Hard‑coded FTP Credential Enables Remote Privilege Escalation in Quest KACE SMA

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SMA) 11.0.273. It installs with default user credentials. The kbftp account has a password of getbxf, which is publicly known and documented. This allows remote attackers to trivially gain privileged access to the FTP service interface, which contains MySQL backups. Sensitive information is stored in the database, such as privileged credentials for other systems.

API Authorization Bypass Enabling Full Deployment Compromise in Quest KACE SMA 11.0.273

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SMA) 11.0.273. If a customer restricts access to the web console by IP address or subnets, the API endpoints are not restricted. If credentials/API keys are known to an attacker, the appliance can still be accessed via the API, leading to a potential compromise of the entire environment that is configured for KACE.

Rate‑Limiting Bypass in Quest KACE SMA via kboxid Cookie Removal

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SMA) 11.0.273. Certain API endpoints contain a rate-limiting feature to minimize a brute-force attack. This protection can be bypassed by removing the kboxid cookie.

Hardcoded Encryption Key Exposes Secrets in Quest KACE SMA

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.

Default Credentials in Quest KACE SMA Allow Remote Database Access

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Systems Deployment Appliance (SMA) 11.0.273. It installs with default user credentials. The report and R1 MySQL accounts have a password of box747, which is publicly known and documented. This allows remote attackers to trivially gain privileged access to the MySQL databases. Sensitive information is stored in the database, such as privileged credentials for other systems.

There is an LDAP bind credentials exposure on KACE Systems Deployment and Remote Site appliances 9.0.146. The captured credentials may provide a higher privilege level on the Active Directory domain. To exploit this, an authenticated attacker edits the user-authentication settings to specify an attacker-controlled LDAP server, clicks the Test Settings button, and captures the cleartext credentials.