CVE-2020-27871
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 create arbitrary files on affected installations of SolarWinds Orion Platform 2020.2.1. Although authentication is required to exploit this vulnerability, the existing authentication mechanism can be bypassed. The specific flaw exists within VulnerabilitySettings.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 execute arbitrary code in the context of SYSTEM. Was ZDI-CAN-11902.
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 · moderate confidenceCVE-2020-27871 is a path traversal vulnerability in SolarWinds Orion Platform 2020.2.1 within the VulnerabilitySettings.aspx page. An attacker who can bypass the authentication mechanism can supply an unvalidated user-supplied path to file operations, enabling arbitrary file creation. This can be escalated to achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the SYSTEM account.
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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/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 Orion Platform versionCheck the SolarWinds Orion Platform version through the web UI (typically in Help > About) or via the Orion Configuration Manager. Alternatively, inspect the installation files or registry for the exact version number.Affected if The installed version is exactly 2020.2.1 (the only affected version per this CVE).
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Locate VulnerabilitySettings.aspxCheck if the file VulnerabilitySettings.aspx exists in the Orion web application's directory structure, typically under the /Orion/ or /Web/ subdirectory.Affected if The vulnerable page is present in the installation.
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Verify Orion web interface is accessibleConfirm the SolarWinds Orion web interface is reachable over the network by accessing the login page or testing HTTP/HTTPS response on the management port.Affected if The management interface is exposed to network accessible sources.
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Confirm authentication statusReview the authentication configuration for the Orion Platform, checking whether the login mechanism is enabled, properly configured, and whether any known authentication bypass conditions exist.Affected if An attacker can bypass the authentication mechanism to reach VulnerabilitySettings.aspx.
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Check for unauthorized file creation artifactsReview web server logs and file system for any unexpected file creations in directories writable by the Orion application pool service account, particularly in web root directories.Affected if Evidence exists of arbitrary file creation originating from the Orion web application.
A user is affected if their SolarWinds Orion Platform is exactly version 2020.2.1, the VulnerabilitySettings.aspx page is accessible, and the authentication mechanism can be bypassed, allowing path traversal exploitation.
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-supplied security patch for CVE-2020-27871 to remediate the path validation vulnerability in VulnerabilitySettings.aspx. Until the patch is applied, restrict network access to the Orion Platform management interfaces to trusted sources only.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-27871 — 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-2020-27871 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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