SocGholish

Malware
17 incidents First seen 2026-02-12 Last seen 2026-10-27
Also known as
FakeUpdates
Overview

SocGholish is a JavaScript-based loader malware that has been used since at least 2017. It has been observed in use against multiple sectors globally for initial access, primarily through drive-by-downloads masquerading as software updates. SocGholish is operated by Mustard Tempest and its access has been sold to groups including Indrik Spider for downloading secondary RAT and ransomware payloads.

Threat ecosystem
Actors Malware Campaigns CVEs
Tap a node for a quick look · double-tap to open its profile
At a glance
peak priority 170 19 techniques 1 groups use it Windows in ATT&CK since 2024-03-22 updated 2024-04-06 · v1.0
Activity by month (incidents)
2026-022026-10
Sectors targeted
government · 5health · 4cryptocurrency · 3finance · 3technology · 3education · 2hospitality · 1legal · 1manufacturing · 1
Countries targeted
CA · 11US · 11GB · 6AU · 5NL · 4RU · 4DK · 3IN · 3NZ · 3BE · 2DE · 2FR · 2
Origin
CA · 5US · 5RU · 4DE · 2GB · 2NL · 2
Kinds of incident
Malware & Botnets · 8Law Enforcement · 4Phishing & Social Engineering · 4Ransomware & Extortion · 3Fraud & Crypto Theft · 2Industry & Policy · 2
Techniques seen in incidents
Ransomware · 9T1588.001 - Malware · 8Phishing · 5Social Engineering · 5T1059.007 - JavaScript · 5T1059.001 - PowerShell · 4Botnet · 3Espionage · 3Extortion · 3Impersonate · 3Impersonation · 3T1566 - Phishing · 3Exfiltration · 2Lateral Movement · 2
Related actors
APT29 · 1APT33 · 1Indrik Spider · 1Mustard Tempest · 1
Related CVEs
CVE-2019-5736 · 1CVE-2022-0492 · 1CVE-2024-21626 · 1CVE-2026-1281 · 1CVE-2026-1340 · 1CVE-2026-20230 · 1
ATT&CK techniques by tactic (19)
initial access T1189 Drive-by Compromise T1566.002 Spearphishing Link
execution T1047 Windows Management Instrumentation T1059.007 JavaScript T1204.001 Malicious Link
discovery T1016 System Network Configuration Discovery T1033 System Owner/User Discovery T1057 Process Discovery T1082 System Information Discovery T1482 Domain Trust Discovery T1518 Software Discovery T1614 System Location Discovery
collection T1074.001 Local Data Staging
command and control T1102 Web Service T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer
exfiltration T1048.003 Exfiltration Over Unencrypted Non-C2 Protocol
stealth T1027.013 Encrypted/Encoded File T1027.015 Compression T1036.005 Match Legitimate Resource Name or Location
Groups that use it
Mustard Tempest
Incident timeline
2026-10-27
Locked and Loaded: Phishing through Fake Bids and Protected Documents
AlienVault OTX AlienVault OTX TheRecord The Hacker News AlienVault OTX AlienVault OTX
2026-10-27
Australia Gets Into Amadey Malware Backend, Cuts Off Access to 180,000 Infected Computers
2026-10-02
Crypto Scammers Hijack Microsoft’s Official X Account
2026-09-10
The Top 4 Threats We Found by Investigating Every Alert for a Quarter
2026-08-15
Crooks Are Buying Your Expired Domains and Using Them to Deliver Malware
2026-06-29
Can Clothes Make You Invisible to Facial Recognition?
2026-06-24
Three ‘cybercrime as a service’ operations undercut by Microsoft, law enforcement
2026-06-24
Microsoft uses AI to link two malware operations in racketeering suit
2026-06-24
More Malicious OpenClaw Skills Threaten AI Supply Chain
2026-06-19
Police raid malware network tied to Russia's Evil Corp hacker group
2026-06-04
ThreatsDay Bulletin: AI Agents Gone Wrong, Sketchy C2 Tools, ClickFix Tricks, JS Backdoors & 20+ New Stories
2026-06-01
Hackers hijack thousands of sites for ClickFix and FakeUpdate attacks
2026-04-14
Ransomware-Linked ViperTunnel Malware Hits UK and US Businesses
2026-03-12
Hive0163 Uses AI-Assisted Slopoly Malware for Persistent Access in Ransomware Attacks
2026-02-12
83% of Ivanti EPMM Exploits Linked to Single IP on Bulletproof Hosting Infrastructure