dbcve.org
Orion PlatformApplication · Solarwinds

CVE-2023-23840

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-09-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 2023.3.1 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 SolarWinds Platform was susceptible to the Incorrect Comparison Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows users with administrative access to SolarWinds Web Console to execute arbitrary commands with NETWORK SERVICE privileges.

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 confidence

The SolarWinds Platform contains an incorrect comparison vulnerability in its Web Console that allows authenticated administrators to execute arbitrary commands with NETWORK SERVICE privileges. This represents a privilege escalation issue where the incorrect comparison logic fails to properly restrict command execution, enabling an admin user to escape the intended sandbox and run commands in the elevated Windows service account context.

MitigationApply the vendor patch from SolarWinds for this vulnerability. Restrict administrative access to the Web Console to trusted personnel only until the patch is applied, as the vulnerability requires administrative credentials.

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:< 2023.3.1

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 the installed SolarWinds Orion Platform version
    Check the Orion Platform version through the SolarWinds Web Console (typically at /Orion/Login.aspx) by viewing the About section in the system, or query the SolarWinds database (Orion.Statistics table) for the Version field. Alternatively, locate the installation directory and read the version from the installer or bin files.
    Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 2023.3.1 (e.g., 2023.2.x, 2022.x, earlier) as listed in the affected versions range.
  2. Confirm the Web Console is enabled and accessible
    Verify that the SolarWinds Web Console service (Orion Web Engine) is running and the web interface is reachable over HTTP/HTTPS on the configured port (default 443 or 80).
    Affected if The Web Console is accessible and operational, which is required for the vulnerability to be exploitable.
  3. Verify administrative authentication to the Web Console
    Log into the SolarWinds Web Console with an administrator-level account. Confirm the account has been granted full administrative rights within the Orion Platform (visible in Settings > User Accounts > Manage Accounts).
    Affected if An authenticated user with administrator-level privileges exists and can access the Web Console, which is necessary to trigger the incorrect comparison logic.

You are affected if your SolarWinds Orion Platform version is earlier than 2023.3.1 AND the Web Console is accessible to authenticated administrators.

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 2023.3.1 or later
Fixed in 2023.3.1
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch from SolarWinds for this vulnerability. Restrict administrative access to the Web Console to trusted personnel only until the patch is applied, as the vulnerability requires administrative credentials.

Recommended fix High confidence

2023.3.1

  1. Download the SolarWinds Platform 2023.3.1 (or later) upgrade package from the official SolarWinds customer portal
  2. Review the SolarWinds Platform upgrade requirements and prerequisites in the official documentation
  3. Create a complete backup of the current Orion database and configuration
  4. Ensure adequate downtime window as upgrade may require service interruption
  5. Run the upgrade installer on the Primary Orion server first, then Distributed engines if applicable
  6. Verify all services start successfully after upgrade
  7. Confirm the Web Console is accessible and all plugins/modules are functioning
  8. Validate that the version shows 2023.3.1 or later in About section

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
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,900
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,040.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2023-23840 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