What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-44029?

CVE-2021-44029 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (Critical). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.9%.

Kace Desktop Authority CVE-2021-44029

CRITICAL

Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502)

2021-12-22 cve@mitre.org

Deserialization Kace Desktop Authority Quest

9.8

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-502 OWASP Top 10:2025 A08:2025 - Software or Data Integrity Failures ASVS 5.0 V1 - Encoding and Sanitization Safe deserialization, type allowlists MITRE ATT&CK 2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Initial Access The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. Sign in to read
Impact	CVSS score of 9.8 (CRITICAL). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	A remote attacker could execute arbitrary code through malicious serialized objects by sending crafted requests to the affected application. No authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.

No patch listed yet 0.9% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Desktop Authority before 11.2. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Avoid deserializing untrusted data. Use safe serialization formats (JSON). Implement integrity checks and type allowlists.

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified as Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502), which allows attackers to execute arbitrary code through malicious serialized objects. An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Desktop Authority before 11.2. This vulnerability allows attackers to execute remote code through a deserialization exploitation in the RadAsyncUpload function of ASP.NET AJAX. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability when the encryption keys are known (due to the presence of CVE-2017-11317, CVE-2017-11357, or other means). A default setting for the type whitelisting feature in more current versions of ASP.NET AJAX prevents exploitation. Affected products include: Quest Kace Desktop Authority. Version information: before 11.2..

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 9.8 CRITICAL

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

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

DescriptionNVD

An issue was discovered in Quest KACE Desktop Authority before 11.2. This vulnerability allows attackers to execute remote code through a deserialization exploitation in the RadAsyncUpload function of ASP.NET AJAX. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability when the encryption keys are known (due to the presence of CVE-2017-11317, CVE-2017-11357, or other means). A default setting for the type whitelisting feature in more current versions of ASP.NET AJAX prevents exploitation.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score

0.9%

Top 45% exploitable

Data Quality

2 sources

Confidence: Low

NVD

CVE.org

EPSS

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity CRITICAL

CISA KEV No

Public POC No

EPSS 0.9%

Patch available No

Active threat No

Deciding rule

CRITICAL severity

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Scheduled

Exploitation· derived

None

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Yes

Human Impact· derived

Medium

Priority Score

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: 0

EPSS: +1

CVSS: +49

PoC: 0

Weaponized: 0

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Insecure Deserialization CRITICAL

Insecure deserialization occurs when an application converts serialized data (a stream of bytes representing an object's state) back into a living object without proper validation.