In 2025, the global cybersecurity situation continued to deteriorate, with a significant rise in the use of 0-day vulnerabilities in Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) attacks, which became a key driver of accelerating threats. Numerous 0-day vulnerabilities were exploited in operating systems, browsers, network devices, and security software, enabling attackers to bypass defenses for extended periods and inflict deep, long-term damage on widely distributed targets. Meanwhile, both new and established APT groups launched intense attacks worldwide, expanding their motives from espionage to financial gain, supply chain infiltration, and political sabotage, pushing the threat landscape into a more complex phase.
The South American APT group “BlindEagle” conducted multiple attacks between November 2024 and February 2025, targeting Colombian judicial and government institutions. They exploited a variant of CVE-2024-43451, a vulnerability in Windows that allows attackers to capture NTLMv2 hashes via malicious SMB links in shortcut files. The flaw is triggered by low-interaction actions (e.g., right-clicking, dragging, or deleting files), demonstrating the high risk of logic-based 0-day vulnerabilities that require minimal user interaction, even without clicking.
The North Korean Lazarus Group targeted multiple industries in South Korea from late 2024 to early 2025. They weaponized a 0-day vulnerability in CrossEX, a widely used South Korean online banking security software, achieving large-scale infiltration and data theft. Although Lazarus quickly removed the exploit code after the operation, the use of mass-installation security products as attack vectors poses a severe threat to critical national information systems.
In April 2024, the Turkey-linked APT group Marbled Dust (also known as Sea Turtle) launched a cyberattack against the Iraqi Kurdish military. The intelligence surrounding this operation was only disclosed a year later, in April 2025. The group exploited a directory traversal 0-day vulnerability (CVE-2025-27920) to steal credentials and gain access to the Output Messenger Server Manager. They then planted malicious scripts in the server’s startup directory, executing a Golang-based backdoor to seize control of compromised hosts. This case highlights the dangerous synergy between credential abuse and 0-day exploits, enabling attackers to achieve highly covert, persistent control over targeted systems.
In March 2025, the APT group StealthFalcon targeted a major Turkish defense contractor through a spear-phishing campaign. Victims were tricked into executing a malicious network shortcut file containing the 0-day vulnerability CVE-2025-33053, which deployed a custom backdoor on their systems. This backdoor was then used to load other malicious components, facilitating intelligence gathering and remote manipulation of infected devices. The operation underscores StealthFalcon’s ongoing focus on high-value individuals and enterprises, demonstrating their commitment to precision-targeted attacks.
In September 2025, Cisco revealed a new wave of global cyberespionage attacks linked to the 2024 ArcaneDoor campaign. A state-sponsored threat actor exploited three 0-day vulnerabilities in Cisco devices, two of which were Remote Code Execution (RCE) flaws with CVSS scores of 9.9 and 9.0, respectively. These attacks targeted global critical infrastructure, including multiple U.S. federal agencies, reinforcing the role of 0-day vulnerabilities in network infrastructure as a pivotal resource in international cyber conflicts and intelligence warfare.
In the economically driven hacking ecosystem, the weaponization of 0-day exploit chains has accelerated rapidly. In July 2025, an exploit chain targeting Microsoft SharePoint emerged online, enabling remote code execution (RCE). This chain was quickly adopted by hacking groups such as Mimo and Warlock for large-scale attacks. By late July, the exploit chain had been enhanced with two additional vulnerabilities, allowing it to bypass Microsoft’s latest patches. It became one of the most destructive enterprise-level exploit tools of the period, posing severe risks to organizations worldwide.
XE Group, an APT organization active for over a decade and primarily focused on stealing credit card and customer data for profit, launched a supply chain attack against VeraCore warehouse management software in the fourth quarter of 2024. The group exploited two 0-day vulnerabilities to compromise internet-facing VeraCore systems, using the breached servers to conduct poisoning attacks against downstream customers. By embedding persistence in the supply chain, XE exposed affected enterprises to long-term data leakage and further infiltration risks, demonstrating the escalating threat posed by supply chain compromises.
The mobile sector also faced critical 0-day threats. In August 2025, Apple released a security advisory addressing CVE-2025-43300, a high-severity out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the ImageIO module (CVSS score: 8.8). This flaw could allow remote code execution without user interaction and had already been exploited to target specific high-value users. While Apple did not disclose attack details, image-processing 0-days have historically been pivotal components of mobile attack chains, posing significant risks to high-profile individuals and organizations.
Key Characteristics and Future Defense Strategies Against APT Attacks
APT attacks exhibit three defining traits: high stealth, strong targeting, and persistence. The substantial resource investment required for a successful intrusion means attackers expect proportional returns, typically focusing on strategically critical information infrastructure. To counter these evolving threats, future cybersecurity defenses must adopt intelligent, proactive mechanisms, integrating threat intelligence, behavioral analysis, and artificial intelligence to build multi-layered defense systems that cover every stage of the attack chain.
Additionally, cross-organizational and cross-industry collaboration is essential. Establishing effective threat information sharing and coordinated response frameworks will be vital in addressing the increasingly sophisticated and professionalized cybersecurity landscape. Only through collective action can the global community effectively mitigate the risks posed by advanced persistent threats.
