CVE-2021-35213
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 · uneditedAn Improper Access Control Privilege Escalation Vulnerability was discovered in the User Setting of Orion Platform version 2020.2.5. It allows a guest user to elevate privileges to the Administrator using this vulnerability. Authentication is required to exploit the vulnerability.
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 confidenceThis is a privilege escalation vulnerability in SolarWinds Orion Platform 2020.2.5 where a guest user (low-privilege authenticated user) can exploit improper access controls in the User Settings component to elevate their privileges to Administrator level. The attacker needs valid credentials but can be a low-privilege guest 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<= 2020.2.5CVSS 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 Orion Platform versionCheck the SolarWinds Orion Platform version through the web interface (Orion > Settings > All Settings > Product Information) or via the SolarWinds Registry settings. This is typically displayed on the main dashboard or in the About section.Affected if Version is 2020.2.5 or earlier (any version <= 2020.2.5)
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Confirm guest or low-privilege user accounts existNavigate to Orion > Settings > All Settings > Manage Accounts or use the API/Orion database to query existing user accounts. Look for accounts with Guest, Reader, or low-privilege roles.Affected if Any guest, reader, or non-administrator user accounts exist in the system
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Verify User Settings component is accessible to low-privilege usersLog in with a guest or low-privilege test account and attempt to access the User Settings or Profile settings area. Check if any user can modify settings or access administrative functions.Affected if Low-privilege accounts can access User Settings components or see administrative options
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Audit for recent privilege escalation eventsReview Orion logs, Windows Event Logs, and SolarWinds alert history for events indicating user role changes, especially from Guest/Reader to Administrator. Check logs around the timeframe of suspicious account activity.Affected if Logs show unauthorized privilege escalation or role changes to Administrator
Your environment is affected if running SolarWinds Orion Platform version 2020.2.5 or earlier AND any low-privilege guest accounts exist that could potentially access the User Settings component to escalate privileges.
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 · scopedUpgrade Orion Platform to the vendor-released patched version and audit user accounts and logs for any unauthorized privilege escalation attempts indicating active exploitation.
Orion Platform 2020.2.6 or later (consult SolarWinds for current stable release)
- 1. Obtain the latest SolarWinds Orion Platform release from the official SolarWinds download portal or your licensed customer portal.
- 2. Review the SolarWinds Orion Platform release notes for version 2020.2.6 or later to confirm the security fix for CVE-2021-35213 is included.
- 3. Before upgrading, perform a complete backup of the Orion database and configuration.
- 4. Schedule a maintenance window as the upgrade may require downtime.
- 5. Follow the standard SolarWinds Orion Platform upgrade procedure documented in the official installation guide.
- 6. After upgrade, verify that the guest account can no longer escalate privileges to Administrator.
- 7. Confirm the upgraded version by checking Help > About in the Orion web interface.
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,600.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-35213 — 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-2021-35213 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