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Kace Desktop AuthorityApplication · Quest

CVE-2021-44031

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Desktop Authority before 11.2. /dacomponentui/profiles/profileitems/outlooksettings/Insertimage.aspx contains a vulnerability that could allow pre-authentication remote code execution. An attacker could upload a .ASP file to reside at /images/{GUID}/{filename}.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Quest KACE Desktop Authority before 11.2 contains an unrestricted file upload vulnerability in /dacomponentui/profiles/profileitems/outlooksettings/Insertimage.aspx. An unauthenticated attacker can upload malicious .ASP files to /images/{GUID}/{filename}, which are then executable by the IIS web server, achieving pre-authentication remote code execution.

MitigationUpgrade to Quest KACE Desktop Authority 11.2 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, disable or restrict access to the Insertimage.aspx endpoint and ensure the /images/ directory does not allow execution of uploaded files.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Kace Desktop AuthorityApplication
Affected:< 11.2

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Quest KACE Desktop Authority is installed
    Look for the application in Add/Remove Programs (Windows) or check for installation directory at C:\Program Files\Quest\KACE Desktop Authority or similar paths. Also check IIS for the KACE Desktop Authority website.
    Affected if The product is installed on the system
  2. Check installed version
    Open the DA Manager console, go to Help > About, or check the version in the installation directory (typically in a version.txt or similar file). Compare the version number to 11.2.
    Affected if The version is below 11.2 (e.g., 11.1, 11.0, 10.x, etc.)
  3. Verify the vulnerable Insertimage.aspx endpoint exists
    Check if the file Insertimage.aspx exists in the path /dacomponentui/profiles/profileitems/outlooksettings/ under the web root. In IIS, browse to the KACE Desktop Authority site and navigate to that path.
    Affected if The Insertimage.aspx file is present and accessible
  4. Check if /images directory allows executable file types
    In IIS Manager, navigate to the KACE Desktop Authority site, find the /images folder, and check the Handler Mappings. Verify whether .asp, .aspx, or other executable extensions are allowed to run.
    Affected if The /images virtual directory allows execution of .asp, .aspx, or similar script files

If Quest KACE Desktop Authority is installed with a version below 11.2 and the Insertimage.aspx endpoint is accessible with the /images directory permitting script execution, the environment is vulnerable to pre-authentication RCE.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.2 or later
Fixed in 11.2
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Quest KACE Desktop Authority 11.2 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, disable or restrict access to the Insertimage.aspx endpoint and ensure the /images/ directory does not allow execution of uploaded files.

Recommended fix High confidence

11.2

  1. 1. Back up the current Kace Desktop Authority installation and database.
  2. 2. Download the Kace Desktop Authority 11.2 release from the Quest support portal at support.quest.com.
  3. 3. Review the Quest KACE Desktop Authority 11.2 Release Notes for any pre-upgrade requirements.
  4. 4. Run the installer for version 11.2 on the Kace SMA server.
  5. 5. Follow the on-screen upgrade wizard instructions, accepting the license agreement.
  6. 6. After installation completes, verify the version by checking Help > About in the Desktop Authority management console.
  7. 7. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by verifying /dacomponentui/profiles/profileitems/outlooksettings/Insertimage.aspx no longer accepts .ASP file uploads.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Kace Desktop Authority Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-44031 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data