Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Low-privilege SolarWinds Orion users, including guest accounts, could query an internal Orion user-settings entity and list users with basic settings. This is mainly an information exposure issue, but it can help attackers map accounts inside a sensitive monitoring platform.
Executive priority
Treat this as a moderate-priority remediation item for environments using SolarWinds Orion. It does not indicate confirmed active exploitation, but user enumeration inside a monitoring platform can support broader intrusion planning.
Technical view
CVE-2021-35248 is a CWE-732 access-control weakness in SolarWinds Orion. Affected Orion 2020.2.6 HF 2 and earlier allowed any Orion user to query Orion.UserSettings through SWIS and enumerate user data/settings. CVSS 3.1 is 6.8 with low privileges required, adjacent attack vector, no user interaction, and high confidentiality impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where SolarWinds Orion 2020.2.6 HF 2 or earlier remains deployed and low-privilege or guest accounts exist. Systems with tightly restricted Orion access have reduced risk, but still require patch verification.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or active exploitation. Exploitation requires an Orion account and adjacent access according to the CVSS vector, so this is more useful for reconnaissance than direct takeover.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a confidentiality-only access-control issue in the Orion.UserSettings SWIS entity. The source bundle does not provide exploit details, broader affected products, or independent exploitation telemetry, so validation should stay focused on version, access control, and vendor fix status.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade affected Orion deployments using SolarWinds guidance, including Hotfix 3 where applicable.
- Review and remove unnecessary guest or low-privilege Orion accounts.
- Restrict Orion and SWIS access to trusted management networks.
- Apply SolarWinds secure configuration guidance for Orion deployments.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Orion versions and identify any 2020.2.6 HF 2 or earlier deployments.
- Confirm the relevant SolarWinds hotfix or later supported version is installed.
- Review Orion roles for guest or unnecessary low-privilege accounts.
- Check logs for unusual low-privilege access to user settings data.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-732: Authorization and privilege behavior lookup
Authorization weaknesses can support privilege escalation and valid-account review, depending on exploit path. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-35248 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 6.8 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N2.34Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2021-35248CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/Orion-Platform-2020-2-6-Hotfix-3CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://documentation.solarwinds.com/en/Success_Center/orionplatform/content/core-secure-configuration.htmCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.