What is CVE-2021-27258?

CVE-2021-27258 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Solarwinds Orion Platform, classified under Improper Access Control. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2021-04-14.

How severe is CVE-2021-27258?

Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Solarwinds Orion Platform

CVE-2021-27258

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.

Published 2021-04-14 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.040 (90.1th percentile), scored 2026-09-28.

Low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, but still tracked. 90th percentile — 90.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.040 · newest: 0.040 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Solarwinds Orion Platform — versions 2020.2
Solarwinds Orion Platform — versions 2020.2

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-284 — Improper Access Control

References

www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-192/ (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-27258?: CVE-2021-27258 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Solarwinds Orion Platform, classified under Improper Access Control. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2021-04-14.
How severe is CVE-2021-27258?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.