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Findings

CVE-2025-40538

A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary co…

Published Feb 24, 2026 · corrected/updated Jun 17, 2026 · solarwinds serv-u · evidence confidence high

A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privileges to abuse. On Windows deployments, the risk is scored as a medium because services frequently run under less-privileged service accounts by default.

Grounded briefings

Catalog interpretations for three audiences. Each brief cites ingested metadata and the original advisories below. They are not independent research and they do not invent exploit steps.

Executive

CVE-2025-40538 is a high public vulnerability record for solarwinds serv-u. It is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited catalog. Check the linked vendor or CERT advisories for patch status. This summary is a catalog interpretation of the ingested metadata and cites the original advisories below.

System administrator

Identify whether solarwinds serv-u is in your estate, then compare installed versions with the affected ranges. Affected packages or ranges on record: solarwinds/serv-u. Check the linked vendor or CERT advisories for patch status. Prefer the vendor or distribution advisory linked in Sources before changing production systems. This is a catalog interpretation, not a runbook.

Security analyst

Signals on file: CVSS 7.2, EPSS 0.5%. It is not currently listed in the CISA Known Exploited catalog. Weakness classes: CWE-269. Sources contributing to this record: cve_org, epss, nvd. Public exploit references, when present, are outbound links only and are not proof of active exploitation. This is a catalog interpretation of stored metadata.

Exploitation and remediation

  • Exploitation evidence

    Not listed as known exploited in CISA KEV. Not in CISA KEV or VulnCheck KEV.

  • Patch and remediation

    No required-action text is stored yet. Use the vendor or CERT links in Sources for patch availability.

  • Safe detection guidance

    Compare installed versions with the affected ranges below and verify the advisory from the original publisher. This site stores metadata and outbound links only; it does not ship exploit code or proof-of-concept payloads.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Feb 24, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Detected

    A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privileges to abuse. On Windows deployments, the risk is scored as a medium because services frequently run under less-privileg

  2. Jun 17, 2026 · NIST NVD

    Updated

    A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privileges to abuse. On Windows deployments, the risk is scored as a medium because services frequently run under less-privileg

Affected

  • cpe solarwinds/serv-uversion unspecified

Sources

  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2025-40538

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2025-40538

    30-day exploitation probability 0.5%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2025-40538

    A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privil

    nvd.nist.gov

References