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Vulnerability record · CVE-2021-32086 · published 27 July 2026

CVE-2021-32086: Quest kace systems management appliance vulnerability

Quest · 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.

9.8 CVSS 3.1 Critical EPSS 0.33% · top 76.5% CWE-321 · CWE-321
9.8CVSS 3.1 base score
0.33%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
2References
3 Aug 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

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

Affected products

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

References

LinkTags
https://support.quest.com/download-product-select Product
https://support.quest.com/kace-systems-management-appliance/kb/4293505/quest-response-to-criticalstart-vulnerability-rep Vendor Advisory

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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-2021-32086), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-26). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.