CVE-2025-26347: Q-free Maxtime Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-26347 Overview

CVE-2025-26347 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 file, allowing unauthenticated remote attackers to edit user permissions through crafted HTTP requests. This flaw exposes critical administrative functionality without requiring any form of authentication, potentially enabling complete system compromise.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can remotely modify user permissions, potentially escalating privileges, creating administrative accounts, or locking out legitimate users from traffic management infrastructure.

Affected Products

• Q-Free MaxTime versions 2.11.0 and earlier
• Traffic management systems utilizing Q-Free MaxTime software
• Infrastructure control systems running vulnerable MaxTime deployments

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-12 - CVE-2025-26347 published to NVD
• 2025-10-24 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-26347

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from a fundamental authentication bypass in Q-Free MaxTime's user management interface. The maxprofile/menu/routes.lua component exposes administrative endpoints that handle user permission modifications without implementing proper authentication checks. This allows any network-accessible attacker to directly manipulate user roles and access controls within the traffic management system.

The flaw is particularly severe given that MaxTime systems are typically deployed in critical infrastructure environments managing traffic signals and transportation systems. Successful exploitation could allow an attacker to gain full administrative control over traffic management operations, potentially affecting public safety.

Root Cause

The root cause is a Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306) in the Lua routing module. The routes.lua file processes HTTP requests for user permission management without validating whether the requesting party has been authenticated or authorized to perform such actions. This architectural oversight allows the permission modification API to be accessed directly by any client capable of sending HTTP requests to the affected endpoint.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based, requiring no authentication credentials or user interaction. An attacker with network access to the MaxTime system can craft HTTP requests targeting the vulnerable maxprofile/menu/routes.lua endpoint to modify user permissions. The attack is straightforward to execute, as it simply requires sending properly formatted HTTP requests to the exposed administrative interface.

The vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. An attacker would need to identify an exposed MaxTime instance and send crafted HTTP requests to the user permission management endpoints. Since no authentication is required, the attacker can directly manipulate permission settings for any user in the system, including elevating their own privileges or creating new administrative accounts.

For detailed technical information, see the Nozomi Networks Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-26347

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected HTTP requests to /maxprofile/menu/ endpoints from unauthorized IP addresses
• User permission changes without corresponding administrative session activity
• Creation of new administrative accounts or privilege escalation events without legitimate authorization workflows
• Unusual network traffic patterns targeting MaxTime management interfaces

Detection Strategies

• Implement network traffic monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to MaxTime administrative endpoints
• Enable detailed logging on MaxTime systems to capture all user permission modification requests
• Deploy intrusion detection rules to identify HTTP requests targeting routes.lua without valid authentication headers
• Monitor for anomalous user account activity, including unexpected privilege changes

Monitoring Recommendations

• Establish baseline network behavior for MaxTime management interfaces and alert on deviations
• Configure SIEM rules to correlate permission changes with authenticated administrative sessions
• Implement real-time alerting for any access to user management endpoints from untrusted network segments
• Regularly audit user permissions and account configurations for unauthorized modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-26347

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to MaxTime management interfaces using firewall rules and network segmentation
• Place MaxTime systems behind a VPN or other authenticated gateway to prevent direct internet exposure
• Audit current user permissions and accounts for any unauthorized changes
• Enable comprehensive logging to detect potential exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Q-Free has not published a publicly available patch advisory at the time of this writing. Organizations should contact Q-Free directly for information about security updates addressing this vulnerability. Monitor the Nozomi Networks Advisory for updates and remediation guidance.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level access controls to restrict access to MaxTime systems to authorized IP addresses only
• Deploy a web application firewall (WAF) to filter and block unauthorized requests to administrative endpoints
• Use a reverse proxy with authentication to protect access to the vulnerable routes
• Consider taking vulnerable systems offline or air-gapping them until a patch is available for critical deployments

# Example: Restrict access to MaxTime management interface using iptables
# Only allow access from trusted management network (e.g., 10.10.10.0/24)
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s 10.10.10.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.10.10.0/24 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP