CVE-2020-27869
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThis vulnerability allows remote attackers to escalate privileges on affected installations of SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor 2020 HF1, NPM: 2020.2. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the WriteToFile method. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied string before using it to construct SQL queries. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges and reset the password for the Admin user. Was ZDI-CAN-11804.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceA SQL injection vulnerability exists in the WriteToFile method of SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor 2020 HF1 and NPM 2020.2. The flaw results from insufficient validation of user-supplied strings before they're used in SQL query construction. An authenticated attacker can exploit this to perform privilege escalation and reset the Admin user password.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 2020= 2020.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed NPM versionAccess SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor web interface and navigate to About/Support page, or check the installed software version via Windows Programs and Features, or run 'Get-ItemProperty' on the installation directory if knownAffected if Installed version matches 2020 HF1 or 2020.2 exactly
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Verify web interface accessibilityConfirm the NPM web interface is reachable via HTTP/HTTPS on the configured port (typically 80 or 443)Affected if Web interface is exposed and the application is running
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Review admin user account for unauthorized changesQuery the Orion database directly or check the Orion web interface for user account modifications, particularly the Admin account status and last password change timestampAffected if Admin password was changed without authorized action, or privilege escalation occurred (new admin accounts created, existing accounts elevated)
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Examine database audit logs for SQL injection indicatorsReview SolarWinds Orion database logs or Windows Event Viewer for suspicious SQL queries containing WriteToFile method calls or unusual SQL syntax from authenticated sessionsAffected if SQL queries contain concatenated user input or show patterns indicative of injection attempts
Environment is affected if SolarWinds NPM version is 2020 HF1 or 2020.2, the web interface is accessible, and either the Admin password was reset or SQL injection indicators appear in logs
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the vendor-provided security patch for this vulnerability. Until patched, limit access to the Network Performance Monitor to trusted personnel only and monitor for unauthorized password changes or privilege modifications.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27869 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-27869 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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