The source code of the BlackLotus UEFI bootkit, a malware that impacted enterprises, governments, and the cybersecurity community, has been leaked online providing further insight into the workings of the bootkit. BlackLotus was the first UEFI bootkit discovered capable of bypassing the Secure Boot mechanism and disabling OS-level security protections. It initially exploited the "Baton Drop" vulnerability (CVE-2022-21894), which Microsoft addressed in January 2022. BlackLotus could be purchased on hacking forums for as little as $5,000, making it accessible to hackers, including those affiliated with state-sponsored hacking groups. Security firm Binarly reported that the BlackLotus UEFI bootkit's source code was leaked on GitHub by a user named 'Yukari.' However, the leaked source code has been modified to remove the Baton Drop weakness and includes only the rootkit part and the bootkit code to bypass Secure Boot. While the tactics employed by the bootkit are no longer novel, the source code leak makes it easier for threat actors to combine the bootkit with new bootloader vulnerabilities. BlackLotus specifically targets Windows systems and is capable of bypassing Secure Boot even on fully patched Windows 11 installations and includes features that hinder various security measures, such as BitLocker data protection, Microsoft Defender AV, and Hypervisor-protected Code Integrity (HVCI) or Memory Integrity feature, which defends against attempts to abuse the Windows Kernel. Secure Boot is a security mechanism that prevents untrusted bootloaders from running on computers equipped with UEFI firmware and a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. It aims to prevent rootkits from loading during the system startup process and evading detection by Windows applications.
Apache ActiveMQ users are being urged to immediately apply security updates following the disclosure of two significant vulnerabilities that could expose messaging infrastructures ...
Cybersecurity researchers have identified a previously undocumented threat cluster named OP-512, which is actively targeting internet-facing Microsoft Internet Information Services...
Security researchers have uncovered a large-scale cyber campaign in which threat actors combined exploited Fortinet weaknesses, AI-assisted tooling, and custom command-and-control ...