CVE-2025-40538
SolarWinds Serv-U Broken Access Control Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
SolarWinds Serv-U Broken Access Control Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
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.
- Record
CVE-2025-40538- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2025-207546
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.
- Record
EUVD-2025-207546- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-x366-cwf7-x9gv
A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious...
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.
- Record
GHSA-x366-cwf7-x9gv- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
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.
- Record
CVE-2025-40538- CVSS 3.1
- 9.1 Critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.2 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, GitHub Advisories, NVD |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2025-40538 is a critical vulnerability (CVSS 9.1) in Solarwinds Serv-u, published February 24, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.61%, the 49th percentile. No source names a fixed version.