dbcve.org
Orion PlatformApplication · Solarwinds

CVE-2023-23845

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 · high confidence

The SolarWinds Platform contains an incorrect comparison vulnerability that allows authenticated administrators on the Web Console to escape their intended privilege boundaries and execute arbitrary commands with NETWORK SERVICE account privileges. This represents a privilege escalation issue where the comparison logic fails to properly validate or restrict command execution boundaries.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied patch or upgrade to a fixed version of the SolarWinds Platform. Since the vulnerability requires administrative access, also review and minimize the number of administrative accounts and implement least-privilege access controls where feasible.

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 if SolarWinds Orion Platform is installed
    Check the installed version by inspecting the SolarWinds Orion web interface (typically at /Orion) or by reviewing installed software on the server. The version is usually displayed in the product footer or can be retrieved via the Orion Administration menu under About.
    Affected if SolarWinds Orion Platform is present and the version is below 2023.3.1
  2. Confirm the Web Console is accessible
    Verify the SolarWinds Web Console is enabled and reachable. This is typically accessed via HTTP/HTTPS on port 80 or 443, or the configured web server port. Check that the /Orion or /SolarWinds endpoint responds.
    Affected if The Web Console is enabled and exposes the administrative interface to users
  3. Verify administrative accounts exist
    Review the list of user accounts with administrative privileges in SolarWinds. Access this via Settings > All Settings > User Accounts in the Orion interface, or check the user database/configuration for accounts with Administrator role.
    Affected if There are accounts configured with administrative access to the Web Console
  4. Determine if NETWORK SERVICE execution context is in use
    Check the SolarWinds service configuration in Windows Services (services.msc) or the SolarWinds Orion service settings to identify the account under which the Orion services run.
    Affected if The SolarWinds services run under the NETWORK SERVICE account, making the privilege escalation impactful
  5. Compare installed version to the affected range
    Take the discovered version (from step 1) and compare it numerically against 2023.3.1. All versions below this threshold (including 2023.2.x, 2023.1.x, earlier major releases) are affected.
    Affected if The installed version is any release prior to 2023.3.1

A user is affected if SolarWinds Orion Platform is installed with a version below 2023.3.1, the Web Console is enabled, and there are accounts with administrative access to the Web Console.

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-supplied patch or upgrade to a fixed version of the SolarWinds Platform. Since the vulnerability requires administrative access, also review and minimize the number of administrative accounts and implement least-privilege access controls where feasible.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SolarWinds Platform 2023.3.1 or later

  1. Back up the SolarWinds Orion database and configuration before starting the upgrade
  2. Review the SolarWinds Platform 2023.3.1 release notes and upgrade prerequisites at documentation.solarwinds.com
  3. Download the SolarWinds Platform 2023.3.1 (or later) installer from the SolarWinds customer portal
  4. Stop all SolarWinds services on the Orion server
  5. Run the installer with administrative privileges and follow the on-screen upgrade prompts
  6. After upgrade completes, verify all services start successfully
  7. Confirm the vulnerability is remediated by checking the SolarWinds version displays 2023.3.1 or higher
Caveat Standard SolarWinds upgrade considerations apply: ensure database backup, test in non-production first, review breaking changes in release notes

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

Fix this in Orion Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,120
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,392.

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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-2023-23845 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