CVE-2020-35481
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 · uneditedSolarWinds Serv-U before 15.2.2 allows Unauthenticated Macro Injection.
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 confidenceSolarWinds Serv-U FTP server before version 15.2.2 contains an unauthenticated macro injection vulnerability. Attackers can inject malicious macros into files uploaded through the FTP service without authentication, likely leading to remote code execution when those files are accessed by legitimate users.
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< 15.2.2CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 if SolarWinds Serv-U is installedCheck running processes for Serv-U.exe or ServUDaemon.exe, or look for Serv-U in installed programsAffected if Serv-U FTP server is present on the system
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Determine installed Serv-U versionRun 'Serv-U.exe -version' from the Serv-U installation directory, or right-click the executable and view Properties > Details for version informationAffected if The installed version is lower than 15.2.2 (e.g., 15.2.1, 15.1.x, 15.0.x, etc.)
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Verify FTP service is accessibleCheck if TCP port 21 (or configured FTP port) is open and listening on the server using 'netstat -an | findstr :21' or similar network scannerAffected if The FTP service is exposed and accepting connections
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Confirm file upload is permittedAttempt an anonymous FTP login and attempt to upload a test file, or review Serv-U admin console for write permissionsAffected if Anonymous or unauthenticated users can upload files to the FTP server
If Serv-U version is below 15.2.2 AND the FTP service is accessible with file upload capabilities enabled, the environment is vulnerable to unauthenticated macro injection via uploaded files.
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.
dbcve · scoped15.2.2
Upgrade SolarWinds Serv-U to version 15.2.2 or later. If immediate patching is not possible, restrict or disable file upload functionality and implement network segmentation to limit exposure.
Serv-U 15.2.2
- 1. Back up your current Serv-U configuration and data
- 2. Download Serv-U version 15.2.2 from the official SolarWinds download portal at documentation.solarwinds.com
- 3. Install or upgrade to Serv-U version 15.2.2
- 4. Verify the installation was successful and the version shows 15.2.2
- 5. Restart the Serv-U service if needed
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,144.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-35481 — 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-2020-35481 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
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data