PULSE NAME
The Proliferation of DarkSword: iOS Exploit Chain Adopted by Multiple Threat Actors
WHITE AlienVault 2026-03-18 Modified: 2026-03-18
21
IOCs
MEDIUM VOLUME
Google Threat Intelligence Group has identified a new iOS full-chain exploit called DarkSword, which leverages multiple zero-day vulnerabilities to compromise devices running iOS 18.4 through 18.7. Since November 2025, multiple commercial surveillance vendors and suspected state-sponsored actors have been observed using DarkSword in campaigns targeting users in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Malaysia, and Ukraine. The exploit chain utilizes six different vulnerabilities to deploy final-stage payloads, including three distinct malware families: GHOSTBLADE, GHOSTKNIFE, and GHOSTSABER. The proliferation of DarkSword across various threat actors mirrors the previously discovered Coruna iOS exploit kit. Notable users include UNC6353, a suspected Russian espionage group, which has incorporated DarkSword into their watering hole campaigns targeting Ukrainian websites.
Indicators of Compromise (21)
All CVE FileHash-SHA256 URL FileHash-SHA1 domain hostname
TYPEINDICATORDESCRIPTIONCREATED
CVE CVE-2025-14174 2026-03-18
CVE CVE-2025-31277 2026-03-18
CVE CVE-2025-43510 2026-03-18
CVE CVE-2025-43520 2026-03-18
CVE CVE-2025-43529 2026-03-18
CVE CVE-2026-20700 2026-03-18
FileHash-SHA256 2e5a56beb63f21d9347310412ae6efb29fd3db2d3a3fc0798865a29a3c578d35 2026-03-18
URL https://snapshare.chat/ 2026-03-18
URL https://static.cdncounter.net/assets/index.html 2026-03-18
URL https://static.cdncounter.net/widgets.js?uhfiu27fajf2948fjfefaa42 2026-03-18
FileHash-SHA1 0afa88a4dde47b4ad21dc1de87293814fc51499c 2026-03-18
FileHash-SHA1 bac0e0ef16c3c657967bd2155ba6d8a6ef1df6a7 2026-03-18
FileHash-SHA1 d2f1ea6229a205b693508c39f654dd8e3475763c 2026-03-18
FileHash-SHA1 f4bc68581c02d6f390a8a56ff1c5d04e002afb39 2026-03-18
domain 0x1fedd2.open 2026-03-18
domain 0x436cc4.open 2026-03-18
domain sahibndn.io 2026-03-18
domain snapshare.chat 2026-03-18
hostname e5.malaymoil.com 2026-03-18
hostname sqwas.shapelie.com 2026-03-18
hostname static.cdncounter.net 2026-03-18