Is CVE-2021-32086 exploited in the wild?

No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2021-32086 being exploited in the wild.

How severe is CVE-2021-32086?

Informational severity, with a CVSS score of 0, published 27 July 2026.

Which products and versions are affected?

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 11.0.273.

Is there a fix for CVE-2021-32086?

A patch was published on 2021-07-27: Quest confirmed fix in version 11.1 Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

How is CVE-2021-32086 attacked?

It is attacked with local access or from the adjacent network, in a network appliance.

Am I affected by CVE-2021-32086?

Check whether you run Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

CVE-2021-32086: Quest KACE SMA hardcoded symmetric encryption key

CVE-2021-32086 · Severity: info · CVSS 0 · Published 2026-07-27

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is a solution used by organizations to manage and deploy software across corporate devices. A security flaw was identified where the system uses a universal, non-unique encryption key to protect sensitive data within its internal database. If an attacker gains access to database backups or the server itself, they can easily decrypt secrets, potentially leading to full control over the appliance or unauthorized access to other connected corporate systems.

Technologies: Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance. Vendors: Quest.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2021-32086 exploited in the wild?: No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2021-32086 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2021-32086?: Informational severity, with a CVSS score of 0, published 27 July 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?: Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance 11.0.273.
Is there a fix for CVE-2021-32086?: A patch was published on 2021-07-27: Quest confirmed fix in version 11.1 Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2021-32086 attacked?: It is attacked with local access or from the adjacent network, in a network appliance.
Am I affected by CVE-2021-32086?: Check whether you run Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

Technical details

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) version 11.0.273 contains a cryptographic vulnerability due to the use of a static, hardcoded symmetric encryption key for database secrets. This key is not unique per installation, meaning the same key is shared across all deployed appliances of this version. An attacker who obtains access to the MySQL server or its backup files (e.g., via local access or other vulnerabilities) can use this known key to decrypt sensitive credentials stored in the database. These decrypted secrets can facilitate privilege escalation within the KACE environment or provide lateral movement opportunities into other systems managed by the appliance. The issue is resolved in KACE SMA version 11.1.

Affected products

Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) 11.0.273

Timeline

2021-07-01: advisory: Initial Quest knowledge base article created
2021-07-27: disclosed: CVE published to NVD
2021-07-27: patched: Quest confirmed fix in version 11.1

References

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