SolarWinds WHD Auth Bypass: Unauthenticated R/O Access
CVE-2025-40536 Published on January 28, 2026
SolarWinds Web Help Desk Security Control Bypass Vulnerability
SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a security control bypass vulnerability that if exploited, could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to certain restricted functionality.
Known Exploited Vulnerability
This SolarWinds Web Help Desk Security Control Bypass Vulnerability is part of CISA's list of Known Exploited Vulnerabilities. SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains a security control bypass vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated attacker to gain access to certain restricted functionality.
The following remediation steps are recommended / required by February 15, 2026: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Vulnerability Analysis
CVE-2025-40536 is exploitable with network access, and does not require authorization privileges or user interaction. This vulnerability is consided to have a high level of attack complexity. This vulnerability is known to be actively exploited by threat actors. The potential impact of an exploit of this vulnerability is considered to be very high.
Weakness Type
Protection Mechanism Failure
The product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product. This weakness covers three distinct situations. A "missing" protection mechanism occurs when the application does not define any mechanism against a certain class of attack. An "insufficient" protection mechanism might provide some defenses - for example, against the most common attacks - but it does not protect against everything that is intended. Finally, an "ignored" mechanism occurs when a mechanism is available and in active use within the product, but the developer has not applied it in some code path.
Products Associated with CVE-2025-40536
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Affected Versions
SolarWinds Web Help Desk Version 12.8.8 HF1 and below is affected by CVE-2025-40536Exploit Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) scores estimate the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. The percentile shows you how this score compares to all other vulnerabilities.