The latest infection chain identified by Unit 42 employs rogue internet shortcut files contained within bogus ZIP archive files that leverage
CVE-2023-36025 (CVSS score: 8.8), a high-severity bypass flaw in Windows SmartScreen. It was addressed by Microsoft in November 2023.
"This exploit revolves around the creation of a specifically crafted internet shortcut file (.URL) or a hyperlink pointing to malicious files that can bypass SmartScreen's warnings," security researchers Daniela Shalev and Josh Grunzweig
said.