How severe is CVE-2025-40538?

CVE-2025-40538 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.

Is CVE-2025-40538 being actively exploited?

It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (39th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

What products are affected by CVE-2025-40538?

CVE-2025-40538 affects Solarwinds Serv-u. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.

How do I fix CVE-2025-40538?

Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.

Does CVE-2025-40538 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?

Yes. CVE-2025-40538 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-207546.

When was CVE-2025-40538 published?

CVE-2025-40538 was published on 2026-02-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

CVE-2025-40538

CVE-2025-40538 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Solarwinds Serv-u with a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-269.

Key facts

Severity: Critical (CVSS 3.x base score 9.1)
EPSS exploit prediction: 0% (39th percentile)
Actively exploited: Not listed in CISA KEV
EU (EUVD) id: EUVD-2025-207546
Weakness: CWE-269
Affected product: Solarwinds Serv-u
Published: 2026-02-24
Last modified: 2026-06-17

Description

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.

Frequently asked questions

What is 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 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.
How severe is CVE-2025-40538?: CVE-2025-40538 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 9.1, rated critical severity. It is exploitable over network with low attack complexity, requires high privileges and no user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability high.
Is CVE-2025-40538 being actively exploited?: It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (39th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2025-40538?: CVE-2025-40538 affects Solarwinds Serv-u. See the affected-products list for the exact vulnerable versions.
How do I fix CVE-2025-40538?: Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its critical severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
Does CVE-2025-40538 have an EU (EUVD) identifier?: Yes. CVE-2025-40538 is tracked in the ENISA EU Vulnerability Database (EUVD) as EUVD-2025-207546.
When was CVE-2025-40538 published?: CVE-2025-40538 was published on 2026-02-24 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (1)

cpe:2.3:a:solarwinds:serv-u:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More vulnerabilities in Solarwinds Serv-u

CVE-2020-35481 — Critical (CVSS 9.8): SolarWinds Serv-U before 15.2.2 allows Unauthenticated Macro Injection.
CVE-2025-40541 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): An Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability exists in Serv-U, which when exploited, gives a malicious…
CVE-2025-40540 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): A type confusion vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to execute…
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CVE-2025-40549 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): A Path Restriction Bypass vulnerability exists in Serv-U that when abused, could give a malicious actor with access to…
CVE-2025-40548 — Critical (CVSS 9.1): A missing validation process exists in Serv U when abused, could give a malicious actor with access to admin privileges…

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