Detect Quest KACE SMA Improper Authentication Exploitation Detected in Sumo Logic CSE
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
Sumo Detection Query
_sourceCategory=network/web OR _sourceCategory=firewall/paloalto OR _sourceCategory=proxy/bluecoat
| where (dest_port=80 OR dest_port=443 OR dest_port=8080 OR dest_port=8443)
| parse regex field=url "(?P<path>/[^\?]*)" nodrop
| where path matches "/admin*" OR path matches "/userui*" OR path matches "/api/users*" OR path matches "/service*"
| timeslice 5m
| stats count as request_count, dcount(path) as distinct_paths, values(path) as paths_accessed, dcount(status_code) as response_variety, sum(if(status_code=200 OR status_code=302, 1, 0)) as successful_requests by src_ip, dest_ip, _timeslice
| where request_count > 10 OR (successful_requests > 3 AND distinct_paths > 2)
| fields - _timeslice
| sort by request_count descDetects potential CVE-2025-32975 exploitation by identifying high-frequency or multi-path access patterns to Quest KACE SMA management endpoints, with emphasis on successful responses to administrative paths that may indicate authentication bypass.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Legitimate KACE administrators generating multiple requests during normal operations
- Automated backup or reporting jobs accessing KACE APIs periodically
- Load balancer health checks polling KACE service endpoints
- Security team running authorized penetration tests against KACE infrastructure
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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