ShadowPad

Malware
31 incidents First seen 2026-01-08 Last seen 2026-10-30
Also known as
POISONPLUG.SHADOW
Overview

ShadowPad is a modular backdoor that was first identified in a supply chain compromise of the NetSarang software in mid-July 2017. The malware was originally thought to be exclusively used by APT41, but has since been observed to be used by various Chinese threat activity groups.

Threat ecosystem
Actors Malware Campaigns CVEs
Tap a node for a quick look · double-tap to open its profile
At a glance
peak priority 190 24 techniques 8 groups use it Windows in ATT&CK since 2021-03-23 updated 2025-10-22 · v1.3
Activity by month (incidents)
2026-012026-10
Sectors targeted
government · 15defense · 6energy · 5finance · 4telecommunications · 4education · 3technology · 3aerospace · 2hospitality · 2transportation · 2
Countries targeted
CN · 26IN · 12BD · 11PK · 10TH · 10LK · 9MV · 9NP · 9BN · 8AT · 7CH · 7AE · 6
Origin
CN · 27IN · 6BD · 5CA · 5LK · 5MV · 5
Kinds of incident
State-Sponsored & Espionage · 13Malware & Botnets · 12Exploited Vulnerability · 6Phishing & Social Engineering · 4AI-Enabled Attack · 3Cyberattack (general) · 2
Techniques seen in incidents
Espionage · 21Phishing · 13Reconnaissance · 9T1588.001 - Malware · 9T1584.004 - Server · 7Privilege Escalation · 5T1566 - Phishing · 5T1059.007 - JavaScript · 4Exfiltration · 3Lateral Movement · 3Ransomware · 3Spoofing · 3T1059.001 - PowerShell · 3T1090 - Proxy · 3
Related actors
Salt Typhoon · 3Aquatic Panda · 2Earth Lusca · 2Mustang Panda · 2APT29 · 1APT41 · 1Confucius · 1IndigoZebra · 1
Related CVEs
CVE-2026-3502 · 3CVE-2021-26855 · 2CVE-2017-7269 · 1CVE-2017-7921 · 1CVE-2021-26857 · 1CVE-2021-26858 · 1CVE-2021-27065 · 1CVE-2021-3156 · 1CVE-2021-4034 · 1CVE-2023-24932 · 1
ATT&CK techniques by tactic (24)
persistence T1112 Modify Registry
privilege escalation T1055 Process Injection T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection
discovery T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery T1033 System Owner/User Discovery T1057 Process Discovery T1082 System Information Discovery T1124 System Time Discovery T1680 Local Storage Discovery
command and control T1071.001 Web Protocols T1071.002 File Transfer Protocols T1071.004 DNS T1095 Non-Application Layer Protocol T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer T1132.002 Non-Standard Encoding T1568.002 Domain Generation Algorithms
exfiltration T1029 Scheduled Transfer
defense impairment T1112 Modify Registry
stealth T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information T1027.011 Fileless Storage T1055 Process Injection T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection T1070 Indicator Removal T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information
Groups that use it
APT41Aquatic PandaBRONZE BUTLEREarth LuscaMustang PandaRedEchoTonto TeamTropic Trooper
Incident timeline
2026-10-30
Chinese Hackers Use AI-Powered ARTEX to Target Over 200 Organizations Worldwide
2026-09-09
Multiple Chinese hacking groups seen using identical Chrome zero-day exploit
2026-08-19
SilkParasite Espionage Campaign Targets Central Asian Governments with Five New RATs
2026-07-28
AI Agent Drives Espionage Attack on Thai Ministry of Finance
2026-07-13
Pakistani Police Systems Hit by Chinese and Indian Espionage
2026-07-11
Hackers Weaponize Balochistan Police Portal in Multi-Group Espionage Campaigns
2026-07-10
China, India ran separate spying campaigns against same Pakistani police force
2026-07-08
El ciberespionaje chino eleva su nivel técnico contra organismos públicos
2026-06-29
Mustang Panda Uses Zoho WorkDrive as Command Channel in Indian Government Attacks
2026-06-16
SprySOCKS Backdoor Expands From Linux to Windows
2026-06-01
China-Aligned Groups Ramp Up Attacks: Dragon Weave Hits Czech Republic & Taiwan
2026-05-21
Showboat Linux Malware Hits Middle East Telecom with SOCKS5 Proxy Backdoor
2026-05-21
Chinese APTs Share Linux Backdoor in Central Asia Telco Attacks
2026-05-14
FamousSparrow targets Azerbaijani energy sector in multi-wave espionage campaign
2026-05-13
Azerbaijani Energy Firm Hit by Repeated Microsoft Exchange Exploitation
2026-05-07
Hackers Use Fake Claude AI Site to Infect Users With New Beagle Malware
2026-05-07
Donuts and Beagles: Fake Claude site spreads backdoor
2026-04-04
U.S. CISA adds a flaw in TrueConf Client to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
2026-04-03
CISA gives agencies two weeks to patch video conferencing bug exploited by Chinese hackers
2026-02-23
2025: The Untold Stories of Check Point Research
2026-02-06
DKnife Linux toolkit hijacks router traffic to spy, deliver malware
2026-02-06
Chinese-Made Malware Kit Targets Chinese-Based Routers and Edge Devices
2026-02-06
China-Linked DKnife AitM Framework Targets Routers for Traffic Hijacking, Malware Delivery
2026-02-05
Knife Cutting the Edge: Disclosing a China-nexus gateway-monitoring AitM framework
2026-01-08
China-Linked UAT-7290 Targets Telecom Networks in South Asia