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NeedyMantis long-term access activity

Malware Activity
First reported
Last updated
Happening score
H score 22
2 unique sources, 2 articles

Summary

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The NeedyMantis malware family is being used to maintain long-term access in already breached networks, affecting a small number of targeted intrusions across telecommunications, universities, medical nonprofits, intergovernmental organizations, and government contractors. Microsoft says the activity dates back to October 2025. In examined cases, the malware arrived through DLL sideloading and established command-and-control over HTTPS and WebSocket. Microsoft published SHA-256 hashes, the corp.tripswithengine[.]com domain, file paths, and hunting queries to help defenders find it.

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Timeline

  1. 29.09.2026 16:30 1 articles · 13d ago

    Microsoft details NeedyMantis DLL sideloading and China-linked activity

    Technical Analysis Update

    Microsoft said NeedyMantis has been active since at least October 2025 and is used against telecommunications providers, universities and government-linked organizations; the malware is deployed after initial access to maintain long-term access, is installed through DLL side-loading with legitimate software such as Poedit, curl, Vim and TightVNC, and Microsoft attributed the activity as emerging from China while noting at least one operator is Storm-3069.

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  2. 28.09.2026 21:35 2 articles · 13d ago

    NeedyMantis long-term access activity

    Initial Disclosure

    The earliest tracked NeedyMantis sample dates to October 2025, when an older version included a persistence module that used Windows services. Later samples seen in May 2026 led Microsoft to publish hashes, paths, domains, and hunting queries for defenders.

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