CVE-2023-35179
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 · uneditedA vulnerability has been identified within Serv-U 15.4 that, if exploited, allows an actor to bypass multi-factor/two-factor authentication. The actor must have administrator-level access to Serv-U to perform this action.
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 confidenceA vulnerability in Serv-U 15.4 allows an authenticated administrator to bypass multi-factor authentication (MFA/2FA) protections. The flaw appears to exist in the authentication logic flow where MFA verification can be circumvented for administrative accounts, potentially enabling privileged actions without completing secondary factor verification.
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= 15.4.0CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Confirm Serv-U installation and versionLocate the Serv-U installation directory and check the version file or executable properties. Common locations include C:\Program Files\SolarWinds\Serv-U on Windows or /opt/serv-u on Linux. Use 'serv-u -v' or check the About dialog in the Serv-U admin console.Affected if The installed version is exactly 15.4.0 (no hotfix or patch version indicated)
-
Identify administrative accounts configured in Serv-UAccess the Serv-U administrative console or examine the user configuration files (typically userdb.ini or equivalent in the Serv-U data directory) to list accounts with administrative privileges.Affected if Administrative accounts exist in the Serv-U deployment (the vulnerability targets admin accounts)
-
Check MFA configuration status for admin accountsIn the Serv-U admin console, navigate to User Management > select each admin account > verify the Two-Factor Authentication or MFA setting. Check if MFA is enabled or required for administrative access.Affected if MFA is configured but can be bypassed due to the flaw (the vulnerability allows circumvention of configured MFA)
-
Review authentication flow and session configurationExamine the Serv-U configuration files (servu.conf or similar) for authentication-related settings. Look for parameters controlling MFA enforcement, session handling, or authentication flow for administrative users.Affected if The authentication configuration allows administrative sessions to proceed without completing MFA verification
-
Audit admin activity logs for anomalous authentication patternsReview Serv-U activity logs (typically in the Logs subdirectory) for administrative login events that show successful admin access without corresponding MFA verification events or that occur outside normal MFA challenge patterns.Affected if Logs show admin access patterns inconsistent with expected MFA challenge-response flow
You are affected if Serv-U version 15.4.0 is running with administrative accounts that have MFA configured but may have been bypassed, particularly if admin sessions appear in logs without complete MFA verification.
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 · scopedApply vendor patches or updates for Serv-U 15.4. Review administrator account configurations and audit administrative activity logs for signs of unauthorized access until the patch is fully deployed.
Serv-U 15.4.1 or later
- Download Serv-U version 15.4.1 or later from the official SolarWinds download portal at support.solarwinds.com
- Review the Serv-U 15.4.1 release notes for any configuration or migration requirements
- Create a complete backup of the current Serv-U configuration and data
- Stop the Serv-U service before applying the upgrade
- Install Serv-U 15.4.1 using the standard upgrade installation process
- Restart the Serv-U service after installation completes
- Verify that multi-factor authentication is functioning correctly post-upgrade
- Confirm the Serv-U version shows 15.4.1 or later in the administration console
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation12.0 h
- Testing10.0 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 $8,928.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-35179 — 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-2023-35179 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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