bleeping-computer · Crawled Oct 25, 2026

BlackX UEFI bootkit exploits Baton Drop flaw to bypass Secure Boot

1 IoCs 1 Actors 1 Malware
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AI Summary

The BlackX UEFI bootkit, attributed with medium confidence to Chinese state-sponsored threat group APT41 (also known as Brass Typhoon, Wicked Panda, Barium), has been used in an espionage campaign since early 2026 targeting diplomatic agencies in Central Asia. It exploits the Baton Drop vulnerability (CVE-2022-21894) to bypass Secure Boot by enrolling custom Machine Owner Keys (MOKs) and loading malicious EFI files, leveraging a previously known flaw that requires manual activation of certificate revocation to be fully mitigated. The bootkit deploys a malicious kernel driver signed with a revoked certificate to disable security processes, tamper with ETW, and deploy follow-on payloads including a RAT using cloud storage for C2 and the OxiDLLRunner DLL loader that executes obfuscated Rust-based plugins from a malicious domain.

AI-extracted · verify before operational use

Extracted Entities 2 found

Malware BlackLotus → Threat Actor APT41 →

Indicators of Compromise 1 extracted

Type Value Detail
Domain archivetj[.]com Details →

MITRE ATT&CK TTPs 37 techniques

T1006 Direct Volume Access · Defense Evasion T1027 Obfuscated Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1055 Process Injection · Defense Evasion T1059.001 PowerShell · Execution T1071.001 Web Protocols · Command And Control T1078.001 Default Accounts · Defense Evasion T1218.001 Compiled HTML File · Defense Evasion T1542.001 System Firmware · Persistence T1003 OS Credential Dumping · Credential Access T1003.001 LSASS Memory · Credential Access T1018 Remote System Discovery · Discovery T1021.001 Remote Desktop Protocol · Lateral Movement T1036 Masquerading · Defense Evasion T1036.005 Match Legitimate Name or Location · Defense Evasion T1055.001 Dynamic-link Library Injection · Defense Evasion T1059.003 Windows Command Shell · Execution T1071.003 Mail Protocols · Command And Control T1078 Valid Accounts · Defense Evasion T1082 System Information Discovery · Discovery T1083 File and Directory Discovery · Discovery T1087.002 Domain Account · Discovery T1095 Non-Application Layer Protocol · Command And Control T1105 Ingress Tool Transfer · Command And Control T1129 Shared Modules · Execution T1133 External Remote Services · Persistence T1135 Network Share Discovery · Discovery T1140 Deobfuscate/Decode Files or Information · Defense Evasion T1170 T1170 T1197 BITS Jobs · Defense Evasion T1204.002 Malicious File · Execution T1205.001 Port Knocking · Defense Evasion T1210 Exploitation of Remote Services · Lateral Movement T1485 Data Destruction · Impact T1558 Steal or Forge Kerberos Tickets · Credential Access T1566 Phishing · Initial Access T1566.001 Spearphishing Attachment · Initial Access T1573.001 Symmetric Cryptography · Command And Control