CVE-2025-32975

Improper Authentication in Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 13

Verified by Precogs Threat Research
Last Updated: Apr 21, 2026
Base Score
10CRITICAL

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-32975 is a critical severity vulnerability affecting api-security. It is classified as Improper Authentication. This vulnerability is actively being exploited in the wild.

Precogs AI Insight

"Quest KACE SMA relies on insufficient token validation on critical backend endpoints, effectively leaving them open to unauthenticated interaction. An attacker could exploit this API surface to perform unauthorized administrative modifications to managed enterprise assets. The Precogs API Security Engine audits all exposed endpoints to guarantee strict session validation requirements."

Exploit Probability (EPSS)
Elevated (46.5%)
Public POC
Available
Exploit Probability
High (84%)
Public POC
Actively Exploited
Affected Assets
api securityCWE-287

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2025-32975 is categorized as a critical Improper Authentication flaw with a CVSS base score of 10. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

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.

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

MetricValue
CVSS Base Score10 (CRITICAL)
Vector StringCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
PublishedJune 24, 2025
Last ModifiedApril 21, 2026
Related CWEsCWE-287

Impact on Systems

Unauthorized Data Access: Attackers can bypass authorization controls to access other users' data or administrative endpoints.

Account Takeover: Broken authentication or authorization may enable full account compromise without valid credentials.

API Abuse: Exploiting this vulnerability enables mass data harvesting or destructive operations through unprotected API endpoints.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2025-32975

  1. Apply Vendor Patches Immediately: This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
  2. Verify Patch Deployment: Confirm all instances are updated using Precogs continuous monitoring.
  3. Review Audit Logs: Investigate historical access logs for indicators of compromise related to this attack surface.
  4. Implement Defense-in-Depth: Deploy WAF rules, network segmentation, and endpoint detection to limit blast radius.

Defending with Precogs AI

Precogs API Security Engine performs deep analysis of API endpoints using Code Property Graph traversal, detecting broken authentication, mass assignment, BOLA/IDOR, and SSRF vulnerabilities across REST, GraphQL, and gRPC interfaces before they reach production.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

Start scanning with Precogs →

Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

StageDetail
SourceAuthentication endpoint
VectorFlawed logic allows bypassing authentication checks
SinkAccess to protected resources
ImpactAccount takeover, unauthorized access

Vulnerable Code Pattern

// ❌ VULNERABLE: Improper Authentication
app.post('/login', (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;
  // Taint sink: weak or bypassable validation
  if (username === 'admin' || password === 'secret') {
    req.session.authenticated = true;
    res.send('Logged in');
  }
});

Secure Code Pattern

// ✅ SECURE: Robust Authentication
const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');
app.post('/login', async (req, res) => {
  const { username, password } = req.body;
  const user = await db.getUser(username);
  // Sanitized validation: secure password comparison
  if (user && await bcrypt.compare(password, user.passwordHash)) {
    req.session.authenticated = true;
    res.send('Logged in');
  } else {
    res.status(401).send('Invalid credentials');
  }
});

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs API Security Engine comprehensively audits endpoints to ensure strict authentication boundaries and secure logic.\n

Related Vulnerabilitiesvia CWE-287

Is your system affected?

Precogs AI detects CVE-2025-32975 in compiled binaries, LLMs, and application layers — even without source code access.