Vulnerabilities & Exploits

Telegram for Android Patches Voice Call Vulnerability Enabling Code Execution

Security researchers at NebuSec disclosed a vulnerability in Telegram for Android that allowed remote code execution after a victim answered a voice call. The flaw affected versions from 8.6.2 through 12.10.3 and was fixed in release 12.10.4 at the end of September. The issue stemmed from improper handling of MediaState service messages that carry microphone, camera, and video rotation data during calls. When a required field was missing, the application accessed invalid memory. NebuSec discovered the bug using its Code Security product running on a GPT-5.4 model and confirmed exploitation on ARM64 Android devices for personal calls. A demonstration showed the string “HACKED BY NEBUSEC” appearing roughly 30 seconds after the call was accepted. The vulnerability is unrelated to the earlier animated-sticker attack vector.

Yandex Patches Millions of Stations After eMudhra Certificate Keys Compromised

Yandex has automatically deployed security updates to millions of its smart speakers and partner televisions running YaOS between October 21 and 23. The patches address compromised intermediate certificates issued by eMudhra whose private keys consisted of trivial values from 1 to 255. Attackers who obtained these keys could generate fraudulent certificates and perform man-in-the-middle attacks against device HTTPS traffic. Enthusiasts demonstrated that local network control combined with the certificates allowed replacement of server configuration, activation of ADB, and acquisition of root access on the devices. The update removes trust in the affected certificates, overwrites compromised system files, and disables the debug interface. A factory reset restores the vulnerable firmware, so Yandex advises against resets without a compelling reason.

Cisco ASA and FTD Face DoS Vulnerability in SSL VPN Already Exploited in the Wild

Cisco Systems has disclosed a denial-of-service vulnerability affecting its Cisco Secure Firewall ASA and Cisco Secure Firewall FTD products. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-76418, resides in the SSL VPN remote access feature and carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.6, rated High severity. Exploitation occurs when secondary authentication is configured on tunnel groups, allowing an attacker to send a crafted request that forces a device reboot without requiring authentication. Cisco confirmed active exploitation of the issue in October 2026. Security updates addressing the vulnerability are now available for both affected product lines. The advisory recommends immediate application of the patches to prevent service disruption.

Critical Pre-Auth RCE Vulnerability CVE-2026-118633 Affects All Sophos UTM Versions, Manual Patch Required After EOL

Sophos has disclosed a critical remote code execution vulnerability in its legacy Sophos UTM security gateway product. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-118633, carries a CVSSv4.0 base score of 9.2 and is rated Critical. It allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands as root by triggering a race condition through repeated attacks against the email proxy when scanning is enabled. Although the product reached end-of-life, Sophos released a manual patch that users must apply themselves because automatic updates are no longer available. The company urges immediate patching for any deployments still using the email protection feature and recommends migration to the supported Sophos Firewall. The issue was reported through Sophos’s bug bounty program by an external researcher.

PHP2Shell Campaign Chains PHP and Linux Kernel Flaws to Compromise 25 Servers Including US Government-Linked Network

Israeli security firm Dream disclosed a sophisticated campaign that achieved root access on 25 servers by chaining two remote code execution vulnerabilities in PHP2Shell with a Linux kernel flaw. The attackers targeted 24 perimeter firewalls from a single unnamed vendor plus one internal management server across the United States, Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea. Three of the compromised devices belonged to an environment connected to the US government, where the intrusion led to domain controller access and Active Directory enumeration. The attack chain began with CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619, which granted initial web server access, and escalated via CVE-2026-46300 (Fragnesia) to obtain root privileges. Dream observed extensive reconnaissance using the Chinese search engine FOFA, with indicators pointing to Chinese-language tooling and timing, though no specific threat actor was attributed.

Threat Actors Exploit Critical CVE-2026-101767 RCE Flaw in Oracle E-Business Suite

Threat intelligence firm Defused detected active exploitation attempts against CVE-2026-101767 targeting Oracle E-Business Suite honeypots on October 27, 2026. The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.8, requires no authentication, and resides in the Thin Client Framework servlet within the Application Object Library component. Oracle released a fix seven days earlier in its October 2026 Critical Patch Update, covering versions 12.2.3 through 12.2.15. Successful exploitation grants SQL execution under the privileged APPS database account, enabling lateral movement to operating system commands and access to financial, payroll, and procurement records. Horizon3.ai privately reported the issue in July 2026, and prior similar flaws in the same product were leveraged by the Cl0p ransomware group. Immediate mitigation includes applying the quarterly patch or restricting access to the GanttDataServer servlet via URL firewall rules.

GEEKCON 2026 Returns to Shanghai: Hackers Demonstrate AI-Assisted Exploits Across Apps, Robots and Vehicles

GEEKCON 2026 brought the security conference back indoors to the CMG Media Cinema in Shanghai's West Bund after last year's open-air venue. Organizers introduced two new AI-focused tracks alongside the traditional DAF vulnerability exploitation challenge and 30+5 deep-dive sessions. In the AI Hacker Extreme Challenge, six teams used AI tools to compromise six real-world targets in a single afternoon, achieving eleven successful breaches. Demonstrations included remote hijacking of quadruped robots, silent app installation on Android devices, unauthorized vehicle control, and novel exploitation paths in fastjson 1.2.83 discovered with AI assistance. The AI Hacker Debate revealed audience division on whether human hackers will be replaced, while the human-only DAF track awarded no first or second prizes. Organizers framed the event as an effort to illuminate vulnerabilities before they appear in real-world attacks, echoing themes from The Matrix.

PHP Patched Against PHP2Shell: Save php -v Output as Potential Court Evidence

Two critical remote code execution vulnerabilities tracked as CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 were disclosed on October 21, 2026, affecting the PHP core interpreter across all versions below 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27, and 8.5.12. The flaws, collectively called PHP2Shell, carry a CVSS 4.0 score of 9.2 and allow unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code on servers running WordPress, 1C-Bitrix, Drupal, OpenCart, Laravel, and other frameworks. Official patches have been released, yet organizations must also restart PHP-FPM, web servers, and queue workers to fully eliminate the vulnerable code from memory. Russian regulators may impose fines up to 15 million rubles for personal data leaks stemming from unpatched instances, and courts will examine documentation proving when and how the vulnerabilities were addressed. Security teams are advised to preserve command outputs from php -v and php-fpm -v along with timestamps and responsible-party records. If signs of compromise are detected, logs must be retained before any remediation steps are taken, and notifications to Roskomnadzor must be filed within 24 hours of confirmed data exposure.

Black October Hype: Media Inflates AI Agent Role in PHP, GitLab and Cloud Platform Incidents

A detailed analysis reveals that recent high-profile cybersecurity stories have been sensationalized by attributing autonomous AI agent swarms to standard vulnerability disclosures and human-operated attacks. Critical PHP zero-day flaws enabling remote code execution were responsibly researched with GPT-5.6 Sol under OpenAI's Patch the Planet program, not by rogue AI bots launching millions of scans. The Argentina hospital compromises involved human operators using Anthropic's Claude Code CLI tool in a Human-in-the-Loop workflow rather than uncontrolled AI rebellion. Breaches at Zeabur, Railway and OpenCode stemmed from poor secret management and forgotten consoles, allowing credential theft for API abuse. A decade-old integer overflow in GitLab's Onigmo regex engine received a CVSS 10.0 score but had no connection to AI. The piece argues that adding AI narratives boosts clicks while obscuring classic attack patterns such as masscan-driven scanning after public PoC leaks.

Apple Patches 163 Vulnerabilities in iOS 27.2 Including Multiple WebKit Code Execution Flaws

Apple released iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2 on October 26, addressing 163 vulnerabilities across its mobile platforms. More than 30 of these issues reside in the WebKit engine, with several enabling remote code execution simply by visiting a malicious webpage. The update also resolves two sandbox escapes, one in WebKit's process model and another in the App Store reported by Cisco Talos researchers. Four privacy-related fixes include a flaw in Apple Intelligence that could expose sensitive user data to remote attackers. On the same day, Apple issued iOS 18.7.11 for older devices such as the iPhone XS and XR, fixing a CoreGraphics out-of-bounds write tracked as CVE-2026-86950 that had already been exploited in a highly sophisticated targeted attack. The company stated that none of the 163 flaws in the main release have been observed in the wild.

Fuzzilli vs BigSleep: 37 and 45 Vulnerabilities Found in V8 Over Six Months with 25% Overlap

Google's Project Zero compared two automated vulnerability discovery tools targeting the V8 JavaScript engine in Chrome. The generative fuzzer Fuzzilli identified 37 actionable vulnerabilities over six months, while the LLM-based agent BigSleep found 45. Only about 25% of the vulnerabilities overlapped between the two systems. Additional experiments on historical bugs from 2023 onward showed a theoretical overlap of around 60%. The analysis indicates that fuzzing and LLM agents complement each other rather than one replacing the other. Researchers recommend using both approaches together to maximize coverage of complex bugs in well-tested software like V8.

ISPsystem Publishes Detailed Timeline of VMmanager 6 Attack and Vulnerability Analysis

ISPsystem has released a comprehensive post detailing a recent security incident targeting its VMmanager 6 virtualization management platform. The company outlines the chronology of the attack, the specific vulnerabilities exploited by threat actors, and the current mitigation status. The incident has sparked significant discussion within the professional hosting and virtualization community. ISPsystem emphasizes transparency and provides technical breakdowns to help users understand the attack vectors and required defensive measures. The post covers how the attackers gained initial access and the subsequent impact on managed virtual environments.

Google Fixes 52 Vulnerabilities in Chrome Including Four Critical Issues

Google has released security updates for its Chrome browser that address a total of 52 vulnerabilities. Four of these flaws received the highest severity rating of Critical. The updates were issued on October 27, 2026, for Windows, macOS, and Linux platforms. The critical vulnerabilities include memory corruption in the file system, input validation issues in the file API, problems in the Skia graphics library, and a Use After Free flaw in the Layout component. Specific CVEs patched are CVE-2026-118306, CVE-2026-118331, CVE-2026-118348, and CVE-2026-118344. The remaining 48 vulnerabilities received lower severity ratings but were still addressed in the same release.

CISA Adds Brotli and Adobe Commerce Flaws to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has added two vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog after confirming active exploitation in the wild. CVE-2026-111497 affects Google’s Brotli data compression library and can lead to code execution, information disclosure, or denial of service when specially crafted compressed data is processed. The flaw impacts any software that incorporates the Brotli decoder for decompression tasks, prompting vendors to release updates. CVE-2026-48356 resides in the file upload functionality of Adobe Commerce and Magento, allowing attackers to exploit improper handling during upload operations. CISA issued the alert on October 27, 2026, urging organizations to apply patches immediately to mitigate ongoing attacks. Related advisories also reference Brotli fixes in PHP and other products that bundle the library.

October 'In Trend VM' Report: Exploited Windows ALPC and Check Point VPN Vulnerabilities

Positive Technologies has released its October edition of the 'In Trend VM' digest, highlighting two actively exploited vulnerabilities. The first is CVE-2026-85880, a local privilege escalation flaw in the Windows ALPC mechanism that was used as a zero-day in targeted attacks by multiple APT clusters. The second is CVE-2026-85102, a critical remote code execution vulnerability in Check Point Security Gateway and Spark Firewall products that affects VPN negotiation. Both issues have been added to CISA's KEV catalog, with public proof-of-concept code already available for the Check Point flaw. The report details attack chains, affected versions, and recommended patches or workarounds.

Windows PHP Updated to Patch Critical Brotli Vulnerability CVE-2026-111497

The PHP development team has released updated Windows builds of PHP that bundle a patched version of the Brotli compression library. The update addresses CVE-2026-111497, a critical out-of-bounds write flaw in Google's Brotli decoder that can lead to remote code execution, information disclosure, or denial of service. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v4.0 base score of 9.2 and is rated Critical. It affects PHP environments where the cURL extension has automatic decompression of HTTP responses enabled, allowing Brotli decoding to occur. Although cURL automatic decompression is disabled by default, applications or HTTP client libraries may enable it. The fix updates the bundled Brotli component to version 1.2.1 in the releases PHP 8.5.12-1, 8.4.27-1, 8.3.36-1, and 8.2.35-1 published on October 26.

AI-Driven Software Boom Fuels Record Surge in Critical Vulnerabilities in 2026

The National Vulnerability Database recorded more than 72,000 CVEs between January and September 2026, compared with 48,244 for the entire previous year. The increase stems directly from the massive growth in code volume produced with AI coding assistants that allow features once requiring two weeks to be completed in a single afternoon. Much of this newly generated code reaches production without thorough human security review because models optimize for functionality rather than adversarial misuse. Common flaws such as missing authorization checks, exposed API keys in repositories, and insecure direct object references appear repeatedly in freshly deployed applications. Criminal groups have adopted the same AI tools to scan and test targets at scale, widening the gap between attacker speed and defender verification processes. Organizations that skip structured adversarial testing leave these issues to be discovered by threat actors, resulting in data exposure and operational disruption far costlier than pre-release remediation.

Apple Releases iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2, Patching 163 Vulnerabilities Including Exploited Flaws in Older Versions

Apple has issued security updates for iOS and iPadOS, addressing a wide range of vulnerabilities across current and legacy operating systems. The iOS 27.2 and iPadOS 27.2 releases fix 163 CVEs affecting WebKit, the kernel, and image processing components. Older branches received targeted patches, with iOS 26.7.2 resolving 134 issues and iOS 18.7.11 addressing three vulnerabilities that include an actively exploited flaw. Specific fixes cover remote code execution risks in WebKit and ImageIO, plus sandbox bypasses. The updates were published on October 26, 2026, and apply to both iPhone and iPad devices. Apple also published detailed security content advisories for each branch.

CISA Adds PHP2Shell Flaws CVE-2026-109618 and CVE-2026-109619 to KEV Catalog After Confirmed Exploitation

The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has confirmed active exploitation of two remotely exploitable vulnerabilities in PHP collectively known as PHP2Shell. CVE-2026-109618 stems from improper handling during memory exhaustion, while CVE-2026-109619 involves use-after-free issues in internal state management. Both flaws allow unauthenticated remote code execution and pose elevated risk to any PHP environment processing external requests such as web servers. PHP development teams released patches on October 21 for supported branches including PHP 8.5.12, 8.4.27, 8.3.36 and 8.2.35, along with source-level fixes for end-of-life versions 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1. CISA has set a three-day remediation deadline of October 29 for U.S. federal agencies and requires verification that systems have not been compromised.

Security Week 2644: Active Exploitation of PHP2Shell Vulnerabilities Confirmed

PHP developers released patches for two critical vulnerabilities collectively known as PHP2Shell on October 20, affecting PHP 8.2 through 8.5 as well as older branches. The flaws allow unauthenticated remote code execution on affected servers, which power approximately 70 percent of websites. Despite expectations of immediate exploitation, confirmed attacks with working exploits only began on October 25. CrowdStrike noted technical difficulties in weaponizing the issues in real-world environments. Only one-fifth of top Russian websites had applied the fixes by October 25. Additional incidents included compromised eMudhra certificates, a critical GitLab flaw, and a 16-year-old Broadcom router vulnerability.

Positive Technologies Offers Up to 500,000 Rubles for Bypassing PT Application Firewall

Positive Technologies has expanded its Standoff Bug Bounty program to include rewards for bypassing its web application firewalls. Researchers can earn between 150,000 and 500,000 rubles for demonstrating practical bypasses against PT Application Firewall PRO and PT Application Firewall Cloud. The program targets the core protective mechanisms, including traffic filtering, attack detection rules, and the management layer used by administrators. Submissions must include reproducible attack scenarios that show how malicious requests can pass through undetected, rather than relying on scanner reports or theoretical findings. Reward amounts vary by severity and confirmed business impact, with critical issues in the PRO version paying up to 500,000 rubles. The company plans to use validated findings to strengthen detection rules and improve overall product resilience.

Tailscale SSH Vulnerability Allows Root Access via Unix Socket Redirection

A researcher identified flaws in Tailscale that let an attacker with existing SSH access on one node escalate to root privileges and move laterally across the network. Erica Windisch of Cyberdione Labs demonstrated the issues in lab conditions against Tailscale 1.104.2 and Headscale 0.29.5. The core problem stems from privileged operations performed by the tailscaled process when handling Unix socket redirection, granting an ordinary SSH session access to root-only resources. The researcher used the technique to interact with Docker and run elevated commands, and showed that broad access policies allow automated lateral movement in under a second. Additional issues include denial-of-service conditions and bypasses of certain restrictions. Recommendations include reviewing SSH policies and disabling unnecessary socket redirection, noting that Headscale 0.29.5 lacks an independent way to turn the feature off.

Critical CVE-2026-111497 Out-of-Bounds Write Flaw in Google Brotli Decoder Impacts Broad Range of Environments

A severe vulnerability has been identified in the Google-developed Brotli decoder used for decompressing data in web communications and other applications. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-111497, allows out-of-bounds writes when processing specially crafted compressed data, potentially enabling arbitrary code execution, information disclosure, or denial of service. It carries a CVSS v4.0 base score of 9.2 and is rated Critical. Google has released patched versions 1.2.1, 1.1.1, and 1.0.10 of the library. Node.js incorporated the fix in its updates, while Microsoft issued an out-of-band patch for .NET on October 25, 2026, to address the issue. The vulnerability affects any environment relying on the Brotli C implementation for data decompression.

Critical Code Injection Flaw in Okta Access Gateway Allows Authenticated Command Execution

Okta disclosed CVE-2026-115547, a critical code injection vulnerability in the administrative console of Okta Access Gateway. An authenticated administrator can execute arbitrary commands on the underlying system using the privileges of the gateway service account. The flaw received a CVSS 3.1 score of 9.1 and stems from insufficient input validation when processing configuration values in a specific format. Affected appliances running versions prior to 2026.10.2 must be updated, as no workaround is provided. The same disclosure day also included CVE-2026-115546 for authentication source verification and two PHP execution issues (CVE-2026-109618, CVE-2026-109619) previously seen in Palo Alto PAN-OS. Exploitation requires administrative console access and no in-the-wild attacks have been reported.

GitLab Discloses 12-Year-Old CVSS 10.0 Vulnerability Enabling Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution

GitLab has published a critical security advisory for CVE-2026-110264, a CVSS 10.0 flaw that permits unauthenticated remote code execution on both Community and Enterprise self-hosted instances. The vulnerability has existed in the codebase since 2014 and affects every version up to the latest release prior to the October 2026 patch. Exploitation requires no credentials or special conditions, allowing attackers to run arbitrary commands, exfiltrate source code, deploy backdoors, or move laterally. The issue remained undetected through multiple code iterations, security audits, and version updates due to its hidden trigger conditions within the large, complex application. Organizations are urged to immediately verify their version, review access logs for anomalies, and apply the official fix, while temporary mitigations include network restrictions and enhanced monitoring.

Google Brotli Decoder Vulnerability CVE-2026-111497 Enables Remote Code Execution in Node.js, Python, Bun and Envoy

A critical out-of-bounds write flaw in Google's Brotli decoder (CVE-2026-111497) affects multiple widely used platforms including Node.js, Python, Bun and Envoy. Imperva researchers demonstrated reliable remote code execution on official Node.js 24.22.0 builds for Linux arm64, naming the exploit Node2Shell. The vulnerability allows crafted Brotli-compressed data to corrupt memory, leading to crashes, information leaks or arbitrary code execution. Affected versions include Node.js releases below 22.23.4, 24.22.1 and 26.12.1, plus all versions of the Python brotli and brotlicffi packages. Patches have been issued for Node.js, while other projects await updates; no in-the-wild exploitation has been observed yet. The incident highlights recurring supply-chain risks where a single foundational library impacts thousands of downstream applications.

Microsoft Issues Out-of-Band .NET Security Updates Fixing Brotli Buffer Overflow and Other Flaws

Microsoft has released out-of-band security updates for .NET 10, .NET 9, and .NET 8 to address multiple vulnerabilities. The patches cover two newly identified issues and complete remediation for two additional flaws that received incomplete fixes during the October 13 monthly update cycle. One critical vulnerability, CVE-2026-111497, affects the Brotli compression library and can lead to information disclosure, denial of service, or privilege escalation when processing crafted compressed data. A second issue, CVE-2026-114148, enables local privilege escalation in Linux distribution packages for ASP.NET Core due to improper ownership handling. Microsoft also reissued fixes for remote code execution vulnerabilities CVE-2026-70197 and CVE-2026-102870. Organizations are advised to apply the updates immediately, including rebuilding and redistributing applications in container or embedded environments.

Top Cybersecurity Articles October 18-24 2026: GitLab, nginx, PHP and Node.js Flaws Dominate

Security NEXT published its weekly ranking of the ten most-read articles between October 18 and October 24 2026. The list is led by a critical GitLab vulnerability that also received back-port fixes for older branches. Multiple high-severity issues in the nginx web server, including three rated critical, took second place. PHP disclosed several serious flaws with an update scheduled for October 21, while Node.js prepared a security release for the same date. Additional entries covered actively exploited Fortinet and BeyondTrust vulnerabilities, Chrome 156 fixes for 353 issues, and U.S. government guidance urging immediate patching of PHP flaws or taking systems offline.

Critical SQL Injection Flaw in Arista VCO Already Exploited in Attacks

Arista Networks disclosed a critical SQL injection vulnerability in its VeloCloud Orchestrator product used for SD-WAN network management. The flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-114625, carries a CVSS v4.0 base score of 9.4 and a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.9, placing it in the highest severity category. Exploitation requires network access to the management interface and an authenticated session with Enterprise Read Only privileges or higher, after which attackers can escalate rights to reach internal management functions and compromise managed systems and data. The vendor has already observed active exploitation of the issue in the wild. Patches are available in versions 6.4.2.12, 6.1.3.10, and 5.2.3.18, and customers are urged to apply the updates immediately.

Researcher Develops Kernel Exploit for TP-Link EAP770 to Disable Faulty Qualcomm SFE Offload

A user who purchased the TP-Link EAP770 v1 Wi-Fi 7 access point in 2023 discovered persistent data corruption during large file transfers over Wi-Fi. The root cause was a DMA cache coherency bug in the Qualcomm qca-nss-dp driver combined with SFE/PPE hardware offload that recalculated TCP checksums on corrupted packets. TP-Link ended support for the v1 model before release and provided no firmware updates, while the device's restricted shell prevented the required sysfs writes. The researcher chained CVE-2022-0185 with pipe buffer manipulation to achieve root access, disable the offload features, and stop the corruption without bricking the device. The exploit was developed and tested first in QEMU using the closest available GPL kernel sources from the EAP783 model before being adapted to the live hardware. A separate unrelated bug was also found in the client Wi-Fi card firmware causing connection drops.