DIVD Confirms AI-Powered Attack Exploited Zammad Zero-Days
The Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD) was targeted in an automated attack on September 21, 2026, that leveraged artificial intelligence to exploit two previously unknown vulnerabilities in the Zammad ticketing system. The breach triggered an immediate incident response, including blocking access to DIVD infrastructure, notifying Dutch authorities, and launching a forensic investigation.
In a LinkedIn post dated September 24, 2026, DIVD characterized the incident as unprecedented in its methodology, stating: "This is an attack we have not seen before. Not because it’s our first, but because the modus operandi indicates that this is an agentic AI-powered attack."
Two Critical Zero-Days Identified in Zammad
By September 30, 2026, DIVD’s investigation confirmed that the attackers exploited two zero-day vulnerabilities in Zammad to achieve initial access and privilege escalation. The first flaw, tracked as CVE-2026-102489 with a CVSS score of 9.4, allows unauthenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code remotely and leak user sessions. The second, CVE-2026-102490, also rated CVSS 9.4, enables a local user to elevate privileges to root level.
"Used together, they allowed the attackers to hijack sessions, run code remotely, and escalate privileges from the Zammad user to root, in seconds, due to the agentic part of this hack," DIVD stated.
Attack Chain and Impact Assessment
The attackers used the chained vulnerabilities to pivot from the compromised Zammad instance to other internal services and exfiltrate data. However, network segmentation controls prevented deeper lateral movement within the DIVD environment. Despite this containment, DIVD confirmed signs of compromise and stated that, until proven otherwise, it must assume a breach occurred.
The organization emphasized that while the attack was stopped, the discovery of the zero-days represents a significant outcome: "We’ve found signs of compromise that we’re still looking into, and, until we can prove otherwise, we assume breach. Still, stopping the attackers is a win, and in a situation like this you take every win you can get."
Vulnerable Versions and Mitigation Guidance
DIVD reported the zero-day vulnerabilities to Zammad, confirming that versions 6.3.0 through 6.5.4 are affected by both flaws. Versions 7.0.0 to 7.1.3 also contain the security defects, but exploitation is not feasible in those versions due to environmental constraints that prevent the attack chain from succeeding.
As a precaution, DIVD advises all Zammad users to either upgrade to Zammad version 7 or later, or to take the system offline if immediate upgrading is not possible. The institute has released a verification script to help organizations detect indicators of compromise (IoCs) and is actively scanning the internet for exposed, vulnerable Zammad instances to notify their administrators.
Context and Response
This incident highlights the growing threat of agentic AI in cyberattacks, where automated systems can autonomously chain exploits to achieve rapid compromise. DIVD’s transparent disclosure and coordination with Zammad exemplify responsible vulnerability handling, even when the victim is itself a security research organization.
The attack adds to a series of high-profile zero-day exploits reported in late 2026, including patches for Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN, WatchGuard Fireware OS, and multiple browser and cryptographic library vulnerabilities.
Source: SecurityWeek