CVE-2023-35185
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 · uneditedThe SolarWinds Access Rights Manager was susceptible to a Directory Traversal Remote Code Vulnerability using SYSTEM 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 confidenceSolarWinds Access Rights Manager contains a directory traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to traverse filesystem paths and achieve remote code execution with SYSTEM privileges. This high-privilege execution context significantly amplifies the impact, potentially allowing complete system compromise.
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<= 2023.2.0.73CVSS 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
- Adjacent
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/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.
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Confirm SolarWinds Access Rights Manager is installedCheck installed programs list in Windows Control Panel or use 'Get-ItemProperty' in PowerShell for registry entries under HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for entries containing 'Access Rights Manager' or 'ARM'Affected if SolarWinds Access Rights Manager appears in installed programs or registry
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Identify installed ARM versionLocate the version information through the ARM web interface (typically accessible at https://localhost:8080 or configured port), check the Windows Services panel for SolarWinds ARM service details, or examine the uninstall registry entry for the DisplayVersion valueAffected if Installed version number is 2023.2.0.73 or lower, or version cannot be determined but ARM is present
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Verify the ARM web service is running and exposedCheck Windows Services for 'SolarWinds Access Rights Manager' service status, and verify the web application port (default 8080 or configured HTTPS port) is listening via 'netstat -an | findstr :8080' or similar port checkAffected if ARM web service is running and accepting connections
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Assess external exposure of the ARM web interfaceReview network firewall rules and external-facing listeners to determine if the ARM web port is accessible from untrusted networks, or use external port scanning tools to test accessibilityAffected if ARM web interface is accessible from internet or untrusted network segments
Your environment is affected if SolarWinds Access Rights Manager is installed with version 2023.2.0.73 or lower and the web service is running and accessible.
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 dataApply vendor-supplied patches for CVE-2023-35185 when available. In the interim, implement web application firewall rules to block directory traversal patterns (.., /, \) and restrict Access Rights Manager service accounts to minimum necessary privileges.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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 $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-35185 — 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-2023-35185 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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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