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Orion PlatformApplication · Solarwinds

CVE-2021-35244

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2020.2.6 or later.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
The "Log alert to a file" action within action management enables any Orion Platform user with Orion alert management rights to write to any file. An attacker with Orion alert management rights could use this vulnerability to perform an unrestricted file upload causing a remote code execution.

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 confidence

The 'Log alert to a file' action in SolarWinds Orion Platform's action management component lacks proper path validation, allowing any user with alert management rights to write arbitrary content to any filesystem location accessible to the application. This unrestricted file write capability can be exploited to place executable files (e.g., web shells) in web-accessible directories, leading to remote code execution.

MitigationRestrict the 'Log alert to a file' action to a designated, non-executable log directory with strict path traversal prevention; apply vendor security patches; audit and minimize users granted alert management permissions.

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
Orion PlatformApplication
Affected:< 2020.2.6= 2020.2.6

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify SolarWinds Orion Platform installation
    Locate the Orion installation directory (typically C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Orion) and check for the existence of the SolarWinds Orion Platform components. Look for executable files like OrionWeb.exe or SolarWinds.Orion.Core.dll in the installation path.
    Affected if SolarWinds Orion Platform is installed on the system
  2. Determine installed Orion Platform version
    Check the version of the Orion Platform by reviewing the assembly version of SolarWinds.Orion.Core.dll located in the Orion bin directory, or access the Orion Administration page at Settings > All Settings > About in the web interface.
    Affected if The installed version is prior to 2020.2.6 or exactly 2020.2.6
  3. Identify users with alert management rights
    Access the Orion web interface and navigate to Settings > All Settings > Manage Users and Roles > User Management, or query the Orion database (SQL) for accounts with AlertManagement permissions in the Accounts table or equivalent.
    Affected if Any user account has alert management or alert configuration permissions granted
  4. Check for existing 'Log alert to a file' action configurations
    Navigate to Alerts > Manage Alerts in the Orion web interface, select an existing alert, and inspect the Actions configured. Alternatively, query the Orion database for entries in the AlertActions table where the ActionType contains 'LogToFile' or similar indicators.
    Affected if The 'Log alert to a file' action is configured or available for use

A user is affected if SolarWinds Orion Platform versions 2020.2.6 or earlier are running AND users with alert management permissions exist in the system who could exploit the path traversal in the 'Log alert to a file' action.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 2020.2.6 or later
Fixed in 2020.2.6
Interim mitigation

Restrict the 'Log alert to a file' action to a designated, non-executable log directory with strict path traversal prevention; apply vendor security patches; audit and minimize users granted alert management permissions.

Recommended fix High confidence

Orion Platform 2020.2.7 or later

  1. 1. Identify current Orion Platform version via the Orion Administration menu
  2. 2. Download the upgrade package for Orion Platform 2020.2.7 or later from the SolarWinds customer portal
  3. 3. Review SolarWinds upgrade documentation and release notes for version 2020.2.7
  4. 4. Create a full backup of the Orion database and configuration
  5. 5. Test the upgrade in a staging environment before production deployment
  6. 6. Execute the upgrade following standard SolarWinds upgrade procedures
  7. 7. Verify the upgrade completed successfully and confirm the new version is 2020.2.7 or later
  8. 8. Test that the 'Log alert to a file' action now properly restricts file paths
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or feature changes between 2020.2.6 and 2020.2.7; standard upgrade risks apply including potential need for reconfiguration of alert actions

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Orion Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,800
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,480.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-35244 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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