2026-09-10HIGHexploitedA months-old Fortinet CAPWAP bug reaches CISA KEV alongside an AI-assisted post-exploitation RAT built specifically for FortiGate
PivotC2
malware · malware:pivotc2
AI-assisted Node.js post-exploitation RAT purpose-built for compromised Fortinet FortiGate firewalls, delivered via CVE-2025-25249 exploitation; maintains a persistent multiplexed TLS C2 channel and supports interactive shells, SOCKS5/HTTP tunneling, port scanning, and autonomous FortiGate configuration/credential-store harvesting (SOCRadar STRU, 2026-09-08).
Coverage
1
first 2026-09-10 → last 2026-09-10
Latest activity
2026-09-10
A months-old Fortinet CAPWAP bug reaches CISA KEV alongside an AI-assisted post-exploitation RAT built…
Peak priority
high
1 high
Targets
public-sector
sectors: public-sector
Sources cited
5
5 hosts
Action items (1)
Do-now tasks recorded on the entries about PivotC2, newest first. Check the date before acting on an older one.
- Patch every internet-facing FortiGate/FortiSwitchManager to the fixed builds now, and on any device that exposed CAPWAP (UDP 5246) to an untrusted network before patching, rotate VPN PSKs, SSL-VPN and LDAP bind credentials and admin passwords rather than relying on the patch alone; PivotC2's autonomous mode is built to harvest exactly those credential stores.2026-09-10CVE-2025-25249
Defender insights
What each entry about PivotC2 tells a defender to do, newest first.
Triage
Story timeline
Hunting pivots
CVEs (exploited first)
Affected products
ATT&CK techniques (10 across 9 tactics)
10 techniques observed across 1 entry about this entity, derived from entry metadata and body evidence, never asserted without a published entry behind it · pinned to MITRE ATT&CK v20.0 · compare on the matrix · Navigator layer (JSON)
- Initial AccessExploit Public-Facing Application
- ExecutionCommand and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell
- Privilege EscalationProcess Injection: Portable Executable Injection
- StealthObfuscated Files or Information · Process Injection: Portable Executable Injection
- Credential AccessUnsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files
- DiscoveryNetwork Service Discovery
- Lateral MovementRemote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol
- Command and ControlApplication Layer Protocol: Web Protocols · Proxy
- ExfiltrationExfiltration Over Web Service: Exfiltration to Cloud Storage
Initial Access TA0001
T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application×1
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network. The weakness in the system can be a software bug, a temporary glitch, or a misconfiguration.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Execution TA0002
T1059.001Command and Scripting Interpreter: PowerShell×1
Adversaries may abuse PowerShell commands and scripts for execution. PowerShell is a powerful interactive command-line interface and scripting environment included in the Windows operating system. PowerShell can also be installed on Linux and macOS. Adversaries can use PowerShell to perform a number of actions, including discovery of information and execution of code. Examples include the <code>Start-Process</code> cmdlet which can be used to run an executable and the <code>Invoke-Command</code> cmdlet which runs a command locally or on a remote computer (though administrator permissions are required to use PowerShell to connect to remote systems).
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Privilege Escalation TA0004
T1055.002Process Injection: Portable Executable Injection×1
Adversaries may inject portable executables (PE) into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. PE injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Stealth TA0005
T1027Obfuscated Files or Information×1
Adversaries may attempt to make an executable or file difficult to discover or analyze by encrypting, encoding, or otherwise obfuscating its contents on the system or in transit. This is common behavior that can be used across different platforms and the network to evade defenses.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
T1055.002Process Injection: Portable Executable Injection×1
Adversaries may inject portable executables (PE) into processes in order to evade process-based defenses as well as possibly elevate privileges. PE injection is a method of executing arbitrary code in the address space of a separate live process.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Credential Access TA0006
T1552.001Unsecured Credentials: Credentials In Files×1
Adversaries may search local file systems and remote file shares for files containing insecurely stored credentials. These can be files created by users to store their own credentials, shared credential stores for a group of individuals, configuration files containing passwords for a system or service, or source code/binary files containing embedded passwords.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Discovery TA0007
T1046Network Service Discovery×1
Adversaries may attempt to get a listing of services running on remote hosts and local network infrastructure devices, including those that may be vulnerable to remote software exploitation. Common methods to acquire this information include port, vulnerability, and/or wordlist scans using tools that are brought onto a system.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Lateral Movement TA0008
T1021.001Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol×1
Adversaries may use Valid Accounts to log into a computer using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). The adversary may then perform actions as the logged-on user.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Command and Control TA0011
T1071.001Application Layer Protocol: Web Protocols×1
Adversaries may communicate using application layer protocols associated with web traffic to avoid detection/network filtering by blending in with existing traffic. Commands to the remote system, and often the results of those commands, will be embedded within the protocol traffic between the client and server.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
T1090Proxy×1
Adversaries may use a connection proxy to direct network traffic between systems or act as an intermediary for network communications to a command and control server to avoid direct connections to their infrastructure. Many tools exist that enable traffic redirection through proxies or port redirection, including HTRAN, ZXProxy, and ZXPortMap. Adversaries use these types of proxies to manage command and control communications, reduce the number of simultaneous outbound network connections, provide resiliency in the face of connection loss, or to ride over existing trusted communications paths between victims to avoid suspicion. Adversaries may chain together multiple proxies to further disguise the source of malicious traffic.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Exfiltration TA0010
T1567.002Exfiltration Over Web Service: Exfiltration to Cloud Storage×1
Adversaries may exfiltrate data to a cloud storage service rather than over their primary command and control channel. Cloud storage services allow for the storage, edit, and retrieval of data from a remote cloud storage server over the Internet.
Evidence: 2026-09-10/cve-2025-25249-fortinet-fortios-capwap-pivotc2-rat · ATT&CK page ↗
Entries about PivotC2 (1)
Co-occurring entities
Derived: referenced by the same focused operational entries (weekly summaries and report roundups don't count); ×N counts the shared entries.
- Fortinet FortiOS×1
- Fortinet FortiOS/FortiSwitchManager CAPWAP heap overflow, CISA KEV 2026-09-09, actively exploited since July 2026 via the PivotC2 RAT×1
- Fortinet FortiSASE×1
- Fortinet FortiSwitchManager×1
Where this entity is cited
Source distribution
- cisa.gov1 (20%)
- euvdservices.enisa.europa.eu1 (20%)
- github.com1 (20%)
- sentinelone.com1 (20%)
- socradar.io1 (20%)
All cited sources (5)
- cisa.govCISAhttps://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2026/09/09/cisa-adds-four-known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- euvdservices.enisa.europa.euENISA EUVDhttps://euvdservices.enisa.europa.eu/api/search?text=CVE-2025-25249
- github.comGitHub Advisory Databasehttps://github.com/advisories/GHSA-mj8x-m8f5-x4w8
- sentinelone.comSentinelOnehttps://www.sentinelone.com/vulnerability-database/cve-2025-25249/
- socradar.ioSOCRadar (STRU)https://socradar.io/blog/cve-2025-25249-pivotc2-fortigate-rat