2025 Identity Threat Landscape Report: Inside the Infostealer Economy: Credential Threats in 2025

Recorded Future's 2025 Identity Threat Landscape Report reveals an unprecedented scale of credential compromise, with 1.95 billion malware combo list credential exposures and 892 million malware log credential exposures detected. Credential theft is the dominant initial access vector for enterprise breaches, with 63.2% of indexed credentials targeting authentication systems including VPNs, RMM tools, and cloud platforms. A critical finding shows 276 million credentials (31%) included active session cookies, enabling attackers to bypass multi-factor authentication entirely. The pace of credential exfiltration demands urgency—53% of credentials were indexed within one week of theft, with 36.4% within 24 hours. Security teams must implement continuous credential monitoring, prioritize rapid response for high-value system access, and recognize that MFA alone is insufficient against modern infostealer threats capable of capturing session tokens and providing attackers visibility into detection systems.

Recorded Future's 2025 Identity Threat Landscape Report analyzes hundreds of millions of compromised credentials to reveal how infostealer malware is evolving, which systems attackers are targeting, and what security teams must do to get ahead of credential-based breaches.

Recorded Future's 2025 Identity Threat Landscape Report reveals an unprecedented scale of credential compromise, with 1.95 billion malware combo list credential exposures and 892 million malware log credential exposures detected. Credential theft is the dominant initial access vector for enterprise breaches, with 63.2% of indexed credentials targeting authentication systems including VPNs, RMM tools, and cloud platforms. A critical finding shows 276 million credentials (31%) included active session cookies, enabling attackers to bypass multi-factor authentication entirely. The pace of credential exfiltration demands urgency—53% of credentials were indexed within one week of theft, with 36.4% within 24 hours. Security teams must implement continuous credential monitoring, prioritize rapid response for high-value system access, and recognize that MFA alone is insufficient against modern infostealer threats capable of capturing session tokens and providing attackers visibility into detection systems. Recorded Future's 2025 Identity Threat Landscape Report analyzes hundreds of millions of compromised credentials to reveal how infostealer malware is evolving, which systems attackers are targeting, and what security teams must do to get ahead of credential-based breaches. Executive Summary Credential theft is the dominant initial access vector for enterprise breaches. In 2025, Recorded Future detected: 1.95 billion malware combo list credential exposures 36 million database combo list credential exposures 24 million database dump credential exposures 892 million malware log credential exposures Five findings stand out from the data: Credential theft accelerated as the year progressed. Recorded Future identified 50% more credentials in the second half of 2025 than in the first half of the year. 90% more credentials were identified in the last three months of the year than in the first three months Stolen credentials are targeted, not random. Of the 7 million credentials indexed with identifiable authorization URLs, 63.2% were tied to authentication systems. VPNs, RMM tools, cloud platforms, and detection software also featured prominently — meaning attackers are often going directly for the systems that provide the broadest access and, in some cases, the ability to blind security teams entirely. Infostealer malware is outpacing traditional breach detection. Each compromised device yielded an average of 87 stolen credentials. The scale and precision of modern infostealers means a single infected endpoint — including a personal device used to access corporate systems — can expose an entire organization. MFA alone is no longer sufficient protection. 276 million of the credentials indexed in 2025 included active session cookies, meaning attackers can bypass multi-factor authentication entirely. This represents 31% of all malware-sourced credentials. Detection speed is the decisive advantage. Over half of all credentials (53%) were indexed within one week of exfiltration, and 36.4% within 24 hours. Organizations that act on intelligence quickly can intervene before stolen credentials are exploited. The Scale of the Problem: Compromised Credentials in 2025 Volume Grew Throughout the Year Credential compromise from malware logs was not a static risk in 2025 — it compounded. Recorded Future observed a consistent upward trend throughout the year, with the second half producing 50% more indexed credentials than the first. The final three months of the year were particularly active: They saw 90% more volume than the first three months, reflecting both the continued proliferation of infostealer malware-as-a-service (MaaS) and the disruption and reformation of major malware families mid-year (covered in detail in the malware section below). CHART 1: Monthly credential volume from malware logs, full year 2025 (Source: Recorded Future) What this means for security teams: Seasonal or quarterly threat reviews are insufficient. The volume and pace of credential exposure in 2025 demands continuous monitoring — not periodic audits. What do Those Credentials Actually Unlock? CHART 2: Top authorization URL categories, 2025 (Source: Recorded Future) More credentials exposed means more doors open to attackers. The authorization URL data from 2025 reveals exactly which doors they're targeting — and the picture is stark. Of the 7 million credentials with high-risk authorization URLs indexed in 2025, 63.2% were tied to authentication systems. The next largest categories were web content management (9.95%) and cloud computing (7.58%), followed by remote monitoring and management tools (6.19%) and email infrastructure (3.87%). This is not a random distribution. Authentication systems, cloud platforms, and remote access tools — VPNs at 2.4% and RMM tools at 6.19% — are precisely the systems that give attackers the broadest foothold inside an organization. A single stolen credential for an authentication portal or VPN can serve as the entry...