Attackers can force Android devices into a continuous boot loop using a specially crafted app that requires no permissions and only needs to be installed. To cause the persistent denial-of-service (DoS), the app triggers a vulnerability that researchers dubbed 'GhostMap' that makes Android map a file into an unallocated memory region. The affected process crashes when it attempts to read from that region. Romanian cybersecurity company Bitdefender discovered the flaw while analyzing an Android banking trojan that kept crashing its emulators when it tried to read an application resource. The researchers demonstrated the vulnerability by creating an app that contains no executable code, requests no permissions on installation, and does not need to be launched on the device. According to the company, Google has been aware of GhostMap since August but closed the issue without releasing a patch, classifying it as "not reproducible."
A Canadian man was extradited to the U.S. to face charges over hacking universities and hijacking their computers to mine cryptocurrency. A Canadian man, Ryan James Roach (35), has been extradicted to the United States to face charges tied to a hacking operation that targeted universities and other schools. Roach was extradited on October 28 and now faces federal charges alongside Mathiew James Stubbings, 41, of Ontario. The indictment alleges that, from June 2016 to December 2019, the two men hacked computers, stole login details, and used victims’ machines to mine cryptocurrency for themselves. “They used virtual private servers in multiple countries, which were registered under false names. These servers transmitted malware and mining software to victim computers and stored stolen login credentials.” DoJ states. “Victims of the scheme included educational institutions in New York, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Massachusetts. Some of the computers damaged by the defendants were located at an institution of higher learning in the Western District of New York.” The targets were not random home PCs. Prosecutors say the pair went after U.S. schools with supercomputers, including institutions in New York, Tennessee, North Carolina and Massachusetts. Some affected computers belonged to a higher-education institution in western New York. “To carry out the scheme, Roach and Stubbings surreptitiously accessed victim computers without authorization, deployed malware to gain control, stole victim login credentials, exfiltrated the data to servers that they controlled, and forcing victim computers to use their processing power to mine cryptocurrency for the financial benefit of the defendants.” DoJ continues. That is a lot of effort to turn someone else’s research hardware into a personal crypto rig. The alleged method was also more involved than a single phishing email. The indictment says they looked for weaknesses in victims’ networks, used servers and compromised machines from one victim to hide their tracks, and then moved through the network once inside. The duo used sophisticated techniques and tools to conduct reconnaissance and expand their access within the network. The charges include conspiracy to obtain information from and damage protected computers, obtaining information from a protected computer, and intentional damage to a protected computer. Each carries up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Prosecutors also allege the pair damaged at least 10 protected computers in one year and caused at least $5,000 in losses. Roach appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen and is being held pending a detention hearing. Extradition proceedings for Stubbings continue in Canada. The FBI, the Justice Department’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and the Office of International Affairs worked on the case. For security teams, the useful part is not the alleged crypto-mining. It is the reminder that universities remain attractive targets because they hold powerful computing resources, broad networks, and plenty of people with access. Patch quickly, watch for unusual processing load, and treat credential theft as a serious incident rather than a nuisance. “The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.” DoJ concludes. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, University Supercomputers)
Vercel is gradually rolling out Device Bound Session Credentials (DBSC) on its platform as a key defense against information stealer malware. The new feature, announced by Vercel's CTO Malte Ubl on X, binds a login session to the user's device with a private key stored in a TPM, so even if the session cookie is stolen, it can't be reused on another device. Vercel is a cloud platform developers use to deploy and host websites, web applications, and AI agents. The company also develops the popular Next.js web framework. Its latest announcement concerns logins to Vercel's platform at vercel.com, where developers manage their projects and deployments. "DBSC works by storing a private key in your device's TPM (the same device that the fingerprint sensor or similar biometric devices on your laptop or phone uses) and using that key to sign your cookie," explained Ubl.
Barracuda patched two flaws that can be chained to give attackers root access to Email Security Gateway appliances. Barracuda has patched two vulnerabilities that can be chained to gain root access to its Email Security Gateway (ESG) appliances. CVE-2026-116606 (CVSS score of 9.3) is an authentication bypass that lets unauthenticated attackers modify appliance configurations. CVE-2026-111560 (CVSS score of 8.6) is a command injection flaw affecting six Barracuda products. An attacker with administrator privileges could exploit it to execute operating system commands as root. “Barracuda has identified two vulnerabilities affecting certain Barracuda products: a pre-authentication authorization bypass vulnerability and a command injection vulnerability. The vulnerabilities have been assigned CVE-2026-116606 and CVE-2026-111560, respectively.” states the advisory. “Successful exploitation requires an attacker to have access to the administrative interface of an affected product. If exploited in combination, these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to bypass authorization controls and obtain root access to the device.” Barracuda quickly began fixing the problem and released security patches for affected products. Customers should check the affected products and follow the remediation guidance, make sure their systems use the latest firmware, and install all security patches. It has released patches and urges customers to update their systems, below are the affected products: Email Security Gateway (ESG) — affected by both vulnerabilities; patch with BNSF-40425 for version 9.4.017 or later, or BNSF-40430 for versions below 9.4.017. Load Balancer Application Delivery Controller (ADC) — affected by CVE-2026-111560; patch with BNADC-16586. Message Archiver (BMA) — affected by CVE-2026-111560; patch with BNMA-32468. WAF Control Center (WCC) — affected by CVE-2026-111560; patch with BNWF-60060. Web Application Firewall (WAF) — affected by CVE-2026-111560; patch with BNADC-16586. Web Security Gateway (WSG) — affected by CVE-2026-111560; patch with BNYF-24789. The vendor recommends that customers: Restrict administrative interfaces to trusted internal networks and use network access controls to reduce exposure. Check that devices are running the latest firmware and that all security patches are installed. If a device is several versions behind, install updates step by step; more than one update may be needed. Contact Barracuda Support if help is required. “If a patch has not been automatically applied, customers should manually apply the appropriate patch as soon as possible. If customers have turned off automatic patching, Barracuda recommends setting devices to automatically receive patches.” concludes the advisory. “Guidance on how to manually apply the patch or update firmware can be found on Barracuda Campus.” Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, Barracuda)
Zyxel has patched a zero-day vulnerability in its GS1900 series network switches that hackers exploited to compromise nearly 1,000 devices worldwide and steal configuration files and credentials. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-107441, is an out-of-bounds write flaw in the switches' web management interface that allows an unauthenticated attacker with network access to execute operating system commands using specially crafted HTTP requests. The flaw affects ten GS1900 switch models, and Zyxel released security updates on October 22 and published a security advisory on November 3. However, the vulnerability was initially mistaken for an older flaw that Zyxel had already patched months before the attacks began. On June 16, 2026, Zyxel released security updates addressing CVE-2026-7273, a pre-authentication buffer overflow vulnerability affecting the same GS1900 switches.
Cyberattacks disrupted refrigeration monitoring systems at three French blood banks, amid similar attacks targeting European supermarkets. A cyberattack has hit three regional blood banks in France, disrupting systems used to monitor and control refrigerated storage facilities. The incident took place overnight between Sunday and Monday, at roughly the same time hackers were targeting supermarket refrigeration systems across several European countries. The attack is particularly concerning because it targeted infrastructure that plays a direct role in protecting public health. Blood products must remain within specific temperature ranges to preserve their quality and ensure they’re safe for medical use. A disruption to refrigeration systems can therefore have consequences that go well beyond a conventional IT outage. According to the French Health Ministry, the incident affected several facilities operated by the French Blood Establishment (EFS). “Several regional facilities of the French Blood Establishment (EFS) were affected by a cybersecurity incident that impacted certain cold storage room monitoring and control systems,” the health ministry said in a statement. “The incident had no impact on blood supplies,” Reuters reported, quoting EFS spokesperson Charley Dubois. Staff working around the clock received alerts about the problems and moved blood products to refrigerators that weren’t connected to the affected systems. This response helped prevent the incident from disrupting blood supplies, demonstrating how important operational procedures and contingency plans are when technology fails. “The situation was under control on Wednesday,” the French Health Ministry said, according to Reuters, which also reported that remote access to the affected refrigerators had been disabled. Investigations are now underway to establish how the attackers gained access, which equipment was affected and when the systems can safely return to normal operation. The timing is also significant. The French blood bank incident coincided with attacks against supermarket refrigeration systems in eight European countries, including Sweden and Belgium. Those attacks forced retailers to discard large quantities of food after hackers interfered with cooling and freezer systems. This wasn’t the first time French supermarkets had faced csxk cx incident. In October, police investigated an attack in which hackers allegedly seized control of cooling units at hundreds of supermarkets, causing fires and significant food losses. These incidents share similarities that deserve attention. They point to a security problem beyond traditional corporate IT systems: the growing exposure of operational technology (OT), including industrial control systems, refrigeration equipment, and the remote management platforms kdch operate them. These systems are often connected to corporate networks or accessible through remote management services. If attackers compromise those access points, they may be able to interfere with physical processes rather than simply steal information or encrypt business data. The consequences can be serious. In a supermarket, an attacker who manipulates refrigeration controls can cause food losses and potentially create safety risks. In a blood bank, the same type of interference could threaten the integrity of medical supplies and disrupt services that hospitals depend on. The French incident didn’t affect blood supplies, but the outcome shouldn’t lead organizations to underestimate the risk. Staff intervention and the availability of independent refrigerators helped contain the damage. Not every facility will have the same resources, response procedures or ability to move critical products at short notice. Organizations operating critical infrastructure need to treat the security of connected equipment as a core operational requirement. This means identifying exposed systems, restricting remote access, enforcing strong authentication, segmenting operational networks and monitoring changes to equipment settings. They also need tested manual procedures that allow essential services to continue when digital systems become unavailable or untrustworthy. The European Union has already raised concerns about vulnerabilities in connected infrastructure amid heightened security tensions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. These latest incidents reinforce the need to consider cyberattacks against physical systems as a real operational and public safety risk, not simply an IT problem. “Investigations are under way into how the attack was carried out, what equipment may have been affected and when systems can safely return to service.” concludes the report. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook and Mastodon Pierluigi Paganini (SecurityAffairs – hacking, French Blood Banks)
France's national blood service has confirmed that a cyberattack targeting a refrigeration equipment provider raised temperature and defrost settings at three of its facilities, threatening stored blood products. The French Blood Establishment (Établissement français du sang or EFS), which manages blood collection, processing, and distribution across France, said the incident occurred on November 2 and affected systems used to monitor and control cold-storage chambers. According to a statement published on November 3, EFS was not directly targeted in the cyberattack, but was instead its refrigeration supplier. While EFS has not named the affected supplier, European refrigeration equipment provider Coolworld Rentals confirmed in a statement that a cybersecurity incident involving remote monitoring software had affected a limited number of its refrigeration units.
mSeven Software is warning current and former mSecure password manager customers to change passwords, reset two-factor authentication, and remove passkeys following a cyberattack in which a hacker reportedly stole an encrypted customer database.. In a security notification sent to customers on November 3 and shared with BleepingComputer, the company said it recently discovered suspicious activity involving its mSecure password management application. "mSeven Software (“mSeven”) recently learned of suspicious activity associated with the mSecure password management application," reads the mSecure security notification. "In response, mSeven quickly launched an investigation, took steps to mitigate the issue, and engaged external cybersecurity experts to assist. You are receiving this email because you are a current or former mSecure customer."
A phishing campaign used Google Calendar invites, trusted redirects, and fake login pages to hijack corporate Google sessions and bypass MFA protections. Material Security examines how Operation CloudFire tracked the attacks, blocked malicious messages, and helped take down nearly 900 domains used by the attackers.
SonicWall warned customers of two security flaws affecting end-of-life Global Management System (GMS) systems that will not be patched. Global Management System (GMS) helps IT admins deploy and manage thousands of SonicWall security appliances from a single interface, but SonicWall has officially replaced it with the Network Security Manager (NSM) management platform. The two vulnerabilities were found and reported by Pentest-Tools security researchers and affect systems running SonicWall GMS 9.5.2 and earlier. The first GMS flaw disclosed this week is tracked as CVE-2026-109593, and it enables unauthenticated attackers with network access to vulnerable instances (running GMS 9.5.2 and earlier versions) to steal sensitive information by reading internal files. SonicWall also flagged a second security issue (CVE-2026-109594) that can let threat actors with high privileges access or modify information stored in the GMS database through low-complexity SQL Injection attacks.
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