What is CVE-2024-28988?

CVE-2024-28988 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Solarwinds Web Help Desk, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-09-01.

How severe is CVE-2024-28988?

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

Is CVE-2024-28988 known to be exploited?

2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Deserialization in Solarwinds Web Help Desk

CVE-2024-28988

SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a Java Deserialization Remote Code Execution vulnerability that, if exploited, would allow an attacker to run commands on the host machine. This vulnerability was found by the ZDI team after researching a previous vulnerability and providing this report. The ZDI team was able to discover an unauthenticated attack during their research. We recommend all Web Help Desk customers apply the patch, which is now available. We thank Trend Micro Zero Day Initiative (ZDI) for its ongoing partnership in coordinating with SolarWinds on responsible disclosure of this and other potential vulnerabilities.

Vulnerability class: Insecure Deserialization

Published 2025-09-01 · 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: 0.394 (98.6th percentile), scored 2026-09-28.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 99th percentile — 98.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.394 · newest: 0.394 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Solarwinds Web Help Desk — versions 12.8.3 HF 2 and previous versions
Solarwinds Web Help Desk — versions 12.8.3

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-502 — Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

support.solarwinds.com/SuccessCenter/s/article/WHD-12-8-3-Hotfix-3 (Broken Link)
www.solarwinds.com/trust-center/security-advisories/CVE-2024-28988 (Patch, Vendor Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2024-28988?: CVE-2024-28988 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Solarwinds Web Help Desk, classified under Deserialization of Untrusted Data. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2025-09-01.
How severe is CVE-2024-28988?: Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2024-28988 known to be exploited?: 2 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.