What is the CVSS score of CVE-2025-40536?

CVE-2025-40536 has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 8.1 (High). CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. EPSS exploitation probability: 69.1%.

Is there a public PoC exploit available for CVE-2025-40536?

Yes, a public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2025-40536. Prioritise patching immediately. EPSS: 69.1%.

How to fix or mitigate CVE-2025-40536?

Within 24 hours: Identify all SolarWinds Web Help Desk instances in your environment and isolate them from untrusted networks; enable detailed logging and monitor for suspicious access patterns. Within 7 days: Contact SolarWinds support for interim guidance; implement network segmentation to restrict access to help desk systems; conduct forensic analysis to determine if exploitation has occurred. Within 30 days: Deploy compensating controls (WAF rules, IP whitelisting); establish timeline with SolarWinds for patch availability; prepare upgrade plan upon patch release.

Web Help Desk CVE-2025-40536

HIGH

Protection Mechanism Failure (CWE-693)

2026-01-28 psirt@solarwinds.com

Authentication Bypass Web Help Desk Solarwinds

8.1

CVSS 3.1 · NVD

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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness	CWE CWE-693 OWASP Top 10:2025 A06:2025 - Insecure Design ASVS 5.0 V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Protection mechanism completeness
Impact	CVSS 8.1 (High). KEV-listed — actively exploited. EPSS 69.1% — very high exploitation probability. No authentication required. SolarWinds products are high-value targets for nation-state actors. Help desk data often contains credentials and sensitive IT infrastructure details.
Exploit ScenarioDerived	An attacker discovers an internet-exposed SolarWinds Web Help Desk instance and sends crafted requests that bypass the authentication and authorization mechanisms. They gain access to restricted functionality including: viewing all help desk tickets (which may contain passwords, network diagrams, or sensitive configurations), accessing the asset database, modifying ticket routing, or extracting user account information. This data is then used for further targeted attacks against the organization's infrastructure.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%.

Exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) No patch listed yet 69.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains a security control bypass vulnerability (CVE-2025-40536) that allows unauthenticated attackers to access restricted functionality. With EPSS 69% and KEV listing, this CVSS 8.1 vulnerability is particularly concerning given SolarWinds' history of being targeted in supply chain attacks and the sensitive IT service data typically stored in help desk systems.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)

v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:54 CVSS 8.1

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains a protection mechanism failure (CWE-693) that allows unauthenticated remote attackers to bypass security controls and access restricted administrative functionality.

RemediationAI

Apply SolarWinds security update immediately. Restrict Web Help Desk access to internal networks only. Review access logs for unauthorized access patterns. Audit help desk tickets for exposed credentials and rotate any found. Consider the sensitivity of data in WHD when planning remediation priority.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

Web Help Desk's security controls can be circumvented by unauthenticated attackers to access functionality that should require administrative privileges. The specific bypass mechanism involves manipulation of request parameters or paths that the application's authorization framework fails to properly validate. Given that help desk systems contain IT asset inventories, ticket histories with sensitive information, and often stored credentials, this represents significant data exposure.

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Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 8.1 HIGH

AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

High

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Lifecycle Timeline

Added to CISA KEV

Feb 13, 2026 - 14:03 cisa

CISA KEV

CVE Published

Jan 28, 2026 - 08:16 nvd

HIGH 8.1

DescriptionCVE.org

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.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains an authentication bypass vulnerability actively being exploited in the wild, allowing unauthenticated attackers to access restricted functionality without credentials. Organizations using this product face immediate risk of unauthorized access to sensitive help desk data and potential lateral movement into internal systems.

Business Impact: Severe

Compensating Controls

Implement Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules to block unauthenticated access to restricted endpoints; restrict network access to Web Help Desk via IP whitelisting or VPN-only access; disable non-essential features if possible; enforce reverse proxy authentication layer; implement real-time alerting on failed authentication attempts and anomalous account access; consider temporary service shutdown until patch is available.

Threat Intelligence Overview

Threat Score

6.7/10

Composite threat intelligence

EPSS Score

69.1%

Top 1% exploitable

Exploit

POC

Public exploit code exists

Data Quality

5 sources

Confidence: Medium

NVD

CVE.org

CISA KEV

EPSS POC (2)

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue

Severity HIGH

CISA KEV Yes

Public POC Yes

EPSS 69.1%

Patch available No

Active threat Yes

Deciding rule

HIGH severity + EPSS > 10%

What every action level means

Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.

This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.

Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived

Immediate

Exploitation· derived

Active

System Exposure· derived

Open

Automatable· derived

Human Impact

Very High

Priority Score

194

Low Medium High Critical

KEV: +50

EPSS: +69

CVSS: +40

PoC: +20

Weaponized: +15

Threat intel: 0

Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Authentication Bypass CRITICAL

Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:solarwinds:web_help_desk:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More in Web Help Desk

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CVE-2025-40551 CRITICAL Emergency POC

9.8 Jan 28

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains an unauthenticated Java deserialization vulnerability (CVE-2025-40551, CVSS 9.8) that

CVE-2025-26399 CRITICAL Act Now POC

9.8 Sep 23

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains an unauthenticated deserialization RCE via AjaxProxy, a patch bypass of both CVE-2024-

CVE-2025-40552 CRITICAL Act Now POC

9.8 Jan 28

SolarWinds Web Help Desk has an authentication bypass vulnerability (EPSS 9.9%) that allows unauthenticated attackers to

CVE-2025-40554 CRITICAL Act Now POC

9.8 Jan 28

SolarWinds Web Help Desk has a second authentication bypass (EPSS 7.8%) providing yet another path to unauthenticated ad

CVE-2024-28986 CRITICAL Act Now POC

9.8 Aug 13

SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution vulnerability that,

CVE-2024-28987 CRITICAL Act Now POC

9.1 Aug 21

The SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD) software is affected by a hardcoded credential vulnerability, allowing remote unauthe

CVE-2025-40553 CRITICAL Act Now POC

9.8 Jan 28

SolarWinds Web Help Desk has a second deserialization vulnerability (EPSS 11.9%) providing another unauthenticated RCE p

CVE-2024-28988 CRITICAL Act Now

9.8 Sep 01

SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution vulnerability that,

CVE-2026-28323 CRITICAL Act Now

9.8 Jul 30

Authentication bypass in SolarWinds Web Help Desk (WHD) allows remote unauthenticated attackers to circumvent SAML 2.0 s

CVE-2026-28299 HIGH This Week

7.5 Jun 02

Denial-of-service in SolarWinds Web Help Desk (2026.1 and all prior versions) lets remote unauthenticated attackers exha

CVE-2025-40537 HIGH This Week

7.5 Jan 28

SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a hardcoded credentials vulnerability that, under certain situat

CVE-2021-35243 HIGH This Week

7.5 Dec 23

The HTTP PUT and DELETE methods were enabled in the Web Help Desk web server (12.7.7 and earlier), allowing users to exe

Same weakness CWE-693 – Protection Mechanism Failure

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CVE-2013-2465 CRITICAL POC

9.8

CVE-2024-21412 HIGH POC

8.1

CVE-2019-1003030 CRITICAL POC

9.9

CVE-2013-0431 LOW POC

3.7

CVE-2024-38217 MEDIUM POC

5.4

CVE-2026-21513 HIGH

8.8

CVE-2026-21510 HIGH POC

8.8

CVE-2026-32202 MEDIUM POC

4.3

Same technique Authentication Bypass

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CVE-2015-3306 CRITICAL POC

10.0

CVE-2023-22515 CRITICAL POC

9.8

CVE-2012-4681 CRITICAL POC

9.8

CVE-2011-3544 CRITICAL POC

9.8

CVE-2022-40684 CRITICAL POC

9.8

CVE-2025-61882 CRITICAL POC

9.8

CVE-2024-0012 CRITICAL POC

9.3

References

Advisories & patches

ADVISORY https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2025-40536 REF https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/whd/content/release_notes/whd_2026-1_release_notes.htm REF https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2025-40536 REF https://www.huntress.com/blog/active-exploitation-solarwinds-web-help-desk-cve-2025-26399

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