What is man-in-the-middle?
Man-in-the-middle (MitM) attack is a type of attack where an attacker intercepts and possibly alters the communication between two parties. The attacker can eavesdrop, modify, or steal sensitive information without being detected.
Azərbaycanca: Man-in-the-middle (MitM) hücumu iki tərəf arasında əlaqəni manipulyasiya edən və ya dinləyən bir hücum növüdür. Hücumçu, iki tərəfin fərqinə varmadan onların arasına girərək məlumatları dəyişdirə, oğurlaya və ya manipulyasiya edə bilər.
How it works
MitM attacks typically occur when network traffic is not properly secured or when security protocols are weak. For example, lack of encryption, improper certificate validation, and use of insecure communication protocols can lead to such attacks.
Defense checklist6
- 01
Implement encryption mechanisms
- 02
Properly validate certificates
- 03
Use secure communication protocols
- 04
Monitor network traffic
- 05
Regularly apply security updates
- 06
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Real-world evidence
Several real incidents demonstrate this type of attack: CVE-2026-12991 (lack of cryptographic mechanisms in Ghost Robotics' Vision 60 robot), CVE-2026-16107 (improper TLS certificate validation in IBM TS4500 CLI tool), CVE-2026-66407 and CVE-2026-66406 (improper authentication in WebSocket communication in DEEBOT PRO M1 and DEEBOT PRO K1VAC), CVE-2026-0298, CVE-2026-0297, and CVE-2026-0296 (various vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app).
Sources
- CVE-2026-12991: The lack of cryptographic mechanisms to ensure the integrity and authenticity of communicanvd
- CVE-2026-16107: IBM TS4500 CLI tool Versions: 0.1.31 through 1.12.0.0 does not validate or improperly valnvd
- Signal adds new security feature to thwart man-in-the-middle attacksbleepingcomputer
- CVE-2026-66407: DEEBOT PRO M1 and DEEBOT PRO K1VAC improperly implement authentication in WebSocket communnvd
- CVE-2026-66406: DEEBOT PRO M1 and DEEBOT PRO K1VAC use wget command with server certificate validation disnvd
- Suspicious WiFi Router in Sofitelr_cybersecurity
- CVE-2026-0298: An improper input validation vulnerability exists in the Windows Pre-Logon Access Providernvd
- CVE-2026-0297: A buffer overflow vulnerability exists in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect™ app that envd
- CVE-2026-0296: Improper certificate validation vulnerabilities in Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect™ app envd
- CVE-2026-49457: erlang_quic is a pure Erlang QUIC implementation. Prior to version 1.4.4, the QUIC clientnvd
- CVE-2026-63336: The RabbitMQ Java client library allows Java and JVM-based applications to connect to andnvd
- CVE-2026-11751: A vulnerability has been identified in armeria-xds versions prior to 1.41.0, where xDS upsnvd
Other attack types
See also6
This guide is AI-written from the real incident sources skopnix collected — the examples above are drawn from those cited items, nothing is invented.