Cleo’s trojan horse. [Research Saturday]

Mark Manglicmot, SVP of Security Services from Arctic Wolf, is sharing their research on "Cleopatra’s Shadow: A Mass Exploitation Campaign Deploying a Java Backdoor Through Zero-Day Exploitation of Cleo MFT Software." Arctic Wolf Labs discovered an ongoing exploitation campaign targeting Cleo Managed File Transfer (MFT) products, beginning on December 7, 2024. Threat actors used a malicious PowerShell stager to deploy a Java-based backdoor, dubbed Cleopatra, which features in-memory file storage and cross-platform compatibility across Windows and Linux.

Despite Cleo's previous patch for CVE-2024-50623, attackers appear to have leveraged an alternative access method, exploiting the software's autorun feature to execute payloads and establish persistent access.

The research can be found here:

• Cleopatra’s Shadow: A Mass Exploitation Campaign Deploying a Java Backdoor Through Zero-Day Exploitation of Cleo MFT Software