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Vulnerability record · CVE-2019-10068 · published 26 March 2019

CVE-2019-10068: Kentico Xperience staging service header bypass leads to .NET deserialization RCE

Kentico · Xperience

Kentico Xperience fails to validate security headers on its staging service, allowing a crafted request to skip initial authentication and reach .NET object deserialization of user-controlled input. This yields unauthenticated remote code execution on the hosting server, making it a severe pre-auth flaw for any exposed instance.

9.8 CVSS 3.1 Critical CISA KEV since 25 Mar 2022 EPSS 95% · top 0.1% CWE-502 · Deserialization of untrusted data
9.8CVSS 3.1 base score, v2 7.5
95%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
YesIn CISA KEV, fix deadline passed
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
5References, 2 tagged exploit
17 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

An issue was discovered in Kentico 12.0.x before 12.0.15, 11.0.x before 11.0.48, 10.0.x before 10.0.52, and 9.x versions. Due to a failure to validate security headers, it was possible for a specially crafted request to the staging service to bypass the initial authentication and proceed to deserialize user-controlled .NET object input. This deserialization then led to unauthenticated remote code execution on the server where the Kentico instance was hosted.

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

Automated analysis

Generated by VULONE's analysis model from the NVD record, CISA KEV and EPSS data on 16 September 2026. Confidence: high.

critical priorityUnauthenticated network-reachable remote code execution with a CVSS of 9.8, KEV listing, and very high EPSS probability.

What it is

Kentico Xperience fails to validate security headers on its staging service, allowing a crafted request to skip initial authentication and reach .NET object deserialization of user-controlled input. This yields unauthenticated remote code execution on the hosting server, making it a severe pre-auth flaw for any exposed instance.

Impact

An unauthenticated attacker can execute arbitrary code on the server hosting the Kentico instance, gaining full control of the application and underlying host.

Attack surface

Reachable over the network via the staging service endpoint; no authentication or user interaction is required per the CVSS vector (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N). The flaw is triggered by a specially crafted request that bypasses header validation.

Exploitation

Listed in CISA KEV since 2022-03-25 with a required action to apply vendor updates, and EPSS 30-day probability is 0.95074 (99.859th percentile). Public exploit code is referenced (Packet Storm), indicating active exploitation.

What to do

  • Apply the vendor hotfixes for the affected Kentico versions (12.0.15, 11.0.48, 10.0.52, or later 9.x) as directed by Kentico.
  • Restrict network access to the staging service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Disable or remove the staging service if it is not required in production.
  • Monitor and block deserialization of untrusted .NET object input at the application boundary where feasible.

Detection

  • Inspect web and application logs for requests to staging service endpoints with unusual or missing security headers.
  • Alert on .NET deserialization activity or unexpected child processes spawned by the Kentico application pool.
  • Hunt for outbound connections or command execution originating from the Kentico host that do not match normal application behavior.

This assessment is produced automatically and is not human-reviewed. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting on it.

Exploitation in the wild

CISA added CVE-2019-10068 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 25 March 2022 as "Kentico Xperience Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability". Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Federal deadline 15 April 2022.

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157588/Kentico-CMS-12.0.14-Remote-Command-Execution.html ExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://devnet.kentico.com/download/hotfixes#securityBugs-v12 Release NotesVendor Advisory
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157588/Kentico-CMS-12.0.14-Remote-Command-Execution.html ExploitThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://devnet.kentico.com/download/hotfixes#securityBugs-v12 Release NotesVendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2019-10068 US Government Resource

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

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Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2019-10068), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-25). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.