CVE-2025-26345: Q-free Maxtime Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-26345 Overview

CVE-2025-26345 is a critical Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability (CWE-306) affecting Q-Free MaxTime traffic management systems. The vulnerability exists in the maxprofile/menu/routes.lua component, which fails to implement proper authentication checks for critical administrative functions. This allows unauthenticated remote attackers to edit user group permissions via crafted HTTP requests, potentially gaining unauthorized control over the traffic management system.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can remotely modify user group permissions, potentially escalating privileges and compromising the entire traffic management infrastructure.

Affected Products

• Q-Free MaxTime version 2.11.0 and earlier
• All Q-Free MaxTime deployments with exposed network interfaces
• Traffic management systems utilizing vulnerable MaxTime firmware

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-12 - CVE-2025-26345 published to NVD
• 2025-10-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-26345

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from a fundamental security design flaw in the Q-Free MaxTime traffic management system. The maxprofile/menu/routes.lua file implements route handlers for user group permission management but fails to verify that incoming requests originate from authenticated and authorized users before processing sensitive operations.

Traffic management systems like MaxTime are critical infrastructure components that control traffic signals, monitor road conditions, and manage transportation networks. The absence of authentication on administrative endpoints creates a severe risk where any network-accessible attacker can manipulate user permissions, potentially granting themselves administrative access or disrupting traffic operations.

The vulnerability is particularly dangerous because it requires no privileges or user interaction to exploit. An attacker with network access to the MaxTime interface can craft malicious HTTP requests targeting the vulnerable routes to modify user group permissions at will.

Root Cause

The root cause is the complete absence of authentication middleware or access control checks in the maxprofile/menu/routes.lua file. The Lua routing implementation processes incoming HTTP requests for permission management endpoints without first validating that the requester has been authenticated or possesses the necessary authorization to perform administrative actions. This represents a violation of secure design principles where all sensitive operations should require proper identity verification.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and can be executed remotely without any authentication credentials. An attacker would:

1. Identify a network-accessible Q-Free MaxTime system running version 2.11.0 or earlier
2. Craft HTTP requests targeting the vulnerable endpoints in maxprofile/menu/routes.lua
3. Send requests to modify user group permissions
4. Leverage the modified permissions to escalate privileges or disrupt system operations

The vulnerability can be exploited through direct HTTP requests to the administrative interface, making it trivial for attackers who have network visibility to the target system. For technical details on the vulnerability mechanism, refer to the Nozomi Networks Vulnerability Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-26345

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected modifications to user group permissions or role assignments
• HTTP requests to maxprofile/menu/routes endpoints from unauthorized IP addresses
• New administrative accounts or privilege escalations without corresponding change tickets
• Anomalous access patterns to the MaxTime administrative interface

Detection Strategies

• Monitor HTTP access logs for requests to /maxprofile/menu/routes paths from untrusted sources
• Implement network traffic analysis to detect unauthorized access attempts to MaxTime administrative interfaces
• Configure alerting for any changes to user permissions or group configurations
• Deploy intrusion detection rules to identify exploitation patterns targeting CWE-306 vulnerabilities

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging on all MaxTime administrative interfaces
• Implement real-time alerting for permission changes and administrative actions
• Monitor network traffic to and from MaxTime systems for anomalous patterns
• Conduct regular audits of user permissions and group configurations

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-26345

Immediate Actions Required

• Isolate affected Q-Free MaxTime systems from untrusted networks immediately
• Implement network segmentation to restrict access to MaxTime administrative interfaces
• Deploy firewall rules to allow only authorized IP addresses to reach the management interface
• Audit all user permissions and group configurations for unauthorized modifications

Patch Information

Organizations running Q-Free MaxTime version 2.11.0 or earlier should contact Q-Free directly for patch availability and upgrade instructions. Monitor the Nozomi Networks Vulnerability Advisory for updates on remediation guidance. Until patches are available, implement the recommended workarounds to reduce exposure.

Workarounds

• Restrict network access to MaxTime administrative interfaces using firewall rules
• Place MaxTime systems behind a VPN or reverse proxy with authentication enforcement
• Implement IP whitelisting to limit access to known administrative workstations
• Monitor and alert on all HTTP requests to the vulnerable routes.lua endpoints

# Example firewall rule to restrict MaxTime administrative access
# Allow only trusted management network (adjust CIDR as appropriate)
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s 10.0.100.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.100.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP