Plaintext recovery via shared encryption key
Published Dec 16, 2022 · Updated Apr 17, 2025
Hard-coded key use in SolarWinds Serv-U FTP Server 15.3.0 allows remote attackers to recover exposed encrypted values as plaintext. Serv-U encrypts protected values with a common key shared across deployed instances, so disclosed ciphertext can be decrypted rather than remaining instance-specific. Exploitation requires access to an encrypted value; the documented consequence is disclosure of that value, with no reported integrity or availability impact.
Summary
What happened
Hard-coded key use in SolarWinds Serv-U FTP Server 15.3.0 allows remote attackers to recover exposed encrypted values as plaintext. Serv-U encrypts protected values with a common key shared across deployed instances, so disclosed ciphertext can be decrypted rather than remaining instance-specific. Exploitation requires access to an encrypted value; the documented consequence is disclosure of that value, with no reported integrity or availability impact.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2021-35252
- Published
- Dec 16, 2022
- Updated
- Apr 17, 2025
- Vendor
- SolarWinds
- Product
- Serv-U FTP Server
- Classifications
- CWE-798, CAPEC-21
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Dec 16, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 17, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=15.3.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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