Summary Points
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Two Threat Groups Identified: Microsoft has pinpointed two China-backed groups, Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon, exploiting recently disclosed vulnerabilities in SharePoint servers, namely CVE-2025-49706 and CVE-2025-49704.
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Global Impact: Attacks leveraging these vulnerabilities have affected numerous organizations worldwide, including government entities and a variety of industries, indicating a significant global cybersecurity threat.
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Advanced Exploitation Techniques: Hackers have been bypassing multifactor authentication and accessing sensitive data through these flaws, leveraging their capabilities to deploy backdoors and steal cryptographic keys.
- Ongoing Threat Landscape: Microsoft warns that the exploitation of SharePoint vulnerabilities will likely see further attempts from various threat actors, as they continue to investigate the breadth of attacks.
China-Backed Hackers Target SharePoint
Microsoft recently uncovered that two Chinese government-backed hacker groups, Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon, exploit vulnerabilities in SharePoint servers. Researchers track these vulnerabilities as CVE-2025-49706 and CVE-2025-49704. On July 7, attackers began using these flaws to gain access to various organizations. Microsoft has since issued patches to mitigate these threats, assigning new identifiers, CVE-2025-53770 and CVE-2025-53771. Despite this, hackers continue to find ways to bypass security measures.
Moreover, a third group, Storm-2603, also targets these vulnerabilities. Reports indicate that these hackers successfully steal sensitive data and deploy backdoors into systems. This situation has serious implications, as compromised organizations include governments and various industries worldwide. Experts emphasize that the exploitation of these holes allows hackers to evade multi-factor authentication systems, thereby gaining unauthorized privileged access.
The Widespread Impact of Cyber Threats
The ramifications of these cyberattacks extend beyond individual organizations. They threaten national security and economic stability. Investigators from companies like Palo Alto Networks and Rapid7 confirm active exploitation of these vulnerabilities across different sectors. Notably, Linen Typhoon and Violet Typhoon have histories of targeting sensitive industries, stealing intellectual property and compromising critical data.
As Microsoft continues to investigate this issue, the concern rises that more threat actors will capitalize on these vulnerabilities. This growing trend underlines the urgent need for organizations to prioritize cybersecurity measures. While some systems have received patches, many remain vulnerable. Moving forward, vigilance and timely updates will be crucial in the ongoing battle against nation-state hackers. The stakes have never been higher.
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