CVE-2024-28988: SolarWinds Web Help Desk · Deserialization of Untrusted Data
Affects SolarWinds Web Help DeskSource CVE Database V5
Not known to be exploited · 39% EPSS · CVSS 9.8 Critical.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC
- EPSS
- 39.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 98% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 1 Sep 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors
A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-26.
What to do
AI-suggested
To mitigate CVE-2024-28988, organizations should immediately apply the official patches provided by SolarWinds for Web Help Desk versions 12.8.3 HF 2 and earlier. Beyond patching, it is critical to restrict network access to the Web Help Desk application, ideally placing it behind firewalls and VPNs to limit exposure to untrusted networks. Implement network segmentation to isolate the Web Help Desk server from sensitive systems. Monitor logs and network traffic for unusual deserialization activity or unexpected command execution attempts. Employ runtime application self-protection (RASP) or Java security managers to detect and block malicious deserialization payloads. Regularly audit and update all third-party components and dependencies to reduce the risk of similar vulnerabilities. Finally, conduct incident response drills to prepare for potential exploitation scenarios involving this vulnerability.
Description
SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution vulnerability that, if exploited, would allow an attacker to run commands on the host machine. This vulnerability was found by the ZDI team after researching a previous vulnerability and providing this report. The ZDI team was able to discover an unauthenticated attack during their research. We recommend all Web Help Desk customers apply the patch, which is now available. We thank Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) for its ongoing partnership in coordinating with SolarWinds on responsible disclosure of this and other potential vulnerabilities.