Leviathan
APT40 is a Chinese-affiliated threat actor also tracked as Leviathan, Bronze Mohawk, Feverdream, Gadolinium, Gingham Typhoon, JJDoor, Kryptonite Panda, Mudcarp, Red Ladon, TEMP.Jumper, and TEMP.Periscope. The content directly links this actor to Chinese state-linked activity, including reporting that APT40 used capture-the-flag competitions at Hainan University to recruit hackers and source software vulnerabilities for operations. The content states that APT40/Leviathan has targeted victims with spearphishing attachments intended to induce user execution. It also states that the group has used a DLL known as SeDll to decrypt and execute other JavaScript backdoors. Additional reporting in the content says Leviathan used staging directories including C:\Windows\Debug and C:\Perflogs, stored captured credential material in local log files on victim systems during the Leviathan Australian intrusions, and staged data remotely prior to exfiltration. The content also notes tooling overlap between Operation SoftCell and several Chinese-affiliated groups including APT10, APT27, and APT40. China Chopper is specifically described as having historically been used by Chinese cybercriminal and espionage groups including Leviathan. The mention contexts additionally associate Leviathan with ATT&CK techniques including T1068 Exploitation for Privilege Escalation, T1059.001 PowerShell, and T1090.003 Multi-hop Proxy, but the provided content does not supply operation-specific detail tying those techniques to Leviathan beyond annotation metadata.
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Targeting
Who, where, and (when attributed) which flag flies behind the operation. Pulled from open-source reporting and Mallory's analyst review.
Who they target
Sectors the actor has been observed targeting.
- Telecommunication Services
Where they're from
Attributed origin per open-source reporting.
- CN
Tradecraft
50 distinct techniques observed across reporting, grouped by tactic. Hover any cell for the evidence excerpt; click through for MITRE's full description.
Associated malware families
34 malware families attributed to this actor across reporting.
29 additional families tracked in Mallory.
Associated vulnerabilities
15 CVEs this actor has used in observed campaigns. 15 of them exploited in the wild.
...used exploits for... Word (CVE-2017-0199)...
APT40 leverages exploits in their phishing operations, often weaponizing vulnerabilities within days of their disclosure. Observed vulnerabilities include: CVE-2012-0158 CVE-2017-0199 CVE-2017-8759 CVE-2017-11882
APT40 leverages exploits in their phishing operations, often weaponizing vulnerabilities within days of their disclosure. Observed vulnerabilities include: CVE-2012-0158 CVE-2017-0199 CVE-2017-8759 CVE-2017-11882
This detection identifies instances where Windows Explorer.exe spawns PowerShell or cmd.exe processes, particularly focusing on executions initiated by LNK files. This behavior is associated with the ZDI-CAN-25373 Windows shortcut zero-day vulnerability, where specially crafted LNK files are used to trigger malicious code execution through cmd.exe or powershell.exe. This technique has been actively exploited by multiple APT groups in targeted attacks through both HTTP and SMB delivery methods.
APT40 leverages exploits in their phishing operations, often weaponizing vulnerabilities within days of their disclosure. Observed vulnerabilities include: CVE-2012-0158 CVE-2017-0199 CVE-2017-8759 CVE-2017-11882
10 more CVEs tied to this actor tracked in Mallory.
Observables
118 indicators attributed to this actor: domains, IPs, hashes, and other artifacts pulled from reporting. View more in app.
Recent activity
20 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
Listed as an associated threat actor in the detection annotation for exploitation of the public-facing PTC Windchill vulnerability CVE-2026-4681.
Uses capture-the-flag competitions at Hainan University to recruit hackers and obtain software vulnerabilities for operational use.
Referenced as a threat actor associated with the MITRE ATT&CK technique T1090.003 (Multi-hop Proxy) in the detection annotation for access to anonymizer services.
Named threat actor referenced in global threat reporting.
The version that knows your environment.
Match sector + geo + tech-stack targeting against your real footprint.
Every observed MITRE ATT&CK technique, grouped by tactic.
Families this actor is known to deploy, with IOCs and behavior.
CVEs this actor has used in known campaigns.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Domains, IPs, and hashes tied to this actor, refreshed continuously.