CVE-2026-102111 in Kiteworks
Summary
by MITRE • 10/01/2026
Kiteworks did not enforce the maximum permitted value for a configurable security-policy setting. An authenticated administrator could set this value outside its intended range so that the associated control never activated, while the control continued to appear enabled in the administrative interface and audit log, allowing it to be silently rendered ineffective.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/01/2026
The vulnerability identified in Kiteworks represents a critical failure in input validation logic within the application's security configuration subsystem. Specifically, the system fails to enforce boundary constraints on a configurable parameter that dictates the activation threshold for a specific security policy control. This flaw allows an authenticated administrator with sufficient privileges to manipulate this setting by entering values outside the intended operational range. The core technical deficiency lies not in authentication or authorization mechanisms, but rather in the backend processing of configuration data where expected integer bounds are ignored during storage and subsequent evaluation phases.
From a technical perspective, this issue classifies as CWE-20 Improper Input Validation. By accepting out-of-bounds values without triggering an error or reverting to default safe settings, the application creates a state inconsistency between its user interface representation and its actual operational behavior. The administrative dashboard continues to display the security control as enabled, providing a false sense of security to system operators. Similarly, audit logs record the action as successful execution of an enable command, masking the fact that the underlying enforcement mechanism has been effectively disabled through parameter manipulation. This discrepancy is particularly dangerous because it relies on social engineering or insider threat scenarios where trust in administrative interfaces leads to complacency regarding actual security posture.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is severe due to its stealthy nature. Since the control appears active in both the graphical interface and audit trails, defenders may overlook critical gaps in their defense-in-depth strategy. Depending on which specific policy setting was affected, such as password complexity rules, session timeout limits, or data loss prevention thresholds, an attacker could bypass essential security controls without leaving obvious traces of tampering. This aligns with ATT&CK technique T1530 Data from Information Repositories if the vulnerability allows exfiltration by disabling logging or retention policies, or more broadly falls under privilege escalation and defense evasion tactics where legitimate administrative functions are abused to weaken system integrity. The ability to silently render security controls ineffective undermines the principle of least privilege and complicates incident response efforts because standard monitoring tools may not flag anomalies when configurations appear normal on surface level inspections.
Mitigation strategies must address both immediate remediation and long-term architectural improvements. Administrators should immediately review all configurable security policy settings in their Kiteworks environment to ensure values fall within documented safe ranges, paying close attention to any parameters that allow numeric input or percentage thresholds. Vendor patches addressing this specific validation logic error should be applied as soon as they become available. In the interim, organizations can implement external monitoring solutions that cross-reference configuration states with actual enforcement behaviors, such as verifying if session timeouts are actually occurring despite being configured for long durations. Furthermore, adopting a defense-in-depth approach where critical security controls are enforced at multiple layers of infrastructure rather than relying solely on application-level settings reduces reliance on single points of failure like this validation flaw. Regular audits that include functional testing of security policies alongside configuration reviews will help detect such discrepancies before they can be exploited by malicious actors seeking to evade detection or bypass access restrictions.