Detect Quest KACE SMA Improper Authentication Exploitation Detected in Microsoft Sentinel
Detects exploitation attempts against CVE-2025-32975, an improper authentication vulnerability (CWE-287) in Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA). This KEV-listed vulnerability allows attackers to bypass authentication controls, potentially enabling unauthorized access to the SMA management interface and downstream managed endpoints. Successful exploitation could lead to full appliance compromise and lateral movement across managed systems.
MITRE ATT&CK
KQL Detection Query
let KACEPorts = dynamic([80, 443, 8080, 8443]);
let SuspiciousEndpoints = dynamic(["/admin", "/userui", "/api", "/service/ambari", "/api/users", "/admin/index.php"]);
union DeviceNetworkEvents, CommonSecurityLog
| where TimeGenerated >= ago(24h)
| where DestinationPort in (KACEPorts) or DestPort in (KACEPorts)
| extend RequestURL = coalesce(RequestURL, DestinationURL, ""), SrcIP = coalesce(SourceIP, RemoteIP, "")
| where RequestURL has_any (SuspiciousEndpoints)
| where isnotempty(SrcIP)
| summarize RequestCount = count(), DistinctEndpoints = dcount(RequestURL), FirstSeen = min(TimeGenerated), LastSeen = max(TimeGenerated), Endpoints = make_set(RequestURL, 20) by SrcIP, DestinationIP, DestinationPort
| where RequestCount > 10 or DistinctEndpoints > 3
| extend RiskScore = case(
RequestCount > 50 and DistinctEndpoints > 5, "High",
RequestCount > 20, "Medium",
"Low"
)
| project FirstSeen, LastSeen, SrcIP, DestinationIP, DestinationPort, RequestCount, DistinctEndpoints, Endpoints, RiskScore
| order by RequestCount descDetects anomalous HTTP request patterns to Quest KACE SMA administrative endpoints that may indicate authentication bypass exploitation. Looks for high-volume or multi-endpoint probing from single source IPs targeting known KACE management paths.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate IT administrators performing routine KACE SMA management tasks from known IP ranges
- Automated vulnerability scanners or internal security tools scanning the KACE appliance
- Patch management or monitoring tools making frequent API calls to the KACE SMA interface
- Load balancer health checks or uptime monitoring probes targeting KACE endpoints
Other platforms for CVE-2025-32975
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 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 1KACE SMA Unauthenticated Admin Endpoint Enumeration
Expected signal: Web server access logs showing GET requests to /admin, /userui, /api/users, /service/ambari without authentication cookies; network flow records showing HTTP connections to KACE SMA on port 443
- Test 2KACE SMA Authentication Bypass Simulation via Missing Auth Header
Expected signal: Web server logs showing requests to /admin/, /admin/index.php, /api/users with empty or missing authentication cookies; HTTP response codes indicating whether bypass was successful (200/302) or properly rejected (401/403)
- Test 3Post-Exploitation KACE Agent Script Deployment Simulation
Expected signal: KACE SMA audit log entry showing script creation by the test account; network logs showing authentication followed by POST request to /api/script; SIEM alert on new script creation event from an account that recently logged in from an unusual IP
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