CERT-UA reports UAC-0247 targeting Ukrainian clinics and government bodies with malware stealing data from Chromium browsers and WhatsApp.

CERT-UA has revealed a cyber campaign by the threat actor UAC-0247 targeting Ukrainian government entities and municipal healthcare facilities, including clinics and emergency hospitals. The operation between March and April 2026, used malware designed to steal sensitive data from Chromium-based browsers and WhatsApp. The origin of the threat actor remains unclear, raising concerns about ongoing espionage risks.

The attack begins with a phishing email posing as a humanitarian aid proposal, prompting the victim to click a link. To appear credible, attackers may use AI-generated fake websites or exploit legitimate sites vulnerable to XSS attacks.

Clicking the link downloads an archive containing a shortcut file that triggers an HTA execution chain. This retrieves a remote HTA file showing a decoy form while silently launching an EXE via a scheduled task.

The malware injects shellcode into legitimate processes like RuntimeBroker.exe. Recent variants use a two-stage loader with a custom executable format, delivering a compressed and encrypted payload. A reverse shell, often similar to RAVENSHELL, establishes a TCP connection with the command server, encrypts traffic via XOR, and executes commands.

“A typical TCP reverse shell or an analogue classified as RAVENSHELL can be used as stagers, which provides for establishing a TCP connection with the management server, encrypting traffic using 9-byte XOR (key: “01 01 02 03 74 15 04 FF EE”; during the first connection, an XOR-encrypted message “Connected!” is transmitted), as well as executing commands using CMD.” reads the report published by CERT-UA.

For persistence, the attackers deployed the malware AGINGFLY alongside a PowerShell script, SILENTLOOP, which manages commands, updates configuration, and retrieves C2 server data via Telegram with backup mechanisms.

AGINGFLY is a C# malware used to remotely control infected computers. It can run commands, download files, take screenshots, log keystrokes, and execute code. It communicates with its control server via encrypted web sockets using AES-CBC. Unlike typical malware, it doesn’t store command functions locally, instead, it downloads them from the server and compiles them on the fly, making it more flexible and harder to detect.

CERT-UA experts analyzed multiple incidents, discovering that attackers stole credentials from browsers using CHROMELEVATOR and from WhatsApp via ZAPIXDESK, while also conducting reconnaissance and lateral movement within networks. They employ subnet scanners and tools like RUSTSCAN, and create covert tunnels using LIGOLO-NG and CHISEL. In one case, an XMRIG miner was deployed via a modified WIREGUARD executable. Targets include Ukrainian Defense personnel, with malware spread through a fake “BACHU” tool shared on Signal, leveraging DLL side-loading to deploy AGINGFLY.

“To reduce the likelihood of a cyberthreat, it is enough to limit the launch of LNK, HTA, and JS files, as well as legitimate utilities mshta.exe, powershell.exe, and wscript.exe, the necessity of which has been repeatedly emphasized in the context of reducing the attack surface by using standard operating system protection mechanisms.” concludes the report.

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Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs – hacking, CERT-UA)

Phishing remains one of the most effective tactics in the cybercriminal playbook, particularly when attackers exploit urgent humanitarian themes, trusted online resources, and legitimate system tools to increase victim engagement. Europol also notes that phishing continues to serve as a primary delivery vector for data-stealing malware. This pattern is clearly reflected in the latest activity tracked by CERT-UA, where threat actors used humanitarian-aid themed lures and multi-stage malware delivery to target Ukrainian organizations.

In a CERT-UA article, researchers described a UAC-0247 campaign targeting local self-government bodies, communal healthcare institutions, and likely representatives of Ukraine’s Defense Forces. The operation ultimately deployed AGINGFLY and related malicious tools, combining phishing, deceptive web delivery, and abuse of legitimate Windows utilities to establish access and support follow-on compromise.

CERT-UA’s latest reporting highlights another wave of phishing-driven intrusions targeting Ukraine’s civilian and potentially defense-adjacent sectors. In the campaign described in the article, attackers used humanitarian-aid themed emails to lure victims into opening malicious content that eventually deployed AGINGFLY, a malware family associated with remote access, credential theft, and follow-on post-compromise activity. The observed targets included local self-government bodies, communal healthcare institutions, including clinical and emergency hospitals, and likely individuals connected to FPV drone operations.

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Security teams can search the Threat Detection Marketplace using the “UAC-0247” tag to identify relevant detections and monitor related content updates. Cyber defenders can also rely on Uncoder AI to convert raw threat intelligence into performance-optimized queries, document and improve rule logic, and generate Attack Flows based on the latest CERT-UA reporting.

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Analyzing UAC-0247 Attacks Delivering AGINGFLY via Humanitarian-Themed Phishing Lures

According to CERT-UA, the attack chain began with phishing emails disguised as humanitarian aid proposals. Victims were prompted to click a link that redirected either to a legitimate website compromised through cross-site scripting (XSS) or to a fake website generated with AI tools. In both scenarios, the objective was to persuade the victim to download and open an archive containing a malicious LNK file.

Once launched, the shortcut file abused mshta.exe to retrieve and execute a remote HTA file. The HTA displayed a decoy form to distract the victim while simultaneously downloading an executable that injected shellcode into a legitimate process, such as RuntimeBroker.exe. CERT-UA also noted that more recent stages of the campaign relied on a two-stage loader, with the second stage using a proprietary executable format and the final payload additionally compressed and encrypted to complicate detection and analysis.

Among the next-stage components identified in the campaign were RAVENSHELL, which acted as a reverse-shell style stager, SILENTLOOP, a PowerShell-based tool capable of executing commands and obtaining command-and-control data, and AGINGFLY, the primary malware family used in the operation. CERT-UA-linked reporting indicates that AGINGFLY is designed for remote control, data theft, and follow-on compromise activity.

The campaign also supported credential theft, reconnaissance, and lateral movement. Investigators observed the use of tooling to extract data from Chromium-based browsers, access messaging-related data, scan internal networks, and tunnel traffic across compromised environments. In one of the investigated cases, forensic evidence suggested that representatives of Ukraine’s Defense Forces may have been targeted using malicious ZIP archives distributed via Signal and designed to deploy AGINGFLY through DLL side-loading.

To reduce exposure to this activity, CERT-UA recommends restricting the execution of risky file types such as LNK, HTA, and JS, while also limiting or closely monitoring the use of native Windows tools frequently abused in the infection chain, including mshta.exe, powershell.exe, and wscript.exe.

MITRE ATT&CK Context

Leveraging MITRE ATT&CK helps contextualize the latest UAC-0247 activity. Based on the reported TTPs, the most relevant techniques likely include Phishing: Spearphishing Link (T1566.002), Command and Scripting Interpreter, Process Injection (T1055), Web Protocols / WebSockets for C2, Credential Access, and Lateral Movement via tunneling and proxying tools. This mapping reflects the phishing lures, deceptive web delivery, LNK-to-HTA execution, shellcode injection, AGINGFLY deployment, and follow-on credential theft and internal reconnaissance.

The post UAC-0247 Attack Detection: AGINGFLY Malware Targets Hospitals, Local Governments, and FPV Operators in Ukraine appeared first on SOC Prime.

Ukrainian cyber defenders reported a newly intensified cyber campaign that is targeting Ukraine’s healthcare system and local government agencies, with attackers deploying increasingly sophisticated malware and social engineering tactics.

In a fresh advisory, the CERT-UA said the activity—linked to a threat cluster tracked as UAC-0247—spiked between March and April 2026, with clinical hospitals, emergency services, and municipal bodies bearing the brunt of the attacks.

UAC-0247 Used Humanitarian Aid Lures as Entry Point

The campaign begins with phishing emails disguised as offers of humanitarian assistance—a tactic designed to exploit trust during wartime conditions. Victims are urged to click on links that appear legitimate, sometimes backed by convincingly crafted fake websites or compromised third-party resources.

Behind the scenes, however, the links trigger a multi-stage infection chain that ultimately gives attackers remote control over the victim’s system.

Once clicked, victims download an archive containing a malicious shortcut file. This file activates a built-in Windows tool to execute remote code, initiating a sequence that includes decoy documents to avoid suspicion.

Also read: Hackers Impersonate Ukrainian CERT to Plant a RAT on Government, Hospital Networks

The attack escalates quickly. Malicious executables are deployed via scheduled tasks, injecting code into legitimate system processes such as RuntimeBroker.exe to evade detection.

Recent campaigns show an evolution in sophistication, with attackers introducing multi-stage loaders and custom executable formats. Payloads are often encrypted and compressed, making analysis and detection more difficult.

At later stages, attackers deploy reverse shell tools—including variants resembling “RAVENSHELL”—to establish encrypted communication with command-and-control servers and execute remote commands.

Persistent Access and Remote Control

To maintain long-term access, attackers install a custom backdoor known as AGINGFLY, a C#-based malware designed for full remote system control. The tool enables:

• Command execution
• File exfiltration
• Screenshot capture
• Keylogging

Unlike conventional malware, AGINGFLY dynamically retrieves and compiles its command logic from remote servers, making it more adaptable and harder to detect.

Complementing this is a PowerShell-based tool dubbed SILENTLOOP, which helps maintain persistence and retrieves command server addresses—sometimes even pulling them from Telegram channels.

Credential Theft and Lateral Movement

Once inside a network, attackers move quickly to expand access. CERT-UA observed tools like CHROMELEVATOR being used to extract browser credentials, while ZAPIXDESK targets WhatsApp data.

The attackers also conduct internal reconnaissance using both custom scripts and publicly available tools such as RUSTSCAN. For stealthy movement across networks, tunneling tools like LIGOLO-NG and CHISEL are deployed.

In at least one case, attackers went further—embedding the XMRIG cryptocurrency miner inside a modified version of the legitimate WireGuard application, highlighting a secondary motive of financial gain.

Military Targets Also in Scope

The campaign isn’t limited to civilian infrastructure. CERT-UA noted an incident in March where individuals connected to Ukraine’s defense sector were targeted via the Signal platform.

Attackers distributed a trojanized version of software used by FPV drone operators, packaged as a seemingly legitimate update. In reality, the download triggered a DLL side-loading attack that installed the AGINGFLY backdoor.

CERT-UA recommends reducing exposure by restricting the execution of high-risk file types such as LNK, HTA, and JavaScript files. The agency also urges organizations to limit the use of native Windows tools like mshta.exe and PowerShell where possible, as these are frequently abused in attacks.