BetterWorld Tech+4The Hacker News+4SecurityWeek+5Cyber Security News+5BleepingComputer+5

Microsoft's Threat Intelligence Center (MSTIC) and Security Response Center (MSRC) have attributed the exploitation activity to a threat group called Storm-2460, which deploys the PipeMagic malware in ransomware campaigns. The attackers have targeted organizations across various sectors, including information technology, real estate, finance, and retail, in countries such as the United States, Venezuela, Spain, and Saudi Arabia. BetterWorld Tech+8Cyber Security News+8Logpoint+8BetterWorld Tech+7BleepingComputer+7Cyber Security News+7

The exploitation process involves sophisticated techniques, including the use of the certutil utility to download malicious files, execution of payloads via the EnumCalendarInfoA API callback, and in-memory exploitation using dllhost.exe. These methods allow attackers to bypass traditional security measures and maintain persistence within compromised systems. Symantec Enterprise Blogs+3LinkedIn+3Microsoft+3

The severity of CVE-2025-29824, with a CVSS score of 7.8, highlights the urgent need for organizations to prioritize patching and implement robust security measures. Microsoft released security updates to address this vulnerability on April 8, 2025, and strongly recommends that all affected systems apply these patches promptly. Cyber Security News+1Logpoint+1Microsoft+1Logpoint+1

This incident serves as a stark reminder of the evolving threat landscape and the necessity for proactive cybersecurity strategies. Organizations must remain vigilant, regularly update their systems, and educate their personnel to recognize and respond to potential threats effectively.

For more detailed information on the exploitation of CVE-2025-29824 and recommended mitigation strategies, please refer to the following sources:

By staying informed and implementing comprehensive security measures, organizations can better protect themselves against such sophisticated cyber threats.

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