CVE-2024-28995VulnerabilityPublished 6 Jun 2024Updated 21 Oct 2025

CVE-2024-28995: SolarWinds Serv-U · Path Traversal

Affects SolarWinds Serv-USource CVE Database V5

Exploited in the wild · KEV due 7 Aug 2024 · public exploit available (Metasploit, Exploit-DB) · 99% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to SolarWinds Serv-U now.

Data as of 25 Oct 2026, 19:02 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.6High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

KEV deadline: 7 Aug 2024 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
EPSS: 99.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% 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:C/C:H/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 6 Jun 2024
Detectable: evidence found.
nuclei template: SolarWinds Serv-U - Directory Traversal
Weaponised: evidence found.
1 Metasploit module · 1 Exploit-DB entry, 357 days after disclosure
Exploited in the wildExploited: evidence found.
Listed in CISA KEV 41 days after disclosure
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

CVE ID reserved
by SolarWinds
2024-03-1320:27Z, 85 days before disclosure
CVE published
on cve.org
2024-06-0609:01Z, t = 0
Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)
exploitation confirmed
2024-07-17, 41 days after disclosure
KEV remediation due
US federal deadline
2024-08-07, 62 days after disclosure
First Exploit-DB entry (opens in a new tab)
SolarWinds Serv-U 15.4.2 HF1 - Directory Traversal
2025-05-29, 357 days after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 2026-10-25.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Description

SolarWinds Serv-U was susceptible to a directory transversal vulnerability that would allow access to read sensitive files on the host machine.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2024-28995 is unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information stored on the host machine running SolarWinds Serv-U. Attackers can remotely read arbitrary files without authentication, potentially exposing credentials, private keys, configuration files, or proprietary data. This can lead to further compromise, including lateral movement or targeted attacks using harvested information. Organizations relying on Serv-U for secure file transfer may face data breaches, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage. Since the vulnerability does not affect integrity or availability, direct service disruption is unlikely; however, the confidentiality breach alone is critical. The ease of exploitation and network accessibility make this a high-risk vulnerability, especially in environments where Serv-U is internet-facing or accessible from untrusted networks. The lack of known exploits in the wild currently reduces immediate risk but does not diminish the urgency for remediation. Entities in sectors such as government, finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure that handle sensitive data are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and consequential data loss.

Mitigation

Organizations should immediately verify if they are running affected versions of SolarWinds Serv-U (15.4.2 HF 1 or earlier) and prioritize upgrading to the latest patched version once available. In the absence of an official patch, temporary mitigations include restricting network access to the Serv-U server by implementing strict firewall rules, limiting exposure to trusted IP addresses only. Additionally, administrators should review and harden file system permissions to minimize sensitive file accessibility by the Serv-U process. Monitoring and logging access attempts to detect suspicious path traversal patterns is recommended. Employing Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) or Intrusion Prevention Systems (IPS) with rules targeting directory traversal attacks can provide additional protection. Regularly auditing and rotating credentials and keys stored on the server reduces the impact of potential data exposure. Finally, organizations should maintain an incident response plan to quickly address any signs of exploitation and conduct thorough forensic analysis if compromise is suspected.

Public tooling indexed from Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB and ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates. Its existence raises the odds of exploitation; it does not confirm attacks.

CWE-22Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #6OWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Architecture and Design
For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks…
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic (opens in a new tab)
Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls (opens in a new tab)
Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

Timeline

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Feb 2026, 10:31 UTC

Public exploits and detection1 Metasploit module, 1 Exploit-DB entry, a Nuclei detection template

WeaknessesCWE-22

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats