CVE-2022-38111
Published: 15 February 2023
Summary
CVE-2022-38111 is a high-severity Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502) vulnerability in Solarwinds Orion Platform. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 4.8% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Deeper analysis
SolarWinds Platform is affected by a deserialization of untrusted data vulnerability tracked as CVE-2022-38111. The flaw resides in the SolarWinds Web Console and stems from CWE-502, enabling a remote attacker who already possesses Orion admin-level credentials to supply serialized data that results in arbitrary command execution on the underlying system. The issue carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.2 reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability when administrative privileges are present.
An authenticated remote adversary with Orion administrator access to the SolarWinds Web Console can exploit the weakness to run arbitrary commands on the server hosting the platform. No additional user interaction or special network positioning beyond the required administrative account is needed for successful exploitation.
SolarWinds security advisories and the SolarWinds Platform 2023.1 release notes address the issue and direct customers to apply the corresponding platform update that resolves the deserialization flaw.
EPSS for the CVE reached a peak of 0.2546 before receding to the current value of 0.1723.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2022-40713
Vulnerability details
SolarWinds Platform was susceptible to the Deserialization of Untrusted Data. This vulnerability allows a remote adversary with Orion admin-level account access to SolarWinds Web Console to execute arbitrary commands.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Likely Mitigating Controls AI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Penetration testing supplies malicious serialized objects, detecting unsafe deserialization and supporting corrective actions.
Evaluation of untrusted data handling (deserialization testing) reveals unsafe processing, which the required remediation process addresses.
Untrusted serialized data can be deserialized and observed inside the chamber, blocking gadget-chain exploitation outside the sandbox.
Validates or rejects untrusted serialized data before deserialization occurs.
Identifies and blocks malicious code introduced through deserialization of untrusted data at system boundaries.
Integrity verification of serialized information can detect tampering before deserialization occurs.
Provenance of associated data allows detection of untrusted sources before deserialization or processing occurs.