CriticalCVE-2025-32975

    Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) Improper Authentication Vulnerability (CVE-2025-32975)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 13.0.x before 13.0.385, 13.1.x before 13.1.81, 13.2.x before 13.2.183, 14.0.x before 14.0.341 (Patch 5), and 14.1.x before 14.1.101 (Patch 4) contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users without valid credentials. The vulnerability exists in the SSO authentication handling mechanism and can lead to complete administrative takeover.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. Update Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance to version 13.0.385, Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance to version 13.1.81, Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance to version 13.2.183. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Affected
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance lt 13.0..13.0.385
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance lt 13.1..13.1.81
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance lt 13.2..13.2.183
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance lt 14.0..14.0.341
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance lt 14.1..14.1.101
    Fixed in
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 13.0.385
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 13.1.81
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 13.2.183
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.0.341
    • Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 14.1.101

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    10.0

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3

    10.0

    CVSS v3

    Severity Critical on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    2.5 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 84.5

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    216.73 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    actively exploitedSource: VulnCheck KEV (opens in a new tab) How we classify
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    10.0 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    10.0
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    2.5 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    84.5
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw is network-reachable without authentication or user interaction, has a changed scope and yields full administrative takeover — KEV listing confirms attackers are using it in practice. The real danger is the appliance's role: whoever controls the SMA can push arbitrary code with high privileges to every managed client and server via scripts and software distribution, making it an ideal pivot for lateral movement and mass deployment. CISA does not flag known ransomware use, but exploitation likelihood is rated as clearly elevated. Treat internet-facing instances as an emergency requiring same-day action; internally-only reachable SMAs should still be patched within days, as they become a high-value target once an attacker has any foothold on the network.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Patch now: Upgrade KACE SMA to the fixed build for your release train: 13.0.385, 13.1.81, 13.2.183, 14.0.341 (Patch 5) or 14.1.101 (Patch 4). Instances on unsupported trains must be moved to a patched train first.
      • Cut exposure immediately: If the appliance web UI (HTTP/HTTPS, typically 80/443) is reachable from the internet or general client networks, restrict it via firewall to a dedicated admin network or jump host until patched.
      • Temporarily disable SSO: The flaw sits in SSO authentication handling. Where operationally acceptable, turn off SSO (SAML/AD SSO) in the appliance settings until the patch is applied and allow only local admin accounts with strong passwords.
      • Start a compromise assessment: Review admin and user accounts, recently created or modified scripts, Managed Installations and software packages for unknown entries. A hijacked SMA is effectively a code-distribution channel to every managed endpoint.
      • Rotate credentials: If there is any sign of access, rotate all credentials stored in the appliance (AD/LDAP bind accounts, deployment/domain accounts in the credential store, SMTP, API tokens) plus local admin passwords.
      • Scope the estate: Inventory every KACE SMA instance (including test, standby and hosted instances) and record the version — useful evidence for NIS2 risk-management documentation.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Expose the SMA admin UI only to a management VLAN or hardened jump host; keep endpoint agent traffic separate. No direct internet exposure, including for remote admin without VPN.
      • Reverse proxy / WAF: Front the appliance with a reverse proxy enforcing IP allowlisting and upstream MFA (VPN or ZTNA gateway); block and log requests to SSO/login endpoints from non-approved source networks.
      • IAM / least privilege: Minimise the number of SMA administrators and use role-based permissions; deployment accounts stored in the SMA must not hold Domain Admin rights (tiering model).
      • Endpoint hardening: EDR rules monitoring or restricting script execution by KACE agent processes; application control (WDAC/AppLocker) so only signed or approved packages pushed by the SMA can execute.
      • Logging: Enable syslog forwarding from the appliance to the SIEM so login and configuration events are preserved outside a potentially compromised appliance.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Appliance / proxy logs: Correlate successful SSO logins against matching authentication events at the IdP (Entra ID/ADFS/AD) — SSO sessions with no IdP counterpart are suspicious; flag logins from unknown source IPs or off-hours. Sample SPL: index=proxy dest=<kace_sma> uri_path="*sso*" | stats count by src_ip, user, status.
      • Endpoint process ancestry (Sysmon EID 1 / Windows 4688): KACE agent processes (e.g. AMPAgent.exe, runkbot.exe) spawning powershell.exe, cmd.exe, rundll32.exe, certutil.exe or remote-access tools outside approved maintenance windows. KQL: DeviceProcessEvents | where InitiatingProcessFileName in~ ("AMPAgent.exe","runkbot.exe") | where FileName in~ ("powershell.exe","cmd.exe","rundll32.exe","certutil.exe").
      • Mass deployment: Identical process launches or file writes (Sysmon EID 11) across many endpoints in a short window originating from the KACE agent — indicates abused script or software distribution.
      • SMA configuration changes: New admin accounts, altered SSO/authentication settings, new scripts or Managed Installations in the audit log; reconcile against change tickets.
      • Network (Zeek/Suricata): Outbound connections from the appliance, or from endpoints it has just pushed to, towards unknown external destinations (second-stage downloads, C2) shortly after admin sessions.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 13.0.x before 13.0.385, 13.1.x before 13.1.81, 13.2.x before 13.2.183, 14.0.x before 14.0.341 (Patch 5), and 14.1.x before 14.1.101 (Patch 4) contains an authentication bypass vulnerability that allows attackers to impersonate legitimate users without valid credentials. The vulnerability exists in the SSO authentication handling mechanism and can lead to complete administrative takeover.

    Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    questkace_systems_management_appliance
    • 14.1 – < 14.1.101
    • 13.2 – < 13.2.183
    • 13.0 – < 13.0.385
    • 13.1 – < 13.1.81
    • 14.0 – < 14.0.341
    • 14.1.101
    • 13.2.183
    • 13.0.385
    • 13.1.81
    • 14.0.341

    Vendors and products

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited

    References & sources

    • support.quest.comkb/4379499/quest-response-to-kace-sma-vulnerabilities-cve-2025-…Vendor advisory
    • seclists.orgfulldisclosure/2025/Jun/22Mailing list, Third-party advisory
    • seralys.comresearch/CVE-2025-32975.txtThird-party advisory
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-32975government-resource, US government resource
    • seclists.orgfulldisclosure/2025/Jun/25Mailing list, Third-party advisory

    Linked advisories

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    <a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2025-32975"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2025-32975.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2025-32975 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>