Review reviewCritical

CVE-2021-32086

kace systems management appliance

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SMA) 11.0.273. It uses a hardcoded symmetric encryption key to encrypt secrets in the MySQL databases. (This key is not unique for each installation.) An attacker that gains access to the MySQL server or a backup files can decrypt the secrets. Often, the decrypted secrets can be used to escalate privileges within KACE, or gain privileged access to unrelated systems or services.

CVSS: 9.8
EPSS: 0.19%
CISA KEV: Not listed
Published: 2026.07.28

PRIORITY ASSESSMENT

Review review

The CVSS severity warrants an early asset and exposure review.

Known exploitationNot established by KEV

Exploit probability0.19%

Technical severityCVSS 9.8

Vulnerability overview

Affected product and versions

Product: kace systems management appliance
Affected versions: 11.0.273
Fixed versions: No verified fixed-version field is available yet

Recommended response sequence

Confirm exposure before applying a vendor-supported change.

Full remediation guide

1
Identify
Confirm that kace systems management appliance and an affected version are present.
2
Prioritize
Combine exploitation signals with asset exposure and business criticality.
3
Remediate
Follow the vendor advisory or supported update path and preserve rollback options.
4
Verify
Recheck the version, service health, access paths, and relevant logs.

Technical data

CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE: CWE-321