URGENT: TELEGRAM BOT WEBHOOK HIJACKING (ZERO-DAY) ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

**Threat Actor:** Decentralized Dark Web Exploitation Groups **Target:** Telegram Bot API (Specifically Custom Webhook Deployments) **The Intelligence:** Breaking this morning, May 11, 2026: A severe zero-day vulnerability in how custom Telegram bots process inbound payloads is being actively exploited in the wild. The exploit, dubbed "Ghost-Hook," targets the webhook listener endpoints (typically PHP or Node.js servers) used by developers to automate server management, alerts, and customer support. **Key Incident Details:** • The Exploit: Attackers have discovered a method to bypass standard SSL/TLS verification on bot endpoints. By utilizing compromised intermediate infrastructure, they are flooding exposed webhook URLs with forged JSON payloads that perfectly mimic official Telegram API requests. • The Payload: The forged requests trick the backend server into executing unauthorized administrative commands. For bots with elevated privileges, this allows attackers to issue remote server commands, extract user databases, or manipulate financial/crypto tracking bots. • The Impact: Thousands of custom management bots have been hijacked in the last 12 hours. Attackers are currently scanning the internet for exposed `webhook.php` endpoints that lack deep validation. **Strategic Assessment:** If you manage server infrastructure or client services via a custom Telegram bot, assume you are under active scanning. Immediately update your webhook listeners to strictly whitelist official Telegram IP subnets (149.154.160.0/20 and 91.108.4.0/22). Furthermore, it is now critically mandatory to implement the `X-Telegram-Bot-Api-Secret-Token` header in your backend code to cryptographically verify that incoming payloads are legitimately originating from Telegram's servers.