# CVE-2021-27258: Privilege escalation in Orion Platform

> Remote attackers can escalate privileges from Guest to Administrator via the SaveUserSetting endpoint in SolarWinds Orion Platform.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Apr 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-3fp3-2jwc-wxvv

## What is CVE-2021-27258?

CVE-2021-27258 is a critical vulnerability in SolarWinds Orion Platform, published on 14 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute escalate privileges on affected installations of SolarWinds Orion Platform 2020.2. Authentication is not required to exploit this vulnerability. The specific flaw exists within the SaveUserSetting endpoint. The issue results from improper restriction of this endpoint to unprivileged users. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to escalate privileges their privileges from Guest to Administrator. Was ZDI-CAN-11903.

Weakness: CWE-284 (Improper Access Control)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-27258?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Solarwinds Orion Platform.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-27258?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-27258 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-27258 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-27258 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in SolarWinds Orion Platform

- [CVE-2020-10148](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-10148/): SolarWinds Orion Authentication Bypass (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-25274](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-25274/): Deserialization in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2019-9546](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-9546/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2020-13169](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-13169/): Cross-site scripting in n/a (critical 9.0)
- [CVE-2021-35215](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-35215/): ActionPluginBaseView Deserialization of Untrusted Data RCE (high 8.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-27258 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-27258 is a critical vulnerability in SolarWinds Orion Platform, published on 14 Apr 2021. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-27258 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: SolarWinds Orion Platform. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27258/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27258/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-27258
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-27258
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-27258

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27258/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.