Dormant Medium impact Data breach Checked 1d ago

Chinese group UAT-10147 hijacks web servers with AI tools

Cisco Talos found a Chinese-speaking cybercrime group called UAT-10147 breaking into vulnerable Windows and Linux web servers to steal data and hijack search results for profit. An operational mistake exposed the group's own server, revealing a target list of about 170,000 URLs across government, education, media, technology, and gaming organizations. Confirmed victims were seen in Brazil, Bolivia, China, Canada, and Vietnam, and Talos says the group is using AI tools, including an agent called PentestGPT, to help write exploit code and run post-compromise attack playbooks, including a backdoor called SPECTRE with a Linux rootkit component named Specter.

Started
Aug 14, 2026
Latest activity
Aug 26, 2026
Attributed to
UAT-10147Suspected
Where
Brazil, Bolivia, China, Canada, Vietnam
Sectors
Government, Education, Media, Technology, Multiple sectors
Scale
a target list of roughly 170,000 URLs found on the group's own exposed server, not a confirmed victim count

Current status

A September 2 Infosec.ge summary added no new victims, restoration, containment, or closure, and no confirmed activity has been reported since August 26.

Dormant: No new confirmed activity for a while, and nobody has called an official all clear.

Who is behind it

Cisco Talos tracks the group as UAT-10147 based on language and tooling analysis; no government has confirmed the group's identity or location.

Impact

Compromised servers were used to steal data, install backdoors and a kernel-level rootkit, and redirect search traffic to ads and gambling sites for profit. The SPECTRE backdoor can also silently disable the visibility of security tools such as CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Microsoft Defender on infected Windows servers without shutting them down or triggering an alert.

What to do

IT teams should patch the exploited flaws in Zimbra, AjaxPro, Nacos, and Telerik UI and Linux kernel bugs like Dirty Pipe and Baron Samedit, check IIS servers for unfamiliar directories or scheduled tasks, and turn on Windows features like Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity or Windows Defender Application Control driver allowlisting so old vulnerable drivers cannot be loaded to attack security software.

Timeline

  1. Sep 2, 2026

    Infosec.ge published a technical summary of SPECTRE's kernel-level security-tool evasion. It reported no new victims, restoration, containment, or closure.

    Dormantinfosec.ge
  2. Aug 28, 2026

    Hexnode published a threat-watch summary of UAT-10147 and SPECTRE. It repeated the known malware and AI-assisted attack details and reported no new victims, containment, or closure.

    Dormanthexnode.com
  3. Aug 27, 2026

    Information Security republished earlier Cisco Talos and The Hacker News findings, with no new victims, containment, or closure reported.

    Activeinformationsecurity.com.tw
  4. Aug 26, 2026

    Tech Times published a technical deep dive on SPECTRE's kernel-level evasion, explaining that the backdoor loads an old, legitimately signed but vulnerable Windows driver to gain kernel access, then removes the internal hooks that CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Microsoft Defender rely on for visibility, so the security software keeps showing a healthy status while blind to attacker activity. The report cited a Cisco Talos follow-up published August 20, 2026 and named no new victims.

    Activetechtimes.com
  5. Aug 25, 2026

    CSO Online repeated Cisco Talos's findings and added expert warnings that AI can shorten the time defenders have to respond. It did not name new victims or report containment or closure.

    Activecsoonline.com
  6. Aug 24, 2026

    DailySecu (South Korea) republished the Cisco Talos findings on UAT-10147 for a Korean-language audience, repeating the same 170,000-URL target list and AI tooling details with no new victims or closure reported.

    Activedailysecu.com
  7. Aug 24, 2026

    iThome (Taiwan) republished the Talos findings on UAT-10147 for a Chinese-language audience, with no new victims or resolution reported.

    Activeithome.com.tw
  8. Aug 22, 2026

    SecurityLab.ru covered the same Talos research, emphasizing that UAT-10147 now uses AI to search for vulnerabilities and prepare attack tools rather than just assist with code.

    Activesecuritylab.ru
  9. Aug 20, 2026

    CyberInsider reported the group's SPECTRE backdoor and Specter Linux rootkit, noting the campaign was discovered by Talos in early 2026.

    Activecyberinsider.com
  10. Aug 18, 2026

    GBHackers detailed the BadIIS malware and confirmed victims in Brazil, Bolivia, China, Canada, and Vietnam.

    Activegbhackers.com
  11. Aug 14, 2026

    Cyber Security News reported Cisco Talos findings on UAT-10147 using AI-generated exploit scripts against a 170,000-URL target list.

    Activecybersecuritynews.com

Sources

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