EUVD-2026-46287
GHSA-crvr-7853-c944
Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Requires pre-existing domain-admin access so PR:H; network-reachable low-complexity escalation crossing into the Serv-U admin plane (S:C) yields full C/I/A control.
Primary rating from Vendor (SolarWinds).
CVSS VectorVendor: SolarWinds
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionCVE.org
SolarWinds Serv-U is affected by a privilege escalation vulnerability that allows a domain administrator to elevate their privileges to a system administrator. The impact is lower in Windows deployments.
AnalysisAI
Privilege escalation in SolarWinds Serv-U allows a domain administrator to elevate to a full Serv-U system administrator, granting complete control over the managed file transfer server and its data (CVSS 9.1, CWE-284 improper access control). Exploitation requires existing domain-administrator privileges (PR:H) but no user interaction, and the vendor notes the impact is reduced on Windows deployments, implying non-Windows (Linux) installs are more severely affected. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and it is not listed in CISA KEV, so this is a defense-in-depth priority rather than a confirmed active threat.
Technical ContextAI
SolarWinds Serv-U is an enterprise managed file transfer (MFT) and FTP/FTPS/SFTP/HTTPS server (cpe:2.3:a:solarwinds:serv-u:*) used to move files between organizations and internal systems. The root cause is classified as CWE-284 (Improper Access Control): Serv-U fails to correctly separate the authorization boundary between a domain-level administrator identity and the application's own 'system administrator' role, allowing a domain admin to cross into the higher Serv-U administrative tier. The CVSS scope-change flag (S:C) reflects that the compromise moves beyond the initially authorized component into control of the Serv-U management plane. The vendor's note that impact is 'lower in Windows deployments' suggests the underlying access-control gap interacts differently with the host OS privilege model, being more consequential on non-Windows installations.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to SolarWinds Serv-U 2026.3, which is referenced in the vendor's release notes as the remediated build; apply it per the advisory at https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2026-28306 and https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/servu/content/release_notes/servu_2026-3_release_notes.htm. Because exploitation requires domain-administrator privileges, the strongest compensating control until patching is to tightly restrict and audit who holds domain-admin rights on hosts running Serv-U and to avoid co-locating Serv-U with domain controllers or shared domain-admin accounts (trade-off: administrative overhead and possible operational friction for existing admin workflows). Additionally, monitor Serv-U administrative-account creation and role changes for unexpected elevation to system administrator, and prioritize non-Windows/Linux Serv-U instances first given their higher stated impact. No standalone configuration workaround is documented, so upgrading remains the definitive fix.
Remote denial-of-service in SolarWinds Serv-U allows unauthenticated attackers to crash the Serv-U service by sending sp
Microsoft discovered a remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in the SolarWinds Serv-U product utilizing a Remote Mem
SolarWinds Serv-U was susceptible to a directory transversal vulnerability that would allow access to read sensitive fil
In SolarWinds Serv-U before 15.2.2 Hotfix 1, there is a directory containing user profile files (that include users' pas
FTP Voyager 16.2.0 contains a denial of service vulnerability that allows local attackers to crash the application by in
A denial of service vulnerability in SolarWinds Serv-U before 15.1.6 HFv1 allows an authenticated user to crash the appl
Share/IncomingWizard.htm in SolarWinds Serv-U before 15.2.3 mishandles the user-supplied SenderEmail parameter, aka "Sha
Privilege escalation in SolarWinds Serv-U allows an authenticated domain administrator account to abuse an insecure dire
Privilege-scoped remote code execution in SolarWinds Serv-U managed file transfer server stems from an insecure direct o
Privilege-to-root remote code execution in SolarWinds Serv-U managed file transfer server stems from an insecure direct
Remote code execution in SolarWinds Serv-U managed file transfer/FTP server allows an attacker to run arbitrary code rem
Privilege escalation to remote code execution as root in SolarWinds Serv-U stems from an insecure direct object referenc
Same weakness CWE-284 – Improper Access Control
View allSame technique Authentication Bypass
View allShare
External POC / Exploit Code
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