CVE-2021-35232
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 · uneditedHard coded credentials discovered in SolarWinds Web Help Desk product. Through these credentials, the attacker with local access to the Web Help Desk host machine allows to execute arbitrary HQL queries against the database and leverage the vulnerability to steal the password hashes of the users or insert arbitrary data into the database.
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 confidenceSolarWinds Web Help Desk contains hardcoded credentials that, when combined with local access to the host machine, allow an attacker to execute arbitrary HQL (Hibernate Query Language) queries against the underlying database, enabling theft of user password hashes or injection of arbitrary data.
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<= 12.7.6CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/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 if SolarWinds Web Help Desk is installedCheck for the presence of the Web Help Desk installation directory (commonly in C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Web Help Desk or /opt/webhelpdesk on Linux), or look for a running service named 'SolarWinds Web Help Desk' or 'whd' in system services.Affected if The software is found installed on the system.
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Determine the installed versionLocate the version information in the installation directory - typically in a version file, about page, or manifest. Check the SolarWinds Web Help Desk administrator interface under Help > About, or examine version files in the installation root directory.Affected if The installed version is 12.7.6 or lower.
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Locate the hardcoded credentials in the codebaseSearch application source files and configuration directories for hardcoded credentials, particularly in Java property files, XML configuration files, or application JAR/WAR files within the installation directory. Look for embedded credentials used for database or administrative access.Affected if Hardcoded credentials are found in the application files or configuration.
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Verify database query access capabilityConfirm the Web Help Desk application is running and accessible, since the vulnerability requires local access to execute HQL queries through the hardcoded credentials against the underlying database.Affected if The application is running and the hardcoded credentials are present and usable.
A user is affected if SolarWinds Web Help Desk version 12.7.6 or lower is installed and hardcoded credentials exist in the application codebase, allowing local attackers to execute arbitrary HQL queries.
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 dataImmediately remove hardcoded credentials from the codebase, rotate any exposed credentials, implement proper secrets management, restrict physical and logical access to the Web Help Desk server, and apply vendor-supplied patches when available.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-35232 — 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-2021-35232 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