// #china-nexus
6 articles
Velvet Ant's Operation Highland: China-Nexus APT Spent a Decade Inside an Air-Gapped Network via Auth Stack Hijack
Sygnia researchers disclosed Operation Highland, a China-nexus espionage campaign in which the Velvet Ant threat group maintained persistent, undetected access to an air-gapped enterprise network from 2016 to 2026 by hijacking authentication infrastructure and bridging the isolation via a modified Nginx binary and GS-Netcat reverse shell. The case fundamentally challenges the security model of air-gapping as an isolation control.
VerdantBamboo Deploys BSD Variant of BRICKSTORM Backdoor Against Linux and BSD Network Appliances
China-nexus threat cluster VerdantBamboo has deployed a BSD-compatible variant of the BRICKSTORM backdoor, extending its implant capability beyond Linux ESXi hosts to commercial network appliances running FreeBSD-derived operating systems. The implant uses HTTPS command and control via legitimate TLS certificates, survives reboots, and operates below enterprise EDR visibility.
China-Nexus Threat Groups and the Shift to Linux and BSD Appliance Targeting
A pattern documented across multiple China-nexus threat actors in 2025–2026 shows a deliberate move from Windows endpoint compromise toward Linux-based network appliances and BSD-running security devices. Network devices running proprietary Linux/BSD derivatives sit at the network edge with high-privilege routing access — and typically outside the enterprise's EDR coverage.
Tropic Trooper APT Delivers AdaptixC2 via Trojanised SumatraPDF Installer and GitHub C2 Relay
The Chinese APT group Tropic Trooper has been observed deploying the AdaptixC2 post-exploitation framework through a malicious SumatraPDF installer distributed from a convincing lookalike site. Command-and-control communications are routed through GitHub's REST API, blending malicious traffic with the high-volume legitimate developer activity that most enterprises whitelist.
React2Shell CVE-2025-55182: China-Nexus Groups Exploit Max-Severity Next.js Flaw Across 30+ Organisations
CVE-2025-55182 (React2Shell), a maximum-severity unauthenticated remote code execution vulnerability in React Server Components and Next.js, is being actively exploited by China-state-affiliated threat groups and financially motivated actors simultaneously. Palo Alto Networks has confirmed over 30 organisations breached and 77,000 internet-exposed vulnerable instances, with attackers systematically harvesting AWS credentials, database connection strings, and SSH keys from compromised web infrastructure.
China-Nexus UNC6201 Exploits Dell RecoverPoint CVSS 10.0 Flaw to Deploy BRICKSTORM Backdoors
A hardcoded credentials vulnerability in Dell RecoverPoint data replication appliances (CVE-2026-22769, CVSS 10.0) has been exploited since mid-2024 by the China-nexus threat cluster UNC6201, who use access to deploy BRICKSTORM and GRIMBOLT backdoors via a SLAYSTYLE web shell. CISA added the vulnerability to the KEV catalogue in February. Organisations running Dell RecoverPoint should patch immediately and hunt for indicators of compromise.