Administrative access via linked demo credentials
Published Jan 28, 2026 · Updated Jan 28, 2026
Hard-coded credentials in SolarWinds Web Help Desk 12.8.8 HF1 and earlier allow remote authenticated users to access administrative functions. The product ships a built-in administrator account linked by default to a demo client account, leaving that privileged relationship exposed through fixed credentials. Exploitation requires low-privileged network access and the default linkage to remain intact; successful access exposes administrative actions and associated data.
Summary
What happened
Hard-coded credentials in SolarWinds Web Help Desk 12.8.8 HF1 and earlier allow remote authenticated users to access administrative functions. The product ships a built-in administrator account linked by default to a demo client account, leaving that privileged relationship exposed through fixed credentials. Exploitation requires low-privileged network access and the default linkage to remain intact; successful access exposes administrative actions and associated data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-40537
- Published
- Jan 28, 2026
- Updated
- Jan 28, 2026
- Vendor
- SolarWinds
- Product
- Web Help Desk
- Classifications
- CWE-798, CAPEC-70, T1078
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jan 28, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=12.8.8 HF1 and below
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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