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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 5 Sep 2024.
Web Help DeskApplication · Solarwinds

CVE-2024-28986

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-13
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 12.8.2 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges 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
SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution vulnerability that, if exploited, would allow an attacker to run commands on the host machine. While it was reported as an unauthenticated vulnerability, SolarWinds has been unable to reproduce it without authentication after thorough testing.   However, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend all Web Help Desk customers apply the patch, which is now available.

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

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains a Java deserialization vulnerability that allows remote code execution through unsafe deserialization of untrusted data. An attacker who exploits this vulnerability can execute arbitrary commands on the host machine with the privileges of the Web Help Desk service.

MitigationApply the vendor patch for SolarWinds Web Help Desk immediately. Until patched, consider network segmentation and restricting access to the Web Help Desk service.

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
Web Help DeskApplication
Affected:<= 12.8.2= 12.8.3

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
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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. Confirm SolarWinds Web Help Desk is installed
    Open Windows Services console (services.msc) and look for a service named 'SolarWinds Web Help Desk' or check Programs and Features for SolarWinds Web Help Desk entry
    Affected if The software is not installed on the system
  2. Identify the installed version
    In Windows, check the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\{DisplayName} for DisplayVersion, or right-click the service in Services console and check the executable path for version info, or run: whd --version from the installation directory if available
    Affected if The version displayed is 12.8.3 or any version 12.8.2 and below
  3. Verify the service is running and listening on network ports
    Open Command Prompt and run: netstat -an | findstr LISTENING then look for ports 8080, 8443, or the port configured for Web Help Desk (check installation defaults or configuration files for the HTTP port)
    Affected if The service is running and bound to a network-adjacent IP address (0.0.0.0) rather than localhost only
  4. Check if remote access is enabled
    Review the SolarWinds Web Help Desk configuration file (typically whdconf.xml or web.xml in the conf directory) for network binding settings and verify if remote connections are permitted
    Affected if The service is configured to accept remote connections and is exposed to network traffic

You are affected if SolarWinds Web Help Desk is installed with version 12.8.3 or any version 12.8.2 and below, and the service is running and accepting network connections.

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 a release after 12.8.2
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch for SolarWinds Web Help Desk immediately. Until patched, consider network segmentation and restricting access to the Web Help Desk service.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Web Help Desk 12.8.4 or later

  1. Download the latest version of SolarWinds Web Help Desk from the official SolarWinds download portal or support.solarwinds.com
  2. Review the upgrade instructions provided in the SolarWinds Web Help Desk release notes
  3. Ensure you have a complete backup of your current Web Help Desk installation and database
  4. Stop the Web Help Desk service before performing the upgrade
  5. Install the updated Web Help Desk version (version 12.8.4 or later)
  6. Verify the upgrade was successful by confirming the service starts and the web interface is accessible
  7. Confirm the installed version matches the patched release
Caveat Review release notes for any configuration or feature changes that may require adjustment

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

Fix this in Web Help Desk Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,920
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,072.

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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-2024-28986 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