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Malware

Operation Zero Disco rootkit

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MITRE ATT&CK

Techniques & procedures

10 distinct techniques documented for this family, organized by ATT&CK tactic.

Initial Access

1 technique
T1078Valid AccountsEvidence1

They set a universal password containing the string “disco” (a subtle alteration of “Cisco”), allowing unauthorized access through multiple authentication methods.

Execution

3 techniques
T1059Command and Scripting InterpreterEvidence1

The rootkits act as UDP listeners accepting packets on any IP assigned to the device, permitting remote execution of malicious commands.

T1203Exploitation for Client ExecutionEvidence1

The core vulnerability exploited is CVE-2025-20352, a stack overflow flaw in the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) subsystem of Cisco devices. It allows authenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code by sending specially crafted SNMP packets.

T1574Hijack Execution FlowEvidence1

These rootkits operate largely filelessly by hooking into the Cisco IOS daemon (IOSd) memory, enabling persistent and stealthy control of the infected switches.

Persistence

1 technique
T1078Valid AccountsEvidence1

They set a universal password containing the string “disco” (a subtle alteration of “Cisco”), allowing unauthorized access through multiple authentication methods.

Privilege Escalation

1 technique
T1078Valid AccountsEvidence1

They set a universal password containing the string “disco” (a subtle alteration of “Cisco”), allowing unauthorized access through multiple authentication methods.

Stealth

5 techniques
T1014RootkitEvidence1

Once exploited, attackers gain remote code execution (RCE) capabilities and implant sophisticated Linux rootkits. These rootkits operate largely filelessly by hooking into the Cisco IOS daemon (IOSd) memory, enabling persistent and stealthy control of the infected switches.

T1070Indicator RemovalEvidence1

Attackers can disable or delete device logs to erase traces of their presence. They reset the last running-config write timestamp to make changes appear non-existent.

T1078Valid AccountsEvidence1

They set a universal password containing the string “disco” (a subtle alteration of “Cisco”), allowing unauthorized access through multiple authentication methods.

T1564Hide ArtifactsEvidence1

They hide specific running configuration items in memory, including user accounts (e.g., dg3y8dpk, dg4y8epk), Embedded Event Manager (EEM) scripts (CiscoEMX-1 to CiscoEMX-5), and access control lists (e.g., EnaQWklg0).

T1574Hijack Execution FlowEvidence1

These rootkits operate largely filelessly by hooking into the Cisco IOS daemon (IOSd) memory, enabling persistent and stealthy control of the infected switches.

Credential Access

1 technique
T1557.002ARP Cache PoisoningEvidence1

Use ARP spoofing to impersonate IP addresses and bypass internal firewall restrictions for lateral movement within the network.

Lateral Movement

1 technique
T1210Exploitation of Remote ServicesEvidence1

Alongside this, attackers have been observed leveraging a modified Telnet vulnerability (related to CVE-2017-3881) to enable memory read/write access on targeted devices.

Collection

1 technique
T1557.002ARP Cache PoisoningEvidence1

Use ARP spoofing to impersonate IP addresses and bypass internal firewall restrictions for lateral movement within the network.

Other

1 technique
T1562Impair DefensesEvidence1

Bypass controls such as AAA authentication and virtual terminal (VTY) access control lists.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

1 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.

1 SOURCESView more in app
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IOC matching

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Threat actor attribution

Named campaigns wielding this family, with evidence pinned to each claim.

Exploited vulnerabilities

CVEs this family uses for access and lateral movement.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

MITRE ATT&CK mapping10

Every documented technique, ranked by evidence weight.

Researcher chatter

Reddit, Mastodon, and CTI community discussion around this family.