Kace Systems Management ApplianceApplication · Quest

CVE-2022-29807

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-02
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 12.1.168 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
A SQL injection vulnerability exists within Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) through 12.0 that can allow for remote code execution via download_agent_installer.php.

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

A SQL injection vulnerability exists in Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) through version 12.0 within the download_agent_installer.php component. Attackers can inject malicious SQL queries through this vector, which can lead to remote code execution on the affected appliance.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided patch for KACE SMA version 12.0 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement network segmentation or firewall rules to restrict unauthorized access to the SMA management interface.

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 Systems Management ApplianceApplication
Affected:< 12.1.168

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. Identify if Quest KACE SMA is installed
    Check for the KACE SMA web interface by accessing the management URL (typically /api) or look for 'KACE' or 'Quest' in the server HTTP headers. On the appliance itself, check for the 'kbox' service running.
    Affected if The system is running Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance
  2. Determine the installed KACE SMA version
    Log into the KACE SMA admin console and navigate to the System Settings page, or access the /api/version endpoint if available. Alternatively, check the appliance's about page or run 'sudo /opt/dell/kace/bin/component.sh -v' if SSH access is available.
    Affected if The installed version is below 12.1.168 (for example, 12.0.x, 11.x, or earlier)
  3. Check if the vulnerable download_agent_installer.php component is present
    Attempt to access the file directly via HTTP: GET /download_agent_installer.php. If the file exists and is accessible, the server will respond (even if authentication is required).
    Affected if The download_agent_installer.php file exists and returns a valid HTTP response
  4. Verify network exposure of the SMA management interface
    Determine if the KACE SMA web interface is accessible from untrusted networks. Check firewall rules, NAT configurations, or reverse proxy settings that expose the SMA login page to the internet or dmz.
    Affected if The SMA management interface is accessible from outside the trusted network without proper access controls

A system is affected if it runs Quest KACE SMA version 12.0 or any version below 12.1.168 with the download_agent_installer.php component accessible to potential attackers.

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 12.1.168 or later
Fixed in 12.1.168
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided patch for KACE SMA version 12.0 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, implement network segmentation or firewall rules to restrict unauthorized access to the SMA management interface.

Recommended fix High confidence

KACE Systems Management Appliance 12.1.168 or later

  1. Obtain the KACE Systems Management Appliance version 12.1.168 or later from the official Quest support portal at support.quest.com
  2. Review the upgrade documentation and release notes for version 12.1.168
  3. Ensure you have a complete backup of the current appliance configuration and data
  4. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may require downtime
  5. Download the upgrade package from Quest's official support site
  6. Follow the documented upgrade procedure to apply version 12.1.168 to the affected KACE SMA
  7. Verify the upgrade was successful and the web interface is accessible
  8. Confirm the download_agent_installer.php endpoint is functioning correctly post-upgrade

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

Fix this in Kace Systems Management Appliance Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-29807 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2022-29807 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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