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CVE-2025-40538

HIGHCVSS 7.2/10EPSS 0.50%

Last modified

CVE-2025-40538 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.2/10 on the CVSS scale. A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privileges to abuse. On Windows deployments, the risk is scored as a medium because services frequently run under less-privileged service accounts by default.. EPSS estimates a 0.50% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privileges to abuse. On Windows deployments, the risk is scored as a medium because services frequently run under less-privileged service accounts by default.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.2/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS Probability
0.50%

38.8th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
SolarwindsServ-U< 15.5.4

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-40538?
A broken access control vulnerability exists in Serv-U which when exploited, gives a malicious actor the ability to create a system admin user and execute arbitrary code as a privileged account via domain admin or group admin privileges. This issue requires administrative privileges to abuse. On Windows deployments, the risk is scored as a medium because services frequently run under less-privileged service accounts by default.
How severe is CVE-2025-40538?
CVE-2025-40538 has a CVSS score of 7.2/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.50% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2025-40538?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2025-40538?

Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.

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Source: NVD / NIST