What is CVE-2021-32086?

CVE-2021-32086 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Quest Kace Systems Management Appliance, classified under Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-07-27.

How severe is CVE-2021-32086?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Quest Kace Systems Management Appliance

CVE-2021-32086

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.

EPSS: 0.002 (8.8th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Affected products

Quest Kace_systems_management_appliance — versions 11.0.273
N/a — versions n/a

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-321 — Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key

References

cve@mitre.org (Product)
cve@mitre.org (Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-32086?: CVE-2021-32086 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Quest Kace Systems Management Appliance, classified under Use of Hard-coded Cryptographic Key. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-07-27.
How severe is CVE-2021-32086?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.