CVE-2025-26362: Q-free Maxtime Auth Bypass Vulnerability

CVE-2025-26362 Overview

CVE-2025-26362 is a critical Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability (CWE-306) affecting Q-Free MaxTime traffic management systems. The vulnerability exists in the maxprofile/setup/routes.lua component and allows unauthenticated remote attackers to set an arbitrary authentication profile server via crafted HTTP requests. This flaw enables attackers to redirect authentication flows to malicious servers, potentially compromising the entire traffic management infrastructure.

Critical Impact

Unauthenticated attackers can remotely reconfigure authentication profile servers in Q-Free MaxTime systems, enabling potential credential theft, unauthorized access, and complete compromise of traffic management infrastructure.

Affected Products

• Q-Free MaxTime version 2.11.0 and earlier
• Q-Free MaxTime traffic management systems with exposed network interfaces
• Deployments using the vulnerable maxprofile/setup/routes.lua component

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-02-12 - CVE-2025-26362 published to NVD
• 2025-10-28 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-26362

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability represents a fundamental authentication bypass in the Q-Free MaxTime traffic management system. The affected component, maxprofile/setup/routes.lua, lacks proper authentication checks before allowing modification of the authentication profile server configuration. This design flaw means that any network-accessible attacker can alter critical security settings without providing valid credentials.

The vulnerability allows an attacker to redirect the authentication profile server to an attacker-controlled endpoint. Once redirected, the attacker could capture credentials, inject malicious authentication responses, or completely bypass the authentication mechanism. Traffic management systems like MaxTime are critical infrastructure components, making this vulnerability particularly severe in terms of potential real-world impact.

Root Cause

The root cause is the absence of authentication enforcement in the maxprofile/setup/routes.lua Lua script. The endpoint responsible for configuring the authentication profile server does not verify that incoming requests originate from authenticated administrators. This violates the principle of secure defaults, where critical configuration functions should require authentication by default.

The CWE-306 classification indicates that the application exposes a critical administrative function—setting the authentication profile server—without requiring any form of identity verification.

Attack Vector

The attack is network-based and requires no authentication or user interaction. An attacker with network access to the Q-Free MaxTime system can send specially crafted HTTP requests to the vulnerable endpoint. The attack sequence involves:

1. Identifying an exposed Q-Free MaxTime instance running version 2.11.0 or earlier
2. Sending crafted HTTP requests to the maxprofile/setup/routes endpoint
3. Specifying an attacker-controlled server as the new authentication profile server
4. Intercepting or manipulating subsequent authentication attempts

The vulnerability mechanism centers on the missing authentication checks in the Lua routing component. When HTTP requests reach the maxprofile/setup/routes.lua handler, the code processes configuration changes without validating the caller's identity or authorization level. For detailed technical analysis, refer to the Nozomi Networks Vulnerability Advisory.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-26362

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected HTTP requests targeting /maxprofile/setup/ endpoints from external or unauthorized IP addresses
• Configuration changes to authentication profile server settings without corresponding administrative activity logs
• Network traffic to unfamiliar external servers from MaxTime systems
• Authentication failures or unusual authentication patterns following configuration changes

Detection Strategies

• Monitor network traffic for HTTP requests to MaxTime setup endpoints originating from non-administrative sources
• Implement alerting for any changes to authentication profile server configurations
• Deploy intrusion detection rules targeting unauthorized access to MaxTime administrative functions
• Perform regular configuration audits comparing current settings against known-good baselines

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive logging on all MaxTime administrative interfaces
• Configure SIEM rules to alert on configuration changes to authentication-related settings
• Monitor for network connections from MaxTime systems to unexpected external destinations
• Implement network segmentation monitoring to detect lateral movement attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-26362

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict network access to Q-Free MaxTime administrative interfaces using firewall rules or network segmentation
• Audit current authentication profile server configurations for unauthorized modifications
• Implement network-level authentication (such as VPN or jump host requirements) for accessing MaxTime systems
• Review access logs for evidence of prior exploitation attempts

Patch Information

Organizations running Q-Free MaxTime version 2.11.0 or earlier should contact Q-Free directly to obtain information about patched versions. Review the Nozomi Networks Vulnerability Advisory for the latest remediation guidance.

Workarounds

• Place MaxTime systems behind a firewall that restricts access to trusted administrative networks only
• Implement a reverse proxy with authentication requirements in front of MaxTime administrative endpoints
• Use network access control lists (ACLs) to limit which IP addresses can reach MaxTime setup interfaces
• Consider deploying a Web Application Firewall (WAF) to filter malicious requests targeting the vulnerable endpoint

# Example firewall rule to restrict access to MaxTime administrative interface
# Adjust IP ranges according to your trusted administrative network
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.0.0/8 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 80 -j DROP
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP