CVE-2016-3643 SolarWinds Virtualization Manager Privilege Escalation

Exploited in the wild High 7.8 Published 17 Jun 2016 Updated 21 Oct 2025

Local attackers can escalate privileges via sudo misconfiguration in SolarWinds Virtualization Manager, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive system files.

Exploited in the wild: Since 3 Nov 2021
Login needed: Any signed-in user
Attackable: Local or same network only
Victim action needed: Not needed
Fix: None listed

What is CVE-2016-3643?

CVE-2016-3643 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 17 Jun 2016. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager 6.3.1 and earlier allow local users to gain privileges by leveraging a misconfiguration of sudo, as demonstrated by "sudo cat /etc/passwd."

Weakness: CWE-264

Which versions are affected by CVE-2016-3643?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Solarwinds Virtualization Manager.

How do I fix CVE-2016-3643?

No fix has been published for CVE-2016-3643 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. US federal agencies must fix it by 3 May 2022.

Is CVE-2016-3643 being exploited?

Yes. Attackers have exploited CVE-2016-3643 in the wild since at least 3 Nov 2021.

Public exploit code: 1 Exploit-DB entry.

Sources

Also known as GHSA-fww7-75jj-wj62.