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CVE-2026-54121MalwarePublished

Citrus Ransomware: tactics, techniques, procedures, and links to Toy Ghouls

Source AlienVault OTX General

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-54121· High 8.8

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.8 High.

Data as of 11 Nov 2026, 17:03 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.8High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

Thin evidence

One scorer or none
CVSS scores by source
CNA (microsoft)CVSS 3.18.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 14 Jul 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponized: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 11 Nov 2026.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 1607Affected
  • >=10.0.14393.0 <10.0.14393.9339
Fixed in
  • 10.0.14393.9339
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 1809Affected
  • >=10.0.17763.0 <10.0.17763.9020
Fixed in
  • 10.0.17763.9020
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012Affected
  • >=6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26226
Fixed in
  • 6.2.9200.26226
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)Affected
  • >=6.2.9200.0 <6.2.9200.26226
Fixed in
  • 6.2.9200.26226
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012 R2Affected
  • >=6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23291
Fixed in
  • 6.3.9600.23291
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)Affected
  • >=6.3.9600.0 <6.3.9600.23291
Fixed in
  • 6.3.9600.23291

Description

Citrus Ransomware is a hybrid malware threat that combines traditional infrastructure compromise techniques with AI-driven automation and evasion methods. It gains initial access through compromised contractor accounts using stolen VPN or RDP credentials. The attackers exploit vulnerabilities such as CVE-2026-54121 for privilege escalation and use tools like mimikatz and Snaffler for credential theft. The ransomware, deployed via Group Policy Objects, encrypts files using RSA-2048 and ChaCha20 algorithms, appending a .citrus extension. The operation includes disabling security solutions, clearing logs, and harvesting Telegram session data. There are links suggesting connections to the Russian-speaking Toy Ghouls group, targeting Russian organizations exclusively.

Indicators of compromise

Hashes 10

  • cf903e4a1629aa0582fd0363b5786676
  • bd5f3da317e449334b5c059a2d65c1fa945cf408
  • 7b9efc7ef8957411cdd22582ce4bfb3a5f76d9c91cdb7e36bf85c9785a2480e9
  • d631627131b90d576d77f4bf530e1abe
  • 7107fb029e7c63523e3aca5fc8e56b38
  • e251df2d0b7c3682965efb4d2009a2f4
  • 17b29b6c9de80402a45e321bbe1168fa
  • 9eee984b187423c46c10a63d080da15d
  • 62388bd1593013b9b48f03e6c7a9b2445e380707
  • 15c2d007954ac53ba69b80ec91242786b3c0b71d52649165b4ca1d5cc96ef8f1

CVEs 2

  • CVE-2020-1337
  • CVE-2026-54121

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