Thursday, May 8, 2025
Homecyber securityCybercriminals Abusing ScreenConnect RMM Tool for Persistent Access

Cybercriminals Abusing ScreenConnect RMM Tool for Persistent Access

Published on

SIEM as a Service

Follow Us on Google News

Cybersecurity experts have identified an alarming trend of cybercriminals exploiting ConnectWise ScreenConnect, a widely-used Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tool, to establish persistent access to compromised systems.

Threat Actors Exploit Legitimate Software for Malicious Gains

Silent Push Threat Analysts and other researchers have observed a surge in the abuse of this legitimate software, leveraging its capabilities to gain unauthorized control over endpoints.

This tactic allows attackers to bypass traditional security mechanisms, blending malicious activity with legitimate network traffic.

- Advertisement - Google News

The exploitation is often facilitated by vulnerabilities such as CVE-2024-1709 and CVE-2024-1708.

These flaws enable authentication bypass and path traversal attacks, allowing threat actors to execute remote code and manipulate server configurations.

Despite ConnectWise’s efforts to patch these vulnerabilities, on-premise deployments remain at high risk if updates are not promptly applied.

Bulletproof Hosting Amplify Risks

Attackers are employing sophisticated social engineering techniques, including phishing emails, SMS messages, and phone scams, to trick victims into installing legitimate ScreenConnect agents configured for malicious use.

Once installed, these agents provide attackers with full access to victim systems.

For instance, a suspicious executable file disguised as a Social Security Administration eStatement was discovered, indicating targeted campaigns against specific demographics.

Adding complexity to the threat landscape is the use of bulletproof hosting providers.

These entities are notorious for ignoring complaints about malicious activities hosted on their servers, offering cybercriminals a safe haven for command-and-control (C2) operations.

Silent Push analysts have linked several bulletproof hosting domains to these ScreenConnect campaigns.

Ransomware groups like Black Basta and Bl00dy have been observed exploiting these vulnerabilities to deploy malware payloads, exfiltrate data, and encrypt victim systems.

Additionally, attackers are using ScreenConnect as a backdoor for lateral movement within networks, targeting critical infrastructure such as Active Directory environments.

To mitigate these threats, cybersecurity professionals recommend the following measures:

  • Timely Patching: Organizations must update their ScreenConnect instances to the latest version (23.9.8 or higher) to address known vulnerabilities.
  • Enhanced Monitoring: Implement robust monitoring protocols to detect abnormal usage of RMM tools.
  • User Education: Train employees to recognize phishing attempts and avoid downloading suspicious files.
  • Proactive Security Posture: Adopt advanced threat detection tools that can identify Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) associated with abused RMM tools.

The abuse of legitimate tools like ScreenConnect underscores the evolving tactics of cybercriminals who exploit trusted software for malicious purposes.

Investigate Real-World Malicious Links & Phishing Attacks With Threat Intelligence Lookup - Try for Free

Aman Mishra
Aman Mishra
Aman Mishra is a Security and privacy Reporter covering various data breach, cyber crime, malware, & vulnerability.

Latest articles

Microsoft Bookings Vulnerability Allows Unauthorized Changes to Meeting Details

Security researchers have uncovered a significant vulnerability in Microsoft Bookings, the scheduling tool integrated...

Nmap 7.96 Released with Enhanced Scanning Capabilities and Updated Libraries

The popular network mapping and security auditing tool Nmap has released version 7.96, featuring...

Cisco IOS XE Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Gain Elevated Privileges

Cisco has issued an urgent security advisory (ID: cisco-sa-iosxe-privesc-su7scvdp) following the discovery of multiple...

Cisco IOS, XE, and XR Vulnerability Allows Remote Device Reboots

 Cisco has issued an urgent security advisory (cisco-sa-twamp-kV4FHugn) warning of a critical vulnerability in...

Resilience at Scale

Why Application Security is Non-Negotiable

The resilience of your digital infrastructure directly impacts your ability to scale. And yet, application security remains a critical weak link for most organizations.

Application Security is no longer just a defensive play—it’s the cornerstone of cyber resilience and sustainable growth. In this webinar, Karthik Krishnamoorthy (CTO of Indusface) and Phani Deepak Akella (VP of Marketing – Indusface), will share how AI-powered application security can help organizations build resilience by

Discussion points


Protecting at internet scale using AI and behavioral-based DDoS & bot mitigation.
Autonomously discovering external assets and remediating vulnerabilities within 72 hours, enabling secure, confident scaling.
Ensuring 100% application availability through platforms architected for failure resilience.
Eliminating silos with real-time correlation between attack surface and active threats for rapid, accurate mitigation

More like this

Microsoft Bookings Vulnerability Allows Unauthorized Changes to Meeting Details

Security researchers have uncovered a significant vulnerability in Microsoft Bookings, the scheduling tool integrated...

Nmap 7.96 Released with Enhanced Scanning Capabilities and Updated Libraries

The popular network mapping and security auditing tool Nmap has released version 7.96, featuring...

Cisco IOS XE Vulnerability Allows Attackers to Gain Elevated Privileges

Cisco has issued an urgent security advisory (ID: cisco-sa-iosxe-privesc-su7scvdp) following the discovery of multiple...