MuddyWater

Threat Actor
41 incidents First seen 2025-11-19 Last seen 2026-08-17
Overview

MuddyWater is a cyber espionage group assessed to be a subordinate element within Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS). Since at least 2017, MuddyWater has targeted a range of government and private organizations across sectors, including telecommunications, local government, finance, defense, and oil and natural gas organizations, in the Middle East (specifically the UAE and Saudi Arabia), Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America. MuddyWater has reused domains dating back to October 2025, and has a preference for NameCheap and Hosterdaddy Private Limited (AS136557). In late 2025 and early 2026, MuddyWater used commercial satellite internet (i.e., Starlink) for command and control (C2) communication.

Threat ecosystem
Actors Malware Campaigns CVEs
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At a glance
peak priority 190 72 techniques 21 tools & malware in ATT&CK since 2018-04-18 updated 2026-07-31 · v7.0
Activity by month (incidents)
2025-112026-08
Sectors targeted
government · 17energy · 12manufacturing · 9defense · 8finance · 7technology · 7aerospace · 4aviation · 4health · 4education · 3
Countries targeted
IR · 32IL · 23US · 23CA · 17AE · 15OM · 15BH · 14KW · 14QA · 14SA · 14IQ · 11JO · 9
Origin
IR · 31IL · 15US · 13CA · 12AE · 7BH · 7
Kinds of incident
State-Sponsored & Espionage · 17Malware & Botnets · 8Ransomware & Extortion · 6Cyberattack (general) · 4Industry & Policy · 4Attack on AI Systems · 3
Techniques seen in incidents
Ransomware · 24Phishing · 22Espionage · 20Reconnaissance · 17T1588.001 - Malware · 17Exfiltration · 15Social Engineering · 15T1059.001 - PowerShell · 9Extortion · 8Lateral Movement · 8T1059.007 - JavaScript · 8Ddos · 6T1059.006 - Python · 6Wiper · 6
Related malware
Qilin · 5Black Basta · 2Cobalt Strike · 2Havoc · 2PlugX · 2Solar · 2Apostle · 1BFG Agonizer · 1
Related CVEs
CVE-2025-34291 · 2CVE-2017-7921 · 1CVE-2023-4966 · 1CVE-2023-6895 · 1CVE-2024-55591 · 1CVE-2024-58136 · 1CVE-2025-21042 · 1CVE-2025-31277 · 1CVE-2025-32432 · 1CVE-2025-3248 · 1
ATT&CK techniques by tactic (72)
reconnaissance T1590.004 Network Topology
resource development T1583.001 Domains T1583.006 Web Services T1588.001 Malware T1588.002 Tool
initial access T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application T1566 Phishing T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment T1566.002 Spearphishing Link
execution T1047 Windows Management Instrumentation T1053.005 Scheduled Task T1059.001 PowerShell T1059.003 Windows Command Shell T1059.005 Visual Basic T1059.006 Python T1059.007 JavaScript T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution T1204.001 Malicious Link T1204.002 Malicious File T1204.004 Malicious Copy and Paste T1559.001 Component Object Model T1559.002 Dynamic Data Exchange T1574.001 DLL
persistence T1053.005 Scheduled Task T1137.001 Office Template Macros T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder
privilege escalation T1053.005 Scheduled Task T1547.001 Registry Run Keys / Startup Folder T1548.002 Bypass User Account Control
credential access T1003.001 LSASS Memory T1003.004 LSA Secrets T1003.005 Cached Domain Credentials T1552.001 Credentials In Files T1555 Credentials from Password Stores T1555.003 Credentials from Web Browsers
discovery T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery T1033 System Owner/User Discovery T1049 System Network Connections Discovery T1057 Process Discovery T1082 System Information Discovery T1083 File and Directory Discovery T1087.002 Domain Account T1518 Software Discovery T1518.001 Security Software Discovery
lateral movement T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services T1534 Internal Spearphishing
collection T1074.001 Local Data Staging T1113 Screen Capture T1560.001 Archive via Utility
command and control T1071.001 Web Protocols T1090 Proxy T1090.002 External Proxy T1102.002 Bidirectional Communication T1104 Multi-Stage Channels T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer T1132.001 Standard Encoding T1219.002 Remote Desktop Software T1571 Non-Standard Port T1573.001 Symmetric Cryptography
exfiltration T1041 Exfiltration Over C2 Channel T1567.002 Exfiltration to Cloud Storage
stealth T1027.003 Steganography T1027.004 Compile After Delivery T1027.010 Command Obfuscation T1036.005 Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information T1218.003 CMSTP T1218.005 Mshta T1218.011 Rundll32 T1574.001 DLL T1684.001 Impersonation
defense impairment T1685 Disable or Modify Tools
Tools & malware it uses
ConnectWiseCrackMapExecEmpireFooderKoadicLaZagneLP-NotesMimikatzMoriMuddyViperOut1PowerSploitPOWERSTATSPowGoopRcloneRemoteUtilitiesRustyWaterSHARPSTATSSmall SieveSTARWHALETsundere Botnet
Incident timeline
2026-08-17
Cavern C2 Uses DNS and Google Apps Script to Blend Into Legitimate Traffic
2026-07-30
Microsoft Teams vishing attacks lead to Chaos ransomware attacks
2026-07-28
Chaos in Teams vishing
2026-07-23
New msaRAT malware uses Chrome, Edge browsers to route C2 traffic
2026-07-20
HollowGraph Malware Hides C2 and Stolen Files in Microsoft 365 Events Dated 2050
2026-07-06
Iran-Linked Hackers Use New Cavern C2 Framework to Target Israeli Organizations
2026-06-24
Iran-Linked MuddyWater Poses as Ransomware Gang to Mask Cyber Espionage
2026-05-26
MuddyWater Uses DLL Side-Loading in Espionage Campaign Targeting 9 Countries
2026-05-13
Iranian hackers targeted major South Korean electronics maker
2026-05-06
Iranian cyber espionage disguised as a Chaos Ransomware attack
2026-04-08
Iran-Linked Hackers Disrupt U.S. Critical Infrastructure by Targeting Internet-Exposed PLCs
2026-03-19
ThreatsDay Bulletin: FortiGate RaaS, Citrix Exploits, MCP Abuse, LiveChat Phish & More
2026-03-16
Boggy Serpens Threat Assessment
2026-03-16
Iranian Cyber Threat Evolution: From MBR Wipers to Identity Weaponization
2026-03-09
Iran’s MuddyWater Hackers Target US Firms with New Dindoor Backdoor
2026-03-06
Iran-linked MuddyWater deploys Dindoor malware against U.S. organizations
2026-03-06
La guerra descubre los tres sistemas que utiliza Irán para sus ciberataques, algunos vinculados con el Cuerpo de la Guardia Revolucionaria Islámica (CGRI)
2026-03-03
Indian APT 'Sloppy Lemming' Targets Defense, Critical Infrastructure
2026-03-03
As War Continues, Pro-Iranian Actors Launch Barrage of Cyberattacks
2026-03-02
30 Alleged Members of 'The Com' Arrested in Project Compass
2026-02-25
RAMP Forum Seizure Fractures Ransomware Ecosystem
2026-02-25
Why 'Call This Number' TOAD Emails Beat Gateways
2026-02-23
600+ FortiGate Devices Hacked by AI-Armed Amateur
2026-02-23
2025: The Untold Stories of Check Point Research
2026-02-23
MuddyWater Targets MENA Organizations with GhostFetch, CHAR, and HTTP_VIP
2026-02-19
Best-in-Class 'Starkiller' Phishing Kit Bypasses MFA
2026-02-18
Critical Grandstream VoIP Bug Highlights SMB Security Blind Spot
2026-02-18
Threat Intelligence Has a Human-Shaped Blind Spot
2026-02-17
Poland Energy Survives Attack on Wind, Solar Infrastructure
2025-11-19
Amazon security boss: Hostile countries use cyber targeting for physical military strikes