# Nightmare Eclipse

> As of 2026-09-06, Nightmare Eclipse is a threat actor tracked by Threadlinqs Intelligence across 11 threats spanning vulnerability, zero day. Also known as Nightmare-Eclipse, Chaotic Eclipse, Dead Eclipse, MSNightmare. ATT&CK coverage spans 88 techniques across 13 tactics in 11 of 11 tracked threats. Most-observed techniques: T1068 (Exploitation for Privilege Escalation), T1134 (Access Token Manipulation), T1685 (Disable or Modify Tools).

- **Tracked threats:** 11
- **Categories:** VULNERABILITY, ZERO_DAY
- **Also known as:** Nightmare-Eclipse, Chaotic Eclipse, Dead Eclipse, MSNightmare, ProjectNightcrawler
- **As of:** 2026-09-06

## ATT&CK techniques observed

88 techniques observed across 11 of 11 tracked threats. Tactics: Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion) (16), Execution (14), Discovery (10), Persistence (8), Credential Access (7), Privilege Escalation (7).

- [T1068](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1068) Exploitation for Privilege Escalation — Privilege Escalation — observed in 8 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1134](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1134) Access Token Manipulation — Privilege Escalation — observed in 7 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1685](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1685) Disable or Modify Tools — Defense Impairment — observed in 7 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1574](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1574) Hijack Execution Flow — Stealth (formerly Defense Evasion) — observed in 6 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1059.003](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1059.003) Windows Command Shell — Execution — observed in 5 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1112](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1112) Modify Registry — Defense Impairment — observed in 5 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1548](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1548) Abuse Elevation Control Mechanism — Privilege Escalation — observed in 5 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1082](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1082) System Information Discovery — Discovery — observed in 4 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1547](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1547) Boot or Logon Autostart Execution — Persistence — observed in 4 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1003](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1003) OS Credential Dumping — Credential Access — observed in 3 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1003.002](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1003.002) Security Account Manager — Credential Access — observed in 3 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1005](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1005) Data from Local System — Collection — observed in 3 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1012](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1012) Query Registry — Discovery — observed in 3 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1033](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1033) System Owner/User Discovery — Discovery — observed in 3 of 11 tracked threats
- [T1083](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/technique/T1083) File and Directory Discovery — Discovery — observed in 3 of 11 tracked threats

## Tracked threats

- [FalconFlank — CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor Local Privilege Escalation Zero-Day with Public PoC](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2350) — HIGH
- [FalconFlank: Unpatched Local Privilege Escalation PoC in CrowdStrike Falcon Sensor via Office Macro Remediation](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2330) — HIGH
- [ShieldBreak: Windows Defender Cloud-Hydration Zero-Day Bypasses RoguePlanet Patch (CVE-2026-50656) for SYSTEM-Level Privilege Escalation](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-2020) — CRITICAL
- [LegacyHive Exploitation Chain Bypasses Windows Security Even With July 2026 Patches Installed](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1742) — HIGH
- [LegacyHive: Local Privilege Escalation PoC via Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) Registry Hive Mounting](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1499) — MEDIUM
- [LegacyHive: Windows User Profile Service (ProfSvc) Local Privilege Escalation Zero-Day PoC (Unpatched, No CVE)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1414) — HIGH
- [LegacyHive: Unpatched Windows User Profile Service (profsvc) Registry Hive Hijack Privilege Escalation 0-Day PoC Released by Nightmare-Eclipse](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-1373) — HIGH
- [CVE-2026-50656: RoguePlanet Microsoft Defender Zero-Day Local Privilege Escalation (Malware Protection Engine TOCTOU)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0835) — HIGH
- [Windows Defender 0-Day Local Privilege Escalation "RoguePlanet" (Nightmare Eclipse Defender Exploit Series)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0743) — HIGH
- [Windows 'MiniPlasma' Zero-Day — Unpatched SYSTEM LPE via cldflt.sys HsmOsBlockPlaceholderAccess / CfAbortHydration (CVE-2020-17103 Regression)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0523) — HIGH
- [YellowKey & GreenPlasma — Unpatched Windows BitLocker Bypass & CTFMON LPE Zero-Days With Public PoC (Chaotic/Nightmare Eclipse)](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0512) — CRITICAL

## Related CVEs

2 CVEs referenced by tracked Nightmare Eclipse activity.

- [CVE-2026-50656](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/cve/CVE-2026-50656)
- [CVE-2020-17103](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/cve/CVE-2020-17103)

## Full data

Infrastructure, IOC values and detection queries (Splunk SPL / Microsoft KQL / Sigma) require the Threadlinqs MCP server (Purple tier): https://intel.threadlinqs.com/mcp

Canonical: https://intel.threadlinqs.com/actor/Nightmare%20Eclipse