The agent in Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) before 14.0.97 and 14.1.x before 14.1.19 potentially allows privilege escalation on managed...
Description
The agent in Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) before 14.0.97 and 14.1.x before 14.1.19 potentially allows privilege escalation on managed systems.
Remediation
Update Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance to version 14.0.97 or 14.1.19+ immediately. Review managed systems for unauthorized privilege escalation attempts and audit agent configurations.
Executive Summary:
A high-severity vulnerability exists in a wide range of Samsung Exynos processors and modems commonly found in mobile phones, wearable devices, and other connected products. Successful exploitation could allow a remote attacker to compromise the core communication functions of a device, potentially leading to data theft, service disruption, or further network intrusion. Due to the large number of affected consumer and enterprise devices, this vulnerability presents a significant risk.
Vulnerability Details
CVE-ID: CVE-2025-26782
Affected Software: Samsung Mobile Processor, Wearable Processor, and Modem
Affected Versions: The vulnerability impacts the following hardware models. See vendor advisory for specific affected firmware versions.
Vulnerability: The vulnerability is described as an issue in the Layer 2 (L2) data processing component of the affected Samsung Exynos chipsets. An unauthenticated, remote attacker could potentially exploit this flaw by sending specially crafted L2 network packets to a target device's modem. This could trigger an out-of-bounds condition or another memory corruption error, leading to arbitrary code execution at the baseband level, a denial of service, or the disclosure of sensitive information.
Business Impact
This vulnerability is rated as High severity with a CVSS score of 7.5. Exploitation could have a significant business impact, particularly in organizations with a large mobile workforce or a Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policy. A successful attack could lead to the compromise of corporate data on mobile devices, eavesdropping on sensitive communications, or using the compromised device as a pivot point to attack the internal corporate network. The widespread nature of the affected processors across numerous popular smartphone and wearable models creates a broad attack surface, increasing the overall risk to the organization.
Remediation Plan
Immediate Action: Apply security updates provided by the device manufacturer (e.g., Samsung, Google) or cellular carrier immediately upon availability. These patches are typically delivered Over-The-Air (OTA). Organizations should use Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions to enforce and verify the installation of these critical updates across their device fleet.
Proactive Monitoring: Monitor for signs of exploitation, which may include unexpected device reboots, rapid battery drain, or unusual network traffic patterns originating from affected devices. Review available modem and system logs for error messages or anomalous activity related to Layer 2 processing. Network security teams should monitor for traffic matching indicators of compromise (IOCs) if they become available.
Compensating Controls: If immediate patching is not feasible, consider implementing compensating controls. This could include restricting affected devices from accessing critical internal resources, enforcing strong data encryption on the device, and ensuring that sensitive data is not stored locally. Educate users on the importance of installing updates and reporting suspicious device behavior.
Exploitation Status
Public Exploit Available: false
Analyst Notes: As of October 20, 2025, there is no known publicly available exploit code, and the vulnerability is not reported to be actively exploited in the wild. However, given the high severity and the large number of impacted devices, it is highly probable that threat actors will develop exploits. The vulnerability is not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
Analyst Recommendation
Given the high severity of this vulnerability and the ubiquity of affected devices, we recommend immediate action. Organizations must prioritize identifying all vulnerable devices within their environment, including both corporate-owned and BYOD assets. The primary recommendation is to deploy the vendor-supplied security patches as soon as they are released. Although this CVE is not yet on the CISA KEV list, its potential impact warrants treating it with the urgency of a known exploited threat.