Threat Hunting With ZoomEye 2025

In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, threat hunting has become a cornerstone of proactive defense strategies. As we navigate 2025, adversaries are leveraging sophisticated techniques like AI-driven attacks, supply chain compromises, and stealthy phishing campaigns to evade traditional detection tools. Threat hunting shifts the paradigm from reactive incident response to actively seeking out hidden threats before they cause damage. ZoomEye, a powerful cyberspace search engine developed by Knownsec's 404 Laboratory, stands out as an essential tool for this purpose. With its vast database of internet-exposed assets, advanced search syntax, and real-time intelligence, ZoomEye empowers security researchers, red teams, and threat hunters to map attack surfaces, identify vulnerabilities, and uncover malicious infrastructure efficiently.

This article delves into ZoomEye's capabilities for threat hunting in 2025, drawing from real-world applications and case studies. We'll explore how its features enable precise queries, vulnerability detection, and adversary infrastructure enumeration, complete with practical examples and visual aids to illustrate key concepts.

Understanding Threat Hunting in 2025

Threat hunting is the process of proactively searching for signs of malicious activity within networks or across the global internet, assuming breaches may already exist. According to CrowdStrike's 2025 Threat Hunting Report, adversaries are increasingly weaponizing AI for targeted attacks, with a 54% rise in exploitation of remote management tools like ScreenConnect. Real-world examples include hunting for advanced persistent threats (APTs) like FIN7, which involves analyzing indicators of compromise (IOCs) such as unusual network patterns or exposed command-and-control (C2) servers.

In 2025, effective threat hunting requires tools that provide broad visibility into cyberspace. ZoomEye excels here by scanning IPv4/IPv6 addresses, domains, and services 24/7, using proprietary tools like Xmap for port scanning and Wmap for web crawling. It aggregates data on over billions of assets, including servers, IoT devices, and web applications, making it ideal for discovering exposed vulnerabilities and phishing sites.

Figure 1: ZoomEye's dashboard for querying exposed assets, as shared in their threat hunting series. This visual shows how users can pivot from basic searches to advanced threat indicators.

ZoomEye's Core Capabilities for Threat Hunting

ZoomEye's strength lies in its flexible search engine, which supports a wide array of filters and syntax for targeted hunts. Key features include:

1. Advanced Search Syntax and Filters

ZoomEye uses dorks—query strings—to filter results by criteria like ports, services, OS, applications, and HTTP elements. For instance:

• Vulnerability Filters: Use vul.cve="CVE-2025-XXXX" to find assets affected by specific CVEs. In 2025, this is crucial for hunting zero-days like CVE-2025-54309 in CrushFTP, where over 193,000 instances were exposed.
• HTTP Body and Title Indicators: Search for phishing lures with http.body="specific-string" or title="Phishing Title". This helps uncover template-driven campaigns.
• Icon and Hash Matching: Leverage iconhash="hash-value" to detect cloned sites reusing official favicons, a common tactic in high-fidelity phishing.
• Honeypot Detection: The AI-powered is_honeypot=true/false filter excludes decoy systems, ensuring hunts focus on real threats.
• Geolocation and Time-Based Filters: Narrow searches by country, city, or time ranges to track regional threats.

These capabilities allow hunters to pivot from a single IOC to clusters of related assets, enhancing efficiency.

2. API Integration for Automation

ZoomEye's API enables programmatic access, integrating with tools like Nuclei for vulnerability scanning. For example, combine ZoomEye queries in Nuclei: nuclei -t template.yaml -uncover-engine zoomeye -uncover-query 'app="Vulnerable App"'. This automates threat hunting workflows, scanning bug bounty targets or exposed RMM tools in real-time.

3. BugBounty Radar for Asset Monitoring

Launched in 2025, BugBounty Radar tracks over 54,000 assets across platforms like HackerOne and Bugcrowd, tagging "New" or "Changed" entries. Queries like is_bugbounty=true && vul.cve="CVE-2025-53770" pinpoint high-value vulnerabilities in bounty programs. It excludes CDN-protected sites for focused hunts, making it invaluable for proactive reconnaissance.

4. Real-Time Intelligence and Collaboration

ZoomEye's daily updates provide fresh data on emerging threats, such as exploits for CVE-2025-5821 in WordPress plugins (1,700+ vulnerable sites). Integration with tools like ZoomEyeSearch CLI allows terminal-based hunts for threat intel.

Figure 2: A step-by-step query for hunting Binance phishing clones using iconhash, excluding official domains. This image from ZoomEye's series demonstrates visual fidelity in threat pivoting.

Real-World Case Studies: ZoomEye in Action

Drawing from ZoomEye's official series and community examples, here are practical cases showcasing its threat hunting prowess in 2025.

Case 1: Hunting High-Value Phishing Clones

Phishing remains a top threat, with clones mimicking finance sites like Binance or Coinbase. ZoomEye's series outlines a multi-step hunt:

• Step 1: Query the official site: domain="binance.com" to grab the favicon hash.
• Step 2: Search for reuse: iconhash="43365839589fc348172246e108c1297c".
• Step 3: Exclude legit assets: iconhash="43365839589fc348172246e108c1297c" && domain!="binance.com" && ssl!="binance.com".

This revealed dozens of clones. Extending to HTTP body: http.body="© 2025 Coinbase" surfaced copyright-mimicking fakes. In a 2025 campaign, hunters used this to dismantle a phishing ring targeting crypto users, preventing credential theft.

Figure 3: Screenshots of Coinbase clone hunting results, highlighting excluded domains and body indicators for precise threat enumeration.

Case 2: Vulnerability Exploitation Hunting

For CVE-2025-53772 in Microsoft IIS WebDeploy (CVSS 8.8), ZoomEye helped identify 20,800 vulnerable instances: app="Microsoft Web Deploy" && vul.cve="CVE-2025-53772". Hunters pivoted to active exploits by combining with HTTP headers, uncovering RCE attempts in the wild.

A notable 2025 case involved GNSS base stations: A researcher "clicked around in Firefox dev tools" to find a superadmin backdoor, then used ZoomEye ("./pc/login.html?v=") to map 1,000+ exposed units globally. This led to rapid patching and prevented potential GPS spoofing attacks.

Case 3: Ransomware and RMM Tool Hunting

Ransomware groups exploit RMM tools like ScreenConnect (54% of cases). Query: app="ScreenConnect Remote Management Software" to find unauthorized instances as potential backdoors. In a utility billing provider attack via CVE-2024-57727 in SimpleHelp, ZoomEye (app="SimpleHelp remote desktop httpd") exposed 21,200 vulnerable MSPs, enabling proactive mitigation.

Figure 4: ZoomEye results for CVE-2025-5821 in WordPress, showing vulnerable sites and engagement metrics for threat prioritization.

Case 4: Malware and C2 Infrastructure

Hunters tracked More_Eggs malware via resume-themed lures: title="Resume" && http.header="Server: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)". This uncovered TA4557 campaigns targeting recruiters, expanding from North America to Europe. ZoomEye's integration with behavioral analytics tools amplified detection of such stealthy threats.

Best Practices and Challenges in 2025

To maximize ZoomEye:

• Combine with Other Tools: Pair with Shodan or FOFA for cross-verification.
• Ethical Considerations: Focus on defensive hunts; avoid unauthorized access.
• Overcome Limitations: While powerful, ZoomEye can't install packages or access internal networks—use it for external reconnaissance.

Challenges include data overload; refine queries to avoid noise. As per SANS 2025 Survey, AI and cloud complexities demand hybrid human-AI hunting.

Conclusion

ZoomEye transforms threat hunting in 2025 from a reactive chore to a proactive superpower. Its capabilities in asset discovery, vulnerability mapping, and phishing detection, backed by real-world cases like clone hunts and zero-day exposures, make it indispensable. By integrating ZoomEye into your workflows, you can stay ahead of adversaries, reduce breach risks, and bolster cybersecurity resilience. Start exploring at zoomeye.org—happy hunting!

Note: All images are sourced from public ZoomEye X posts for illustrative purposes. For hands-on practice, register for a free trial or API access.