RAT Malware Via Windows Explorer Puts Crypto at Risk
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Cofense Intelligence exposes how threat actors abuse Windows File Explorer and WebDAV servers to bypass browser security and push RATs to corporate targets. Threat actors have found a way to push malware directly onto corporate machines without going through a web browser at all. Cofense Intelligence published findings on February 25, 2026, revealing an active campaign that weaponizes Windows File Explorer’s built-in ability to connect to remote WebDAV servers. The tactic sidesteps standard browser download warnings entirely. Most users have no idea that File Explorer can reach out to internet servers. WebDAV is an old HTTP-based file management protocol. Few people use it today. But Windows still supports it natively inside File Explorer, even though Microsoft deprecated the feature in November 2023. That gap between deprecation and full removal is exactly what attackers are walking through. When a Folder Is Not Really a Folder According to Cofense Intelligence in their published report, campaign volume first appeared in February 2024, then spiked sharply in September 2024. It has remained active ever since. The attacks have not slowed. 87 percent of all Active Threat Reports tied to this tactic deliver multiple remote access trojans as final payloads. XWorm RAT, Async RAT, and DcRAT show up most often. Must Read: Crypto Security Breach: January Hacks Total $86M, Phishing Skyrockets How the Attack Actually Works Victims receive phishing emails, often disguised as invoices in German. The emails carry either URL shortcut files (.url) or LNK shortcut files (.lnk). Both can silently open a WebDAV connection inside File Explorer. The user sees what looks like a local folder. It is not. What makes this particularly damaging is the chain that follows. Scripts pull down additional scripts from separate WebDAV servers. Legitimate files mix in with malicious ones to blur detection. By the time a RAT…
Filed under: News - @ March 1, 2026 10:01 pm