China-Aligned Hackers Hijack Sogou Input Method DNS Requests to Deploy DarkVigil Backdoor

[Starburst-David]

A China-aligned threat actor known as SlippyNunchucks has been attributed to a Domain Name System (DNS) hijacking operation abusing insecure HTTP communications in Windows versions of Sogou Input Method as part of a surveillance campaign designed to deploy an implant called DarkVigil (aka FDMTP).

The campaign, observed starting July 1, 2026, is assessed to have targeted organizations and Chinese-speaking individuals in Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Oman, and Sri Lanka, according to ESET.

"DarkVigil implants are typically deployed through popular Chinese applications," ESET researcher Anh Ho said in a report shared with The Hacker News. "By abusing these applications, the SlippyNunchucks threat actor has been able to reach Chinese-speaking users across Asia and Europe."

Some of the applications abused by the adversary include Sogou Input Method, QuickFox, QingTalk, MiYunChat, SoftCam, and tawk.to.

Full article at:
https://thehackernews.com/2026/11/china ... sogou.html

Published Date: Nov 04, 2026

Vulnerabilities has been mentioned in this article.
CVE-2026-120422 CVE-2026-51990 CVE-2021-38003