Overview
In the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity, no software is immune to vulnerabilities. SolarWinds Web Help Desk, a popular IT service management solution, was recently found to be susceptible to a critical vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-26399. This vulnerability is a patch bypass of two previous vulnerabilities CVE-2024-28988 and CVE-2024-28986, signifying its severity and potential impact. The risk it poses to systems and data security makes it an issue of high importance that requires immediate attention by system administrators and IT security personnel.
Vulnerability Summary
CVE ID: CVE-2025-26399
Severity: Critical (9.8)
Attack Vector: Network
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Impact: System compromise or data leakage
Affected Products
Escape the Surveillance Era
Most apps won’t tell you the truth.
They’re part of the problem.
Phone numbers. Emails. Profiles. Logs.
It’s all fuel for surveillance.
Ameeba Chat gives you a way out.
- • No phone number
- • No email
- • No personal info
- • Anonymous aliases
- • End-to-end encrypted
Chat without a trace.
Product | Affected Versions
SolarWinds Web Help Desk | All versions prior to the patch
How the Exploit Works
The vulnerability stems from a flaw in the AjaxProxy deserialization process, which allows unauthenticated users to execute arbitrary commands remotely on the host machine. Specifically, an attacker can craft a malicious serialized object that, when deserialized by the AjaxProxy, triggers a chain of events leading to the execution of arbitrary code. Since the vulnerability can be exploited without any form of authentication, it opens a wide attack surface that can be leveraged by attackers to compromise the system or exfiltrate sensitive data.
Conceptual Example Code
Here is a conceptual example of how an attacker might exploit this vulnerability, using a POST request to send a malicious payload to a vulnerable endpoint:
POST /ajaxproxy HTTP/1.1
Host: target.example.com
Content-Type: application/json
{ "serialized_object": "malicious_payload" }In this example, “malicious_payload” represents a serialized object crafted to exploit the deserialization vulnerability in the AjaxProxy. This payload, when processed by the vulnerable application, can lead to execution of arbitrary commands on the host machine.
Mitigation and Patching
SolarWinds has released a patch to address this critical vulnerability. It is strongly advised that system administrators apply this patch as soon as possible to prevent potential attacks. In case immediate patching is not feasible, implementing a Web Application Firewall (WAF) or Intrusion Detection System (IDS) can serve as a temporary mitigation measure. However, these should not be seen as long-term solutions, as they may not fully prevent the exploitation of this vulnerability.
It is crucial to keep in mind that vulnerabilities like CVE-2025-26399 highlight the importance of regular patching and updating of software systems. Cybersecurity is an ongoing process, and staying ahead of potential threats is key to maintaining a secure IT environment.
