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A China-linked Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) group, known as UNC5221, has been actively exploiting critical vulnerabilities in Ivanti Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM) software. Researchers from EclecticIQ have observed this group chaining two specific flaws, identified as CVE-2025-4427 and CVE-2025-4428, to target organizations across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region. These vulnerabilities allow for unauthenticated remote code execution, potentially granting the attackers deep access to compromised systems.

The targeted sectors include critical infrastructure such as telecommunications, healthcare, government, defense, finance, and aviation. The exploitation of these flaws began shortly after their disclosure, highlighting the speed at which UNC5221 moved to take advantage of the vulnerabilities. CISA has added the Ivanti EPMM flaw, among others, to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, emphasizing the severity of the risk and urging organizations to apply necessary patches.

The attacks facilitate further intrusion and data exfiltration, potentially leading to significant breaches and compromise of sensitive information. This campaign underscores the ongoing threat posed by state-sponsored cyberespionage and the importance of proactive security measures to defend against such attacks.


References :

• securityaffairs.com: China-linked APT UNC5221 started exploiting Ivanti EPMM flaws shortly after their disclosure
• ciso2ciso.com: China-linked APT exploit Ivanti EPMM flaws to target critical sectors across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific, according to EclecticIQ.
• The Hacker News: Researchers from EclecticIQ observed a China-linked APT group that chained two Ivanti EPMM flaws, tracked as CVE-2025-4427 and CVE-2025-4428, in attacks against organizations in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific.

Classification:

• HashTags: #Cybersecurity #Ivanti #Vulnerability
• Company: Ivanti
• Target: Organizations in Critical Sectors
• Attacker: UNC5221
• Product: Endpoint Manager Mobile
• Feature: Endpoint Manager Mobile (EPMM)
• Malware: LummaC2
• Type: Hack
• Severity: Major

Chinese-speaking hackers have exploited a zero-day vulnerability, CVE-2025-0994, in Trimble Cityworks software to breach multiple local governing bodies across the United States. This vulnerability, a remote code execution flaw, has been actively exploited since January 2025 by a threat actor tracked as UAT-6382. The attackers targeted enterprise networks of local governing bodies, conducting reconnaissance and deploying web shells and custom-made malware to maintain long-term access, with a particular interest in systems related to utilities management.

UAT-6382 utilized a variety of tools and techniques in their attacks. They rapidly deployed web shells such as AntSword and chinatso/Chopper on the underlying IIS web servers. Additionally, they employed Rust-based loaders, known as TetraLoader, to deliver Cobalt Strike and VShell malware, ensuring persistent access to compromised systems. The TetraLoader was built using MaLoader, a malware building framework written in Simplified Chinese, further indicating the origin of the threat actor.

Cisco Talos researchers have assessed with high confidence that UAT-6382 is a Chinese-speaking threat actor, based on tooling, TTPs, hands-on-keyboard activity, and victimology. Indicators of compromise (IOCs) related to these intrusions overlap with those listed in Trimble’s advisory. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) added CVE-2025-0994 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog in February 2025. The exploitation of this flaw highlights the risk of nation-state actors targeting critical infrastructure software used by U.S. local governments and utilities.


References :

• Cisco Talos Blog: Talos has observed exploitation of CVE-2025-0994 in the wild by UAT-6382, a Chinese-speaking threat actor, who then deployed malware payloads via TetraLoader.
• securityonline.info: Critical 0-Day: Cityworks Flaw Actively Exploited by Chinese APT UAT-6382
• The Hacker News: Chinese Hackers Exploit Trimble Cityworks Flaw to Infiltrate U.S. Government Networks
• BleepingComputer: Chinese hackers breach US local governments using Cityworks zero-day
• bsky.app: Cisco Talos says a group tracked as UAT-6382 has used a recent Trimble CityWorks zero-day (CVE-2025-0944) to breach local governing bodies in the US
• securityonline.info: SecurityOnline.info article on critical 0-day Cityworks flaw exploited by Chinese APT UAT-6382
• malware.news: Trimble Cityworks zero-day attacks on US local governments detailed
• The DefendOps Diaries: Chinese Hackers Exploit Cityworks Zero-Day Vulnerability in US Local Governments
• www.scworld.com: Trimble Cityworks zero-day attacks on US local governments detailed
• The DefendOps Diaries: Exploitation of Ivanti EPMM Vulnerabilities by Chinese Hackers: A Detailed Analysis
• BleepingComputer: Ivanti EPMM flaw exploited by Chinese hackers to breach govt agencies
• securityaffairs.com: Chinese threat actors exploited Trimble Cityworks flaw to breach U.S. local government networks
• www.csoonline.com: A now-patched high-severity security flaw affecting Trimble Cityworks — a specialized software used by local governments in the US, utilities, and public agencies to manage their infrastructure and community services—was abused by Chinese hackers to compromise systems before a patch was available.
• blog.talosintelligence.com: UAT-6382 exploits Cityworks zero-day vulnerability to deliver malware
• www.techradar.com: The Chinese used the Cityworks bug to deploy Cobalt Strike beacons and backdoors.
• www.cybersecuritydive.com: Cisco Talos researchers attribute the exploitation of the CVE-2025-0994 in Trimble Cityworks to Chinese-speaking threat actor UAT-6382, based on tools and TTPs used in the intrusions.
• www.csoonline.com: A now-patched high-severity security flaw affecting Trimble Cityworks — a specialized software used by local governments in the US, utilities, and public agencies to manage their infrastructure and community services—was abused by Chinese hackers to compromise systems before a patch was available.
• Blog: The Chinese-speaking cyber-espionage group identified as UAT-6382 has been observed exploiting a critical vulnerability in Trimble's Cityworks software to infiltrate U.S. government networks.
• StateScoop: Report: Chinese hackers used Cityworks vulnerability to deliver malware
• Cisco Talos Blog: Hazel observes that cybercriminals often fumble teamwork, with fragile alliances crumbling over missed messages. Plus, how UAT-6382 is exploiting Cityworks and what you can do to stay secure.
• hackread.com: Warnings on active exploitation of a zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-0994) in Cityworks.

Classification:

• HashTags: #Cityworks #ZeroDay #APT
• Company: Trimble
• Target: US Government
• Attacker: UAT-6382
• Product: Cityworks
• Feature: RCE
• Malware: Cobalt Strike
• Type: 0Day
• Severity: Major