Detect Gladinet CentreStack and Triofox Hard-Coded Cryptographic Key Exploitation in IBM QRadar
Detects exploitation of CVE-2025-14611, a hard-coded cryptographic key vulnerability (CWE-798) in Gladinet CentreStack and Triofox. Attackers who obtain the static machineKey or cryptographic seed can forge ASP.NET ViewState tokens or authentication artifacts, enabling remote code execution via deserialization attacks without valid credentials. This vulnerability is actively exploited and listed on CISA KEV.
MITRE ATT&CK
- Tactic
- Initial Access Execution Persistence
QRadar Detection Query
SELECT
DATEFORMAT(starttime, 'YYYY-MM-dd HH:mm:ss') AS event_time,
sourceip,
destinationip,
URL,
"HTTP Method",
"HTTP Response Code",
username,
"Process Name",
"Parent Process Name"
FROM events
WHERE
LOGSOURCETYPENAME(devicetype) IN ('Microsoft IIS', 'Microsoft Windows Security Event Log')
AND starttime > NOW() - 3600000
AND (
(
"HTTP Method" = 'POST'
AND (
URL ILIKE '%/portal/%'
OR URL ILIKE '%/triofox/%'
OR URL ILIKE '%/centrestack/%'
OR URL ILIKE '%/fileserver/%'
)
AND (
LENGTH(URL) > 600
OR "HTTP Response Code" = '500'
)
)
OR (
eventid IN (4688, 4624)
AND "Process Name" ILIKE '%cmd.exe%'
AND "Parent Process Name" ILIKE '%w3wp.exe%'
)
OR (
eventid = 4688
AND "Process Name" ILIKE '%powershell.exe%'
AND "Parent Process Name" ILIKE '%w3wp.exe%'
)
)
GROUP BY
sourceip, destinationip, TRUNC(starttime, 'minute')
HAVING COUNT(*) >= 1
ORDER BY event_time DESC
LIMIT 500QRadar AQL query detecting CVE-2025-14611 exploitation indicators including anomalous POST requests to Gladinet endpoints and suspicious child process spawning from IIS worker processes.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate large file uploads or complex form submissions to the CentreStack portal
- Authorized administrative PowerShell scripts running in context of the IIS application pool
- Security tools or scanners generating synthetic traffic to test the CentreStack instance
- Application errors during CentreStack updates causing 500 responses with administrative process spawning
Other platforms for CVE-2025-14611
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Simulate Forged ASP.NET ViewState Payload Submission to CentreStack Endpoint
Expected signal: IIS access log entry showing POST to /portal/default.aspx with large cs-uri-query value; HTTP response code 500 if payload is malformed, 200 if bypassed; network events capturing the inbound connection
- Test 2IIS Worker Process Child Shell Spawn Simulation (Lab)
Expected signal: Windows Security Event ID 4688 for cmd.exe process creation; EDR process telemetry showing PowerShell spawning cmd.exe; file creation event for exploit_sim_output.txt in C:\Temp
- Test 3CentreStack web.config Hard-Coded MachineKey Inspection
Expected signal: File read event on web.config via Sysmon Event ID 11/4663; PowerShell script block logging capturing the content search pattern; output file creation at C:\Temp\machinekey_audit.txt
- Test 4Forged Authentication Token Submission via Hardcoded Key (Lab Only)
Expected signal: IIS access log showing GET request with .ASPXAUTH cookie header; Windows authentication event logs (Event ID 4624/4625) recording the authentication attempt; network events capturing the connection from the test host
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for CVE-2025-14611 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.