CVE-2021-27240

Local privilege escalation via unsafe deserialization

Published Mar 29, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Deserialization of untrusted data in SolarWinds Patch Manager 2020.2.1 allows local attackers to escalate privileges via DataGridService. The DataGridService WCF service fails to validate user-supplied data before deserialization, enabling arbitrary code execution in the Administrator context. Exploitation requires prior ability to execute low-privileged code locally and results in full administrator privileges.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.42%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Deserialization of untrusted data in SolarWinds Patch Manager 2020.2.1 allows local attackers to escalate privileges via DataGridService. The DataGridService WCF service fails to validate user-supplied data before deserialization, enabling arbitrary code execution in the Administrator context. Exploitation requires prior ability to execute low-privileged code locally and results in full administrator privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-27240
Published
Mar 29, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
SolarWinds
Product
Patch Manager
Classifications
CWE-502, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 29, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2020.2.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

SolarWinds · Patch Managerversion=2020.2.1

Published CVSS scores

7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.2NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8Zero Day InitiativeCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-502Deserialization of Untrusted Data
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo