CVE-2020-27870
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 disclose sensitive information on affected installations of SolarWinds Orion Platform 2020.2.1. Authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within ExportToPDF.aspx. The issue results from the lack of proper validation of a user-supplied path prior to using it in file operations. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to disclose information in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-11917.
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 path traversal vulnerability in ExportToPDF.aspx allows authenticated remote attackers to read arbitrary files on the system by supplying manipulated path parameters. The lack of proper input validation enables disclosure of sensitive information in the context of SYSTEM privileges.
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= 2020.2.1CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 SolarWinds Orion Platform installationLocate the SolarWinds Orion Platform installation directory and locate its version information file or use the Orion Administration tool to retrieve the installed version numberAffected if The installed version is exactly 2020.2.1
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Confirm ExportToPDF.aspx existsVerify that ExportToPDF.aspx exists in the web application's directory structure, typically under the Orion web rootAffected if ExportToPDF.aspx is present and accessible on the web server
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Verify authentication mechanism is enabledConfirm that the Orion Platform's web authentication is active and that user accounts can log in to the platformAffected if Web authentication is enabled and functional, allowing user login to the Orion Platform
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Check network exposure of the vulnerable pageDetermine if ExportToPDF.aspx is accessible over the network from untrusted segments or the internetAffected if ExportToPDF.aspx is reachable from network segments where attackers could authenticate and exploit the path traversal
You are affected if SolarWinds Orion Platform version 2020.2.1 is installed and ExportToPDF.aspx is accessible to authenticated users on your network.
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 SolarWinds security patch for CVE-2020-27870 to version 2020.2.1, or upgrade to a patched version. Until patched, restrict access to ExportToPDF.aspx via network segmentation or WAF rules.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27870 — 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-2020-27870 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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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data