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• Ulefone Armor 30 Pro combines ruggedness with productivity
• A triple-camera setup in a rugged smartphone isn't that common
• 64MP camera and a 4W speaker reflect a shift in what rugged smartphones aim to offer

The best rugged smartphones often focus on strength and battery life, but in recent years, they’ve started to include features such as portable projectors and even dual displays.

The Ulefone Armor 30 Pro is a dual-screen rugged device featuring a 6.95-inch FHD+ main display with a 120Hz refresh rate. On the rear, it sports a 3.4-inch secondary screen with a 960x412 resolution, protected by Gorilla Glass.

While the displays can’t be operated independently, both run on Android, and the rear screen allows users to take selfies and video calls using the main camera system.

Big battery and a MediaTek processor

The device is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 7050 chipset, paired with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. It supports 5G connectivity and AI-powered features.

As with many rugged devices, it houses a large 12,800mAh battery that promises extended usage. It supports 66W fast charging for quick top-ups and offers 10W reverse charging to power smaller devices like smartwatches or earbuds.

One major surprise feature is the Ulefone Armor 30 Pro's triple rear camera setup - which is pretty uncommon in this category. It includes a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide shooter, and a 64MP infrared night vision camera supported by four IR LED blasters.

The Armor 30 Pro is built for more than just survival in harsh environments. It features pogo pin connectors for accessories like endoscopes and microscopes, along with a dedicated shutter button for quickphoto capture.

Another unusual inclusion is a waterproof 4W loudspeaker, embedded in the hexagonal camera bump, that's capable of reaching up to 118dB. It’s an unusual choice for a device in this category, suggesting a shift toward entertainment and daily use, making it feel closer to a business smartphone than a traditional field device.

While not a typical productivity smartphone, the dual-screen layout and advanced sensor suite elevate its potential as a rugged tablet replacement for those who need portability with function.

The Armor 30 Pro will be available from April 14, priced at $379.99 on Aliexpress, $549.99 on the official store, €499.99 on Amazon, 33,015₽ on Ozon, and $499.99 on Mercado Livre.

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GameSir Super Nova: one-minute review

(Image credit: Future)

The GameSir Super Nova is a controller compatible with PC, mobile, and Nintendo Switch, and features Hall effect technology for enhanced precision and longevity from its thumbsticks.

It emulates the very familiar Xbox design, although the various colorways and RGB lighting add a little more vibrancy, especially the Whipped Pink variant. It also has a different D-pad, opting for the four-point approach.

In the hands, the Super Nova feels solid and well-made; in fact, it belies its modest price tag and rivals some of the best PC controllers in terms of build quality. It also features a magnetic faceplate, allowing for easy access to the swappable face buttons, designed to match whatever platform you’re playing on.

The buttons are satisfyingly damped and have very little play to them, sitting tightly in place yet still being easy to use. The same is true of the analog sticks, as there’s hardly any play in them at all. They are finished in a harder material than you might find on other controllers, but I still found them comfortable. However, the two optional back buttons are considerably less damped, and my fingers didn’t quite land in the optimal place for triggering them.

The Super Nova can be tweaked using the 'M' (multifunction) button on the front, which allows you to adjust aspects such as stick deadzone and RGB lighting, among others. But many more tweaks can be made using GameSir Connect, the brand’s peripheral tool on PC. Here you’ll find more options than I think I’ve ever seen offered in controller software, so everybody’s preferences should be catered for here.

There are curve profiles and actuation settings for the triggers and sticks, numerous button remapping options, and even an option to set motion controls to always on, allowing you to substitute them with analog stick or even mouse inputs.

To game with, the Super Nova puts in an admirable performance. The buttons are responsive, while the Hall effect technology in the sticks and triggers offer precise movements, although I did find the triggers a little too light to actuate, which did take some getting used to. I didn’t find the D-pad quite so amenable either, as I had to press more towards its center to get a consistent response, which isn’t ideal from an ergonomic standpoint.

Connectivity was good for the most part during my time with the Super Nova, as I managed to connect to multiple platforms via both Bluetooth and the 2.4GHz USB dongle. However, there were occasions when it failed to reconnect to the Nintendo Switch, with the controller failing to wake the console from its sleep. Switching between various devices isn’t the snappiest, either, although not many are lightning quick in this regard.

After several days of use the Super Nova was still going strong, although the lack of a battery readout, either on board or in the software, is a glaring omission; the only indicator is the flashing red RGB when it dips below 15%. GameSir did tell me that it should last about 15 hours, though, which is towards the lower end of the spectrum compared to its rivals.

For the price, though, the Super Nova offers great value for money, considering its performance and platform support, not to mention the incredible level of customization provided by Connect. The D-pad and some minor connectivity issues are drawbacks, but this is still a worthy choice for your next gamepad.

GameSir Super Nova review: Price and availability

• $44.99 / £49.99 / AU$89
• Available now in two colorways
• Cheaper than rivals

The GameSir Super Nova costs $44.99 / £49.99 / AU$89 and is available now in two colorways: Nightfall Blue and Whipped Pink. It comes with a 2.4GHz USB dongle, as well as a charging base and USB cable. Other face plates in a variety of colors are also available from GameSir.

When it's on sale, the official Xbox Wireless Controller, one of the best Xbox controllers and best PC controllers, can be found for a little less than the Super Nova. While it’s a great all-round performer, it pales in comparison to the Super Nova in terms of features and customization options. It also lacks a rechargeable battery as standard.

If you’re after a gamepad with even more tweakability than the Super Nova, then the PDP Victrix Pro BFG, one of the best PS5 controllers and best controllers for Call of Duty, is a fine pick. This controller has a fully modular setup, allowing you to replace the face buttons, D-pad, and sticks depending on your preferences, as well as myriad customization options via the Victrix Control Hub App. However, it’s considerably more expensive than the Super Nova.

GameSir Super Nova review: specs

(Image credit: Future) GameSir Super Nova review: design and features

• Typical Xbox controller design
• Well made
• Incredibly in-depth software

The Super Nova is heavily inspired by the Xbox controller in terms of its form, with its substantial grips and asymmetrical analog sticks mirroring Microsoft’s official gamepad. The D-pad is a point of departure, though, as it harks back to older generations with its four-prong design, rather than a more modern circular hat. There’s also some RGB lighting, although this is quite subtle, confined to just two thin bars running around either grip.

In the hand, the Super Nova feels weighty without being onerous, and the overall construction seems solid. The removable, magnetic faceplate feels premium, as do the rubberized handles, which provide enough grip while maintaining good levels of comfort.

This high standard extends to the face buttons, as they feel smooth to the touch and are damped nicely. There’s very little wobble to them, as with some other controllers, which is especially impressive given they can be swapped around to align with the Nintendo Switch layout (hence the removable faceplate). The analog sticks are similarly solid, and although their material is a little harder than on many other sticks, I still found they offered enough grip.

The triggers are somewhat shallower than on some other controllers. Each has its own lock slider, situated on the back of the Super Nova, which shortens their travel considerably – useful when playing shooters and other games requiring rapid taps.

The two back buttons aren’t damped, and therefore feel less tactile. Also, I found they extended too far outwards, meaning my fingers failed to fall naturally on their end points for the best leverage.

These back buttons can be programmed using the M button at the bottom of the Super Nova – a button that can also be used to make other adjustments on the fly by pressing in conjunction with other buttons. You can change the RGB lighting, vibration intensity, and stick deadzone this way, as well as toggle the Turbo and Hair Trigger modes. These M button adjustments are responsive and provide feedback when changes are made, via flashes of the RGB lighting or small rumbles.

Other customizations can be made in the GameSir mobile app, although this is very limited. Thankfully, the Super Nova also works with GameSir Connect, the company’s peripheral software on PC. This facilitates many tweaks in addition to those accessible via the M button.

Connect provides remapping (including the option to assign multiple inputs to a single button), as well as multiple curve profiles for the sticks and the triggers. There are also various motion control settings, including an option to set which axes are active, as well as an option to turn on motion controls permanently. When this is activated, you can set motion controls to replace the input of either stick or even mouse movements. I was also pleased to see always-on motion controls work when using the Super Nova with the Switch, meaning you can use motion controls in place of the analog sticks with any Switch game.

There are plenty more tweaking options besides those I’ve already mentioned, and I struggle to think of any that are missing here. Connect is also stable for the most part, and the UI is clear and easy to use, although it’s a shame there are no explanations or visual feedback for some of the more advanced settings. What’s more, there doesn’t appear to be any way to save multiple profiles.

(Image credit: Future) GameSir Super Nova review: performance

• Satisfying and precise
• Not the best D-pad
• Some minor connectivity issues

The overall performance of the Super Nova is very good. The face buttons are responsive and a joy to use, thanks to their aforementioned dampening. However, while the same is true of the D-pad, I found this less satisfying to use.

When playing Tekken 8, for instance, a rapid series of inputs, especially rolls between adjacent directions, can be uncomfortable and unresponsive, especially towards the outer edges of each direction. I found that actually keeping my thumb towards the center of the d-pad improved matters, but was less ergonomic.

Both the triggers and the sticks on the Super Nova employ Hall effect technology, which is also used in some of the best gaming keyboards, and is often claimed to improve precision as well as longevity.

I found the sticks provided a good level of accuracy when playing Goldeneye 64 on the Switch, while modulating the throttle and brake with the triggers in Art of Rally was a smooth experience. However, the triggers don’t offer quite as much resistance as those on some other controllers, resulting in a more sensitive response and requiring a finer touch than usual.

Motion controls also performed well on the Nintendo Switch, providing accurate inputs as I found while aiming bows in Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, even rivaling some of the best Nintendo Switch controllers in this regard.

Connectivity is generally good, with the Super Nova connecting easily to PC via the 2.4GHz dongle, and just as easily via Bluetooth to my Android phone. Connecting via both wireless methods to the Nintendo Switch was also relatively straightforward, although there were occasions when I couldn’t wake the console from sleep with the controller.

Whether this is an issue with the gamepad or the console itself is hard to determine, but it’s a point worth mentioning all the same. Switching between various devices isn’t the quickest either, although many multiplatform controllers aren’t much quicker.

The battery life of the Super Nova is hard to determine, since there’s no indicator other than the RGB lighting flashing red when it dips below 15%. This means I can’t say how much battery life remained after my several days of testing, other than that it was above 15%. What’s more, GameSir doesn’t even provide an estimated battery life, although when I reached out to the company for a figure, it replied that it should last about 15 hours, which isn't particularly impressive compared to the competition.

(Image credit: Future) Should I buy the GameSir Super Nova? Buy it if...

You want something familiar
If you’re accustomed to Xbox gamepads, then you’ll be right at home here, as the design is virtually the same, aside from a few differences.

You want to tweak a lot
From the back buttons and trigger locks to the seriously in-depth customization options, you can tailor the Super Nova to your exact preferences.

Don't buy it if...

You want the best D-pad
The four-point design won’t be for everyone, and I found it difficult to use in games requiring heavy use of it.

You’re wanting to use it on PlayStation
If you’re after one of the best PS5 controllers, then the Super Nova isn’t for you, as it’s not compatible with Sony’s console, nor does it have the same layout.

GameSir Super Nova review: Also consider

If you're after more wireless controllers, then take a look at some of these alternatives to the GameSir Super Nova.

PDP Victrix Pro BFG
If it’s customization options you want, look no further than the Victrix Pro BFG. The unique modular hardware means you can set it up depending on the games you play, with further adjustments available via its software. You’ll have to part with considerably more cash than you would for the Super Nova, though.

Read our PDP Victrix Pro BFG review

Xbox Wireless Controller
The standard-bearer for all gamepads, Microsoft’s official peripheral has the ergonomics and performance to make it the default choice for many. It can often be found for less than its original price, too. However, you can’t customize it anywhere close to the same extent as the Super Nova, and it lacks the same multiplatform reach. It doesn’t come with a rechargeable battery as standard, either.

Read our Xbox Wireless Controller review

How I tested the GameSir Super Nova

• Tested for several days
• Played various games on various platforms
• Plentiful gamepad experience

I tested the Super Nova for several days, during which time I used it on PC, Nintendo Switch, and an Android phone. I used both the 2.4GHz dongle and Bluetooth where I could.

I played a variety of games to test the various aspects of the Super Nova’s performance. I played Tekken 8 to test the responsiveness and ergonomics of the face buttons and D-pad, Art of Rally to test the precision of the triggers, Goldeneye 64 on Switch Online to test stick aiming, and Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom to test the motion controls and more general performance.

I have been gaming for decades, and during that time have experienced many different controllers. I have also reviewed a number of them, including other Hall effect and GameSir models.

• First reviewed March 2025
• Read more about how we test

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The Dangbei Atom is a 1080p-resolution portable projector. Priced at $899 / £899 (with prices often falling to $699 / £699), it’s pricier than the Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 and similarly priced to the LG CineBeam Q, two of the best portable projectors available.

The Dangbei Atom uses a laser DLP light engine and supports the HDR10 and HLG HDR formats, but only via streaming and not through an HDMI or USB connection, which is a shame for those looking to connect one of the best 4K Blu-ray players. It has auto keystone and auto focus, although its manual keystone adjustment is more effective. It also comes with Google TV built in, providing access to some of the best streaming services such as Netflix and Disney Plus. Connections on the Atom consist of one HDMI 2.0 and one USB port.

Picture quality is a mixed bag with the Atom. Its bright image gives more colorful scenes a vivid enough look, contrast is decent and it handles sports motion well. However, given its struggles with black levels and darker scenes, its picture won’t beat the best projectors anytime soon. Sound quality is better than expected, with a solid punch, but is still limited by the projector’s size.

The Atom is light and compact with an appealing blue, square design. For those who want to take a projector with plenty of smart features and capabilities on-the-go, it’ll do the job and easily fit in most small bags.

Dangbei Atom projector review: Price & release date

Contrast on the Dangbei Atom is decent overall, but textures appear too sharp in most picture presets other than Movie, where they look too soft. (Image credit: Future)

• First released: February 2024
• Price: $899 / £899

The Dangbei Atom’s $899 / £899 list price puts it in a similar price bracket to other portable projectors such as the LG CineBeam Q and Samsung Freestyle Gen 2. Prices for the Atom have dropped to $699 / £699 since its release.

Dangbei Atom projector review: Specs Dangbei Atom review: Design & features

The Dangbei Atom has access to Google TV alongside other smart features such as Chromecast (Image credit: Future)

• Sleek, portable design
• Google TV smart platform
• Laser DLP (ALPD)

The Dangbei Atom is a slim, compact portable projector. It measures 7.6 x 7.6 x 1.8 inches (19.5 x 19.5 x 4.75 cm) and weighs 2.8lbs (900g). The Atom is mains-powered only, with no battery option.

The 1080p-res Atom's DLP laser (ALPD - Advanced Laser Phosphor Display) light engine delivers a specified 1,200 ANSI lumens brightness. It can beam images up to 180 inches, which is impressive for a projector this small, and has both auto and manual keystone correction and focus. I found the auto focus to be very effective, but also found it best to use manual keystone correction.

The Atom’s Google TV smart platform features major streaming services including Netflix, Disney Plus and Prime Video. It has Google Voice Assistant for voice control and Chromecast for a wireless connection to phones and tablets. Physical connections include one HDMI port for video only and one USB-A port.

Both the HDR10 and HLG high dynamic range formats are supported, but only through the built-in streaming apps and not HDMI or USB. There is also support for 4K input, which is downscaled to the Atom’s native Full HD resolution. For audio, the Atom features 2 x 5W speakers.

• Design & features: 4/5

Dangbei Atom projector review: Picture & sound quality

Where the Dangbei Atom's picture succeeds most is with brighter, more colorful images, such as from movies like Elemental (pictured) (Image credit: Future)

• Bright, colorful image
• Picture lacks detail
• Passably good sound

For my testing of the Atom, I used an 80-inch, 1.0 gain matte white Optoma screen. Measuring the Atom’s brightness on a 10% white window pattern, it hit 109 nits in Movie mode – a significant step-up compared to the LG CineBeam Q, which hit 60 nits in Filmmaker Mode, but lower than the JMGO N1S Pro 4K, which hit 161 nits.

The Atom’s main strength is its surprisingly bright out-of-the-box image, which served more colorful scenes well. Watching Elemental, streamed on Disney Plus in HD and HDR10, colors looked punchy, particularly in scenes where Ember created glass sculptures. In Star Wars: The Last Jedi’s throne room lightsaber fight, reds mostly looked accurate, but were slightly too vivid.

Dangbei’s projector did a solid job displaying sports. The Standard mode provided the best picture and motion handling when I watched a football game streamed from Prime Video – a welcome result as there are no motion adjustments to work with in the setup menu.

The Atom struggled with dark movies. Watching a 4K Blu-ray of The Batman revealed an acceptable balance between light and dark tones, but black levels were raised, looking more gray than black. (I measured the Atom's contrast ratio at 181:1.) Shadow detail was solid overall, with elements in clothing such as Batman’s chest plate still visible.

The Atom also struggled with textures. Throughout most viewing in Movie mode, these appeared soft, even by portable projector standards. In other picture modes, textures appeared too sharp, giving them a fake look, with few picture settings available to fix this.

The Atom’s dual 5W speakers don’t create a room-filling sound, but are solid enough considering the projector’s size. Watching the Batmobile/Penguin chase scene in The Batman, the sound was clear, and there was some impact during explosions and car crashes. However, the soundstage was narrow, and the bass was limited.

The Atom has a game mode for gaming, but that’s the only related feature. Playing Battlefield V was a perfectly fine experience, but some lag was noticeable. When I measured it, the Atom's input lag was 60.4ms, an average score for a portable projector that's not specifically designed for gaming.

• Picture and sound quality: 3.5/5

Dangbei Atom projector review: Value

The Dangbei Atom's included remote is typical for a Google TV remote. (Image credit: Future)

• Smart features
• Sleek design
• Better priced rivals

Priced at $899 / £899 upon release, the Atom is nearly double the price of the Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 in the UK but doesn’t deliver twice the performance. (It's similarly priced in the US.) Even the LG CineBeam Q, a 4K portable projector, can be found for $799 / £799.

The Atom's price has since dropped to $699 / £699, which is more palatable for the smart features and performance it offers. LG's CineBeam Q and Samsung's Freestyle Gen 2 are still better value overall, but the Atom is still a decent enough portable projector.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Should I buy the Dangbei Atom projector?

The Dangbei Atom can be taken anywhere thanks to its slim, light design. (Image credit: Future) Buy it if...

You want a seriously portable projector
Thanks to its light weight and square design, the Dangbei Atom easily lends itself to on-the-go viewing.View Deal

You want a bright image
The Atom's picture thrives with bright, colorful scenes (think animation), which look great for a projector this size and price. View Deal

Don't buy it if...

You want the best value portable projector
Although priced well for its features, the Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 and LG CineBeam Q provide better bang for your buck. View Deal

You want a consistent picture
Although bright, the Atom's picture ultimately struggles, most notably with black levels and textures. View Deal

Also consider

LG CineBeam Q
The LG CineBeam Q delivers an excellent 4K resolution picture plus a comprehensive list of smart features for a portable projector. It's often priced the same or marginally higher than the Dangbei Atom, and is a better value. Read our full LG CineBeam Q review.

Samsung Freestyle Gen 2
The Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 isn't as bright as the Dangbei Atom, but it's more well-featured and its picture quality is better overall. Plus, it's much cheaper in the UK. Read our full Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 projector review.

Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro
Cheaper than the Dangbei Atom, the Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro offers a lot of the same features and better performance for less. Its not as portable or bright as the Atom, but those are the only places it falls short. Read our full Xgimi MoGo 3 Pro review.

How I tested the Dangbei Atom projector

(Image credit: Future)

• Tested with an Optoma 80-inch, 1.0 gain matte white screen
• Tested using Blu-ray, streaming sources
• Measurements taken using Portrait Displays' Calman calibration software

To test the Dangbei Atom, I used streaming and disc sources. Watching reference scenes, I tested the Atom's picture quality, focusing on color accuracy, black levels, brightness and contrast, and textures.

To record measurements for color and grayscale accuracy, brightness, and contrast ratio, I used a colorimeter, test pattern generator and Portrait Displays' Calman color calibration software.

The Atom was primarily tested in pitch-black conditions in TechRadar's testing room. It was also tested in varying lighting conditions to see how it would handle ambient light in other viewing situations.

• First reviewed: April 2025
• Read TechRadar's review guarantee

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• UK-based Fractile is backed by NATO and wants to build faster and cheaper in-memory AI compute
• Nvidia's bruteforce GPU approach consumes too much power and is held back by memory
• Fractile's numbers focused on a cluster of H100 GPU comparison, not the mainstream H200

Nvidia sits comfortably at the top of the AI hardware food chain, dominating the market with its high-performance GPUs and CUDA software stack, which have quickly become the default tools for training and running large AI models - but that dominance comes at a cost - namely, a growing target on its back.

Hyperscalers like Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta are pouring resources into developing their own custom silicon in an effort to reduce their dependence on Nvidia’s chips and cut costs. At the same time, a wave of AI hardware startups is trying to capitalize on rising demand for specialized accelerators, hoping to offer more efficient or affordable alternatives and, ultimately, to displace Nvidia.

You may not have heard of UK-based Fractile yet, but the startup, which claims its revolutionary approach to computing can run the world’s largest language models 100x faster and at 1/10th the cost of existing systems, has some pretty noteworthy backers, including NATO and the former CEO of Intel, Pat Gelsinger.

Removing every bottleneck

“We are building the hardware that will remove every bottleneck to the fastest possible inference of the largest transformer networks," Fractile says.

"This means the biggest LLMs in the world running faster than you can read, and a universe of completely new capabilities and possibilities for how we work that will be unlocked by near-instant inference of models with superhuman intelligence.”

It’s worth pointing out, before you get too excited, that Fractile’s performance numbers are based on comparisons with clusters of Nvidia H100 GPUs using 8-bit quantization and TensorRT-LLM, running Llama 2 70B - not the newer H200 chips.

In a LinkedIn posting, Gelsinger, who recently joined VC firm Playground Global as a General Partner, wrote, “Inference of frontier AI models is bottlenecked by hardware. Even before test-time compute scaling, cost and latency were huge challenges for large scale LLM deployments... To achieve our aspirations for AI, we will need radically faster, cheaper and much lower power inference.”

“I’m pleased to share that I’ve recently invested in Fractile, a UK-founded AI hardware company who are pursuing a path that’s radical enough to offer such a leap," he then revealed.

"Their in-memory compute approach to inference acceleration jointly tackles the two bottlenecks to scaling inference, overcoming both the memory bottleneck that holds back today’s GPUs, while decimating power consumption, the single biggest physical constraint we face over the next decade in scaling up data center capacity. In fact, some of the ideas I was exploring in my graduate work at Stanford University will now come to mainstream AI computing!”

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• Two US Senators have asked tech giants for more information on AI deals
• Even partial acquisitions could harm competition
• The FTC also noted potential competition issues

Two tech industry titans that have been the subjects of many an anticompetitive investigation are now being questioned over their partnerships with AI companies.

Democratic US Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ron Wyden are reportedly demanding information about the deals Google and Microsoft have with companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence.

The concern is that these strong partnerships could impact competition within the industry, violate antitrust laws, and ultimately lead to both fewer choices and higher prices for customers.

Microsoft and Google questioned over AI deals

In question are Microsoft’s deal with OpenAI and Google’s deal with Anthropic, with the Senators seeking financial details of payments made by AI firms to their cloud providers and information on whether the companies have exclusive rights to certain AI models.

Warren and Wyden also want to know whether Google or Microsoft have any intentions to acquire their respective AI partners.

“Partnerships between CSPs and AI developers, if left unchecked, may accelerate consolidation of the AI sector, ultimately driving up prices and choking off innovation,” the two said in their letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei (via Reuters), and in their second letter to Microsoft and OpenAI’s CEOs, Satya Nadella and Sam Altman.

This isn’t the first time these specific companies have come under fire for their involvement with leading AI firms.

A separate January 2025 report by the Federal Trade Commission had already studied such partnerships, raising concerns about potential acquisitions which could spell out disaster for competition.

“As noted in the FTC and Department of Justice (DOJ)’s merger guidelines, even partial acquisitions may present 'significant competitive concerns' because of the effects on firms’ incentives and strategy,” the Senators continue.

TechRadar Pro has contacted all four companies for comments and context, but we have not received any responses as yet.

Via Reuters

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• A critical flaw was discovered in file transfer tool CrushFTP
• Experts claim the issue was being abused in the wild
• CISA added the flaw to its KEV catalog

A critical-severity vulnerability plaguing file transfer software CrushFTP was found being actively exploited in the wild.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the software, commonly used by organizations to handle large-scale file transfers, contained an authentication bypass vulnerability which allowed unauthenticated attackers to gain administrative access.

By specifically targeting the crushadmin account, threat actors could abuse the flaw to compromise the target system entirely.

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CISA adds it to KEV

The flaw is now tracked as CVE-2025-31161, and was given a severity score of 9.8/10 (critical)

It affects CrushFTP versions 10 before 10.8.4 and 11 before 11.3.1. Users are strongly advised to update to these versions immediately, and if they can’t, enabling the DMZ proxy instance can serve as a temporary workaround.

Security researchers have warned that the bugs were used in the wild to install remote management tools like AnyDesk and MeshAgent, The Hacker News reported.

CISA has also picked up on the news, adding the bug to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (KEV). This means that Federal Civilian Executive Branch (FCEB) agencies have a three-week deadline (until April 28) to apply the patch, or stop using CrushFTP entirely.

Cybercriminals often target managed file transfer software vulnerabilities, since they could allow access to sensitive corporate files and databases. In fact, one of the most devastating cyberattacks in recent history happened in 2023, when ransomware operator Cl0p abused a previously unknown SQL injection vulnerability in MOVEit managed file transfer software to breach hundreds of corporations around the world.

A year before that, GoAnywhere MFT was breached and used to steal sensitive data from almost 130 organizations, and in January 2024, the same software was found to be vulnerable to a critical path traversal weakness flaw.

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