{"id":"CVE-2025-40536","published":"2026-01-28T08:16:01Z","modified":"2026-06-17T09:21:43Z","title":"SolarWinds Web Help Desk Security Control Bypass Vulnerability","vendor":"SolarWinds","product":"Web Help Desk","tier":"core","eol":null,"description":{"text":"SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a security control bypass vulnerability that if exploited, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to certain restricted functionality.","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"summary":{"text":"SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains a security control bypass vulnerability in its access restriction mechanism. An unauthenticated attacker with network access to the product can exploit it, without user interaction, to reach certain restricted functionality.","provenance":"ai","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","generatedAt":"2026-10-23T07:11:53Z"},"cvss":{"score":9.8,"severity":"CRITICAL","version":"3.1","vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","provenance":"source","from":"NVD"},"epss":{"score":0.73562,"percentile":0.99465,"date":"2026-10-29","provenance":"source"},"kev":{"dateAdded":"2026-02-12","dueDate":"2026-02-15","ransomware":false,"requiredAction":"Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.","notes":"https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/whd/content/release_notes/whd_2026-1_release_notes.htm ; https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2025-40536 ; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-40536","provenance":"source"},"vulncheckKev":{"dateAdded":"2026-02-12","exploitedFirstSeen":"2026-02-12","ransomware":false,"evidence":[{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","date":"2026-02-12"},{"url":"https://cyble.com/reports/H1-2026-Global-Threat-Landscape-Report.pdf","date":"2026-07-27"}],"evidenceTotal":2,"provenance":"source"},"exploited":true,"otx":{"pulseCount":50,"pulses":[{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 30, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae35d889ea92b4ce19c2680","created":"2026-10-29"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 29, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae20c1db17e7057ae7d9ad1","created":"2026-10-28"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 28, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ae0ba7e0e2a97ff7b218819","created":"2026-10-27"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 27, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adf68b85c3e852f3c111d18","created":"2026-10-26"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 24, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6adb740e397c3ad4799aa4cd","created":"2026-10-23"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 23, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ada236fcfba2dfa730ea482","created":"2026-10-22"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 22, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad8d33a077cbb5cab524d80","created":"2026-10-21"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 21, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad78130c4d1ac2be83a8b6d","created":"2026-10-20"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 20, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad62f63c24a405a3423cc13","created":"2026-10-19"},{"name":"Actively_Exploited_Kev | Oct 19, 2026","url":"https://otx.alienvault.com/pulse/6ad4dda174e5797d0bd238b7","created":"2026-10-18"}],"provenance":"machine"},"cwes":[{"id":"CWE-693","name":"Protection Mechanism Failure"}],"references":[{"url":"https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/whd/content/release_notes/whd_2026-1_release_notes.htm","tags":["Release Notes"]},{"url":"https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2025-40536","tags":["Vendor Advisory"]},{"url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-40536","tags":["US Government Resource"]},{"url":"https://www.huntress.com/blog/active-exploitation-solarwinds-web-help-desk-cve-2025-26399","tags":["Third Party Advisory"]}],"techniques":[{"id":"T1190","name":"Exploit Public-Facing Application","tactics":["initial-access"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: unauthenticated remote exploitation of public-facing web application","mappingType":"exploitation_technique","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to certain restricted functionality","start":115,"end":205}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"},{"id":"T1078","name":"Valid Accounts","tactics":["initial-access","persistence","privilege-escalation","stealth"],"provenance":"ai","basis":"ai-mapping","bases":["ai-mapping"],"basisDetail":"claude-haiku-5-5: bypass grants access to restricted functionality","mappingType":"primary_impact","evidence":[{"from":"description","quote":"could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to certain restricted functionality","start":115,"end":205}],"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","confidence":"medium","confidenceNote":"AI-mapped from the description (quote-validated, not expert-reviewed)"}],"reports":[],"affected":[],"advisories":[],"euvd":{"id":"EUVD-2025-206418","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2025-206418","exploited":true,"exploitedSince":"2026-02-12","provenance":"source"},"exploits":[],"exploitSources":{"pocGithub":{"count":1,"skipped":0,"earliest":"2026-06-01","earliestUrl":"https://github.com/victoriaalicex/CVE-2025-40536-Analysis","repos":[{"name":"victoriaalicex/CVE-2025-40536-Analysis","url":"https://github.com/victoriaalicex/CVE-2025-40536-Analysis","stars":0,"created":"2026-06-01"}]},"metasploit":[{"name":"SolarWinds Web Help Desk unauthenticated RCE","module":"exploit/multi/http/solarwinds_webhelpdesk_rce","type":"exploit","disclosureDate":"2026-01-28","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/solarwinds_webhelpdesk_rce.rb"}],"nuclei":[{"id":"CVE-2025-40536","name":"SolarWinds Web Help Desk < 12.8.8 Hotfix 1 (HF1) - Security Control Bypass","severity":"high","path":"http/cves/2025/CVE-2025-40536.yaml","url":"https://github.com/projectdiscovery/nuclei-templates/blob/main/http/cves/2025/CVE-2025-40536.yaml"}],"first":{"date":"2026-01-28","source":"Metasploit","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/solarwinds_webhelpdesk_rce.rb"},"provenance":"source"},"detections":{"cveRules":[{"title":"Suspicious Child Process of SolarWinds WebHelpDesk","id":"8c7f4a2d-3b9e-4f1c-9a6d-2e8f5c3d9a1b","level":"high","status":"experimental","path":"rules-emerging-threats/2025/Exploits/CVE-2025-40551/proc_creation_win_exploit_cve_2025_40551.yml","url":"https://github.com/SigmaHQ/sigma/blob/master/rules-emerging-threats/2025/Exploits/CVE-2025-40551/proc_creation_win_exploit_cve_2025_40551.yml","techniques":["T1190"]}]},"exploitRefs":[],"flow":[{"stage":"exploitation","techniques":["T1190"],"provenance":"ai"},{"stage":"primary","techniques":["T1078"],"provenance":"ai"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2026-01-28","kind":"published","label":"Published (NVD)","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-40536","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-01-28","kind":"exploit-public","label":"First public exploit: Metasploit; later: PoC-in-GitHub 2026-06-01","url":"https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/multi/http/solarwinds_webhelpdesk_rce.rb","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-02-12","kind":"exploited-reported","label":"Exploitation first reported (VulnCheck KEV evidence)","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-02-12","kind":"kev","label":"Added to CISA KEV","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","provenance":"source"},{"date":"2026-02-12","kind":"euvd-exploited","label":"ENISA EUVD: exploited","url":"https://euvd.enisa.europa.eu/vulnerability/EUVD-2025-206418","provenance":"source"}],"speed":{"daysToPublicExploit":0,"firstExploitFrom":"Metasploit","daysToKev":15},"priority":{"score":74.8,"factors":[{"name":"In a KEV catalog","points":35.0,"detail":"listed in CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV"},{"name":"Recent KEV listing","points":5.0,"detail":"added 260 days ago"},{"name":"Known ransomware use","points":0.0,"detail":"not known"},{"name":"EPSS percentile","points":19.89,"detail":"percentile 0.9947"},{"name":"Named in threat reports","points":0.0,"detail":"0 reports"},{"name":"Public exploit code","points":5.0,"detail":"1 PoC-in-GitHub repo; 1 Metasploit module; 1 nuclei template"},{"name":"Mentioned in OTX pulses","points":3.0,"detail":"50 pulses"},{"name":"CVSS severity","points":6.86,"detail":"base score 9.8"},{"name":"End-of-life product","points":0.0,"detail":"supported or unknown"}]}}