--- title: Nitrogen can't unlock its own ransomware after coding error description: The Nitrogen ransomware group's ESXi-targeting malware contains a critical programming error that makes file recovery impossible, even if victims pay the... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/nitrogen-can-t-unlock-its-own-ransomware-after-coding-error-inxqkoyve twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Nitrogen can't unlock its own ransomware after coding error | daily.dev og:description: The Nitrogen ransomware group's ESXi-targeting malware contains a critical programming error that makes file recovery impossible, even if victims pay the... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/nitrogen-can-t-unlock-its-own-ransomware-after-coding-error-inxqkoyve og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/INxqKOyve.png og:image:alt: Nitrogen can't unlock its own ransomware after coding error og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Nitrogen can't unlock its own ransomware after coding error **[The Register](https://daily.dev/sources/theregister)** · 3 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary The Nitrogen ransomware group's ESXi-targeting malware contains a critical programming error that makes file recovery impossible, even if victims pay the ransom. The bug causes the malware to overwrite the first four bytes of the encryption public key with a QWORD variable, corrupting the key and rendering the corresponding private key unknown. This coding mistake transforms the financially-motivated ransomware into a purely destructive attack where both criminals and victims lose. Nitrogen evolved from Conti 2 leaked code and began extortion operations around September 2024. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Kyber ransomware gang toys with post-quantum encryption on Windows](https://daily.dev/posts/kyber-ransomware-gang-toys-with-post-quantum-encryption-on-windows-bnfirrqmb) · BleepingComputer · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [VolkLocker Ransomware Exposed by Hard-Coded Master Key Allowing Free Decryption](https://daily.dev/posts/volklocker-ransomware-exposed-by-hard-coded-master-key-allowing-free-decryption-aygv5ybyh) · The Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#cyber](https://daily.dev/tags/cyber), [#malware](https://daily.dev/tags/malware), [#ransomware](https://daily.dev/tags/ransomware), [#encryption](https://daily.dev/tags/encryption), [#vmware](https://daily.dev/tags/vmware) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/nitrogen-can-t-unlock-its-own-ransomware-after-coding-error-inxqkoyve) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Nitrogen can't unlock its own ransomware after coding error","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/nitrogen-can-t-unlock-its-own-ransomware-after-coding-error-inxqkoyve","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/nitrogen-can-t-unlock-its-own-ransomware-after-coding-error-inxqkoyve"},"datePublished":"2026-02-04T13:55:06.076Z","dateModified":"2026-02-04T13:55:30.529Z","description":"The Nitrogen ransomware group's ESXi-targeting malware contains a critical programming error that makes file recovery impossible, even if victims pay the...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a53b574eea9c6c1b7e95fb7db64ea4c6?_a=AQAEulh","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a53b574eea9c6c1b7e95fb7db64ea4c6?_a=AQAEulh","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Register","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Register","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/66aa2113fdad463992ffcbf0e8963fda","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/theregister"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/nitrogen-can-t-unlock-its-own-ransomware-after-coding-error-inxqkoyve","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"cyber,malware,ransomware,encryption,vmware","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Register","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/theregister"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Nitrogen can't unlock its own ransomware after coding error"}]} ```