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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Star Health Hacker Sends Death Threats After Massive Data Leak

 


The data breach at Star Health, India's largest health insurer, has exposed the personal and medical information of over 31 million customers, highlighting significant concerns about data security and corporate accountability in the digital age.

In September 2024, a hacker known as "xenZen" leaked 7.24 terabytes of sensitive data from Star Health. The breach included names, contact details, medical records, and policy information, which were disseminated via Telegram chatbots and websites. Star Health confirmed the breach and reported receiving a $68,000 ransom demand from the hacker.

The situation escalated in March 2025 when xenZen claimed responsibility for sending death threats and bullet cartridges to Star Health's CEO and CFO, citing the company's alleged denial of customer medical claims as the motive. Indian authorities have launched an investigation into these threats, and a man in Telangana was arrested for allegedly assisting in couriering the packages. 

Further complicating matters, xenZen alleged that Star Health's Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) sold the customer data for $150,000. Star Health conducted an internal investigation and found no evidence of wrongdoing by the CISO, stating that the alleged communications were fabricated by the hacker. 

This breach underscores the critical need for robust cybersecurity measures and transparent corporate governance. It also raises questions about the adequacy of current data protection regulations and the responsibilities of corporations in safeguarding sensitive customer information.

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