Unauthenticated RCE on widely used SolarWinds Web Help Desk; could disrupt IT ops.
CVE-2025-40551
Unauthenticated deserialization leads to remote code execution in SolarWinds Web Help Desk.
Is CVE-2025-40551 being exploited?
Yes. CVE-2025-40551 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.
How severe is CVE-2025-40551?
CVE-2025-40551 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2025-40551?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2025-40551. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2025-40551 affect?
CVE-2025-40551 affects SolarWinds Web Help Desk. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2025-40551?
Apply patch when available; isolate and monitor vulnerable hosts if patch pending
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
RCE via untrusted deserialization; attacker can run arbitrary commands on the host.
Immediate action required
- affected12.8.8 HF1 and below
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.