Nitrogen ransomware ESXi bug makes decryption impossible even after payment

Nitrogen ransomware’s ESXi encryptor corrupts its own public key, making file recovery impossible even if victims pay.

Nitrogen ransomware’s ESXi encryptor is fatally flawed

Ransomware incidents usually follow a grimly predictable script: systems are encrypted, demands are issued and victims are pressured into paying on a promise of recovery. With Nitrogen ransomware, that promise collapses entirely, leaving organizations with locked systems and no technical path to restoration.

Analysis from incident response specialists shows that Nitrogen’s malware is fundamentally flawed. Even if a victim were to pay, the attackers themselves lack the cryptographic means to reverse the damage, turning the extortion into a one-way act of destruction.

Why the cryptography failure prevents recovery via attackers

The issue lies in Nitrogen’s ransomware variant targeting VMware ESXi hypervisors. During encryption, the malware mishandles cryptographic material, corrupting the public key used to lock victim files. As a result, decryption becomes impossible.

The error stems from overlapping memory operations that overwrite part of the encryption key. Because the damaged public key was never correctly derived from a private key, no corresponding private key exists, meaning no decryptor can ever work, regardless of intent or payment.

From Conti offshoot to destructive actor

Nitrogen has been active since 2023, emerging from the ecosystem of groups that reused components from the leaked Conti ransomware builder. Like many similar operations, it evolved gradually rather than appearing fully formed.

Early activity focused on tooling associated with initial access, but by late 2024 the group had shifted toward direct extortion. While not among the most aggressive ransomware gangs, Nitrogen demonstrated enough operational maturity to pose a real threat to enterprise environments.

Ransomware payment becomes pointless

The discovery raises serious questions about the viability of paying ransoms in certain scenarios. Traditionally, organizations under ransomware attack agonize over whether to pay crooks in hopes of regaining access to encrypted systems. With Nitrogen’s unrecoverable encryption, payment offers no path to restoration.

This dynamic not only leaves victims with irreparable systems, including crucial cloud infrastructure components, but also threatens to erode the gang’s credibility among criminal clients and affiliates. Attackers that can’t deliver on the fundamental promise of a decryptor may find fewer victims even considering payment in future incidents, reducing the group’s leverage and status among illicit ransomware networks.

Protect systems with comprehensive software

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It delivers solid antivirus coverage, web attack protection and behavior-based threat mitigation to help safeguard systems before an attack can occur. Its built-in tools include a VPN, password manager and AI-fueled scam detection to enhance overall cyber hygiene and defense posture.