Threat actors have been exploiting an unauthenticated remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Fortinet products to deploy a Node.js RAT, SOCRadar reports.
Tracked as CVE-2025-25249 (CVSS score of 7.4) and described as a heap-based buffer overflow issue, the high-severity bug was patched in January in FortiOS and FortiSwitchManager.
The flaw “may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code or commands via specifically crafted requests,” Fortinet noted in its advisory.
This week, SOCRadar warned that hackers have been exploiting the security defect to deploy the PivotC2 RAT on vulnerable devices.
A FortiGate post-exploitation tool, the backdoor provides attackers with interactive shell access, traffic tunneling, network scanning, and configuration harvesting capabilities.
SOCRadar believes that PivotC2 was likely developed with the use of AI and that threat actors have been using it in attacks since at least July 2026.
“The threat actors targeted more than 30,000 IP addresses, leading to the exploitation and infection of 178 devices with PivotC2,” SOCRadar says.