● Critical · CVSS 9.8 ⚠ ACTIVELY EXPLOITED — CISA KEV

How to Fix CVE-2020-10148: CWE-288 Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

Other vulnerabilities in the same area that are worth patching alongside this one:

How to Fix CVE-2020-11738: n/a in n/a — n/a in n/a
How to Fix CVE-2020-5902: RCE in BIG-IP — RCE in BIG-IP
How to Fix CVE-2020-11899: Out-of-bounds read in The Treck , Out-of-bounds read in The Treck
How to Fix CVE-2020-4427: Bypass Security in Data Risk Manager , Bypass Security in Data Risk Manager
How to Fix CVE-2020-15069: Remote Code Execution in XG Firewall , Remote Code Execution in XG Firewall

*By Sai Kiran Pandrala*

⚡ At a glance


Severity	CVSS 9.8, Critical
Actively exploited?	Yes, listed in CISA KEV (added 2021-11-03)
Affected	Solarwinds Orion Platform (2019.4 HF 5, 2020.2 without hotfix, 2020.2 HF 1)
Fixed in	See vendor advisory
Type (CWE)	CWE-288: CWE-288 Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

⚠️ Patch immediately. CVE-2020-10148 is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03). Federal agencies had until 2022-05-03 to remediate.

What is CVE-2020-10148?

The SolarWinds Orion API is vulnerable to an authentication bypass that could allow a remote attacker to execute API commands. This vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to bypass authentication and execute API commands which may result in a compromise of the SolarWinds instance. SolarWinds Orion Platform versions 2019.4 HF 5, 2020.2 with no hotfix installed, and 2020.2 HF 1 are affected.

In practical terms, a successful attacker gets an authentication bypass that grants access without valid credentials. CISA has confirmed exploitation in the wild, so this is not a theoretical risk.

Am I affected?

You're affected if you run Solarwinds Orion Platform at any version in the Affected row above. Use these probes to find your installed build:


# Confirm the installed version via your package manager
dpkg -l | grep -i orion   # Debian/Ubuntu
rpm -qa | grep -i orion   # RHEL/CentOS/Rocky

How to fix CVE-2020-10148

The primary fix is to upgrade to the patched build listed in the Fixed in row above (See vendor advisory). Pick the platform that matches your install and run the commands below.

Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)


# Vendor advisory: https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade orion-platform
# Confirm the installed version meets or exceeds <patched-version>
dpkg -s orion-platform | grep ^Version

Linux (RHEL / CentOS / Rocky)


sudo dnf upgrade --security orion-platform -y
rpm -q orion-platform

Windows (PowerShell, admin)


# Vendor advisory: https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory
# Try winget first
winget upgrade --id 'Solarwinds.Orion Platform' --silent --accept-source-agreements --accept-package-agreements
# If winget does not know the product, download the patched installer from the vendor and:
Start-Process -FilePath "$env:TEMP\OrionPlatform-<patched-version>.msi" -ArgumentList '/qn /norestart' -Wait

PowerShell script (Windows) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log


# Vendor advisory: https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory
# Run as Administrator
$ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
$log = "$env:ProgramData\OrionPlatform-Patch-CVE-2020-10148.log"
function Write-Log($msg) { "$(Get-Date -Format s)  $msg" | Tee-Object -FilePath $log -Append }

Write-Log "Starting CVE-2020-10148 remediation for Solarwinds Orion Platform"

# 1. Detect: replace the path/version probe with one valid for your install
$installed = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Orion*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
Write-Log "Detected version: $installed"

if (-not $installed) {
    Write-Log "Product not installed on this host; nothing to do."
    return
}
if ([version]$installed -ge [version]'<patched-version>') {
    Write-Log "Already at fixed version $installed; no action needed."
    return
}

# 2. Backup configuration to a timestamped folder
$backup = "$env:ProgramData\OrionPlatform-Backup-$(Get-Date -Format yyyyMMdd-HHmm)"
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $backup -Force | Out-Null
# Adjust the source path to match your install
$src = "$env:ProgramFiles\Solarwinds\Orion Platform"
if (Test-Path $src) { Copy-Item -Path $src -Destination $backup -Recurse -Force }
Write-Log "Backed up config to $backup"

# 3. Apply the patched installer (place the verified file on a share or staging path)
$installer = "$env:TEMP\OrionPlatform-<patched-version>.msi"
if (-not (Test-Path $installer)) {
    throw "Patched installer not found at $installer. Stage it from your software repo first."
}
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i `"$installer`" /qn /norestart" -Wait
Write-Log "Installer finished"

# 4. Verify
$verify = (Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product |
    Where-Object { $_.Name -like '*Orion*' } |
    Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty Version)
if ([version]$verify -ge [version]'<patched-version>') {
    Write-Log "SUCCESS: now at $verify (>= <patched-version>)"
} else {
    Write-Log "FAILURE: still at $verify after install"
    exit 1
}

Bash script (Linux) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log


# Vendor advisory: https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
LOG=/var/log/orion-platform-patch-cve-2020-10148.log
log()  { echo "$(date -Iseconds)  $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; }

log "Starting CVE-2020-10148 remediation for Solarwinds Orion Platform"

# 1. Detect installed version (works for deb and rpm packages)
if command -v dpkg >/dev/null && dpkg -s orion-platform >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' orion-platform)
    PKG_MGR=apt
elif command -v rpm >/dev/null && rpm -q orion-platform >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    CURRENT=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' orion-platform)
    PKG_MGR=dnf
else
    log "orion-platform not installed via apt or rpm; check your package manager or vendor instructions."
    exit 0
fi
log "Detected: orion-platform=$CURRENT (manager=$PKG_MGR)"

# 2. Backup config
BACKUP=/var/backups/orion-platform-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M)
mkdir -p "$BACKUP"
for d in /etc/orion-platform /etc/${pkg%%-*} ; do
    [ -d "$d" ] && cp -a "$d" "$BACKUP/" && log "Backed up $d to $BACKUP"
done

# 3. Upgrade
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    sudo apt-get update -y
    sudo apt-get install --only-upgrade -y orion-platform
else
    sudo dnf upgrade --security -y orion-platform
fi

# 4. Verify
if [ "$PKG_MGR" = apt ]; then
    NEW=$(dpkg-query -W -f='${Version}' orion-platform)
else
    NEW=$(rpm -q --queryformat '%{VERSION}' orion-platform)
fi
log "After upgrade: $NEW"

# Optionally compare against <patched-version> with dpkg --compare-versions or sort -V
log "Done. Restart the affected service if the package install did not."

If you can't patch immediately

These are runnable hardening commands. They reduce blast radius but they're not a replacement for the vendor patch.

Restrict the management interface to a trusted admin subnet

Linux (iptables):


sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -s 10.0.0.0/24 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 443 -j DROP
sudo iptables-save | sudo tee /etc/iptables/rules.v4

Windows (PowerShell, admin):


New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Allow Admin UI from jump network' \
    -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 443 -RemoteAddress 10.0.0.0/24
New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName 'Block Admin UI from everywhere else' \
    -Direction Inbound -Action Block -Protocol TCP -LocalPort 443

How to verify the fix worked

Run the version probe again and confirm the running build matches the Fixed in row above.


# Confirm the running build matches the patched version listed by the vendor
# Example for Linux package installs:
dpkg -l | grep -i "orion"   # Debian/Ubuntu
rpm -qa | grep -i "orion"   # RHEL/CentOS/Rocky

Expected output: the package version should meet or exceed the patched build.

Then re-run any vulnerability scanner you used previously and confirm the finding for CVE-2020-10148 has cleared. Sweep your logs for the indicators of compromise listed in the vendor or CISA advisory, especially if the system was internet-reachable during the disclosure window.

Frequently asked questions

Is CVE-2020-10148 being actively exploited?

Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means in-the-wild exploitation has been observed and confirmed.

How severe is CVE-2020-10148?

CVSS rates it 9.8 (Critical). Use that score to set your patch priority next to the other items in your queue.

Do I have to take Orion Platform offline to apply the patch?

It depends on the deployment. High-availability or clustered installs can usually patch one node at a time with no full outage. Standalone installs typically need a short restart. Always follow the vendor's documented upgrade steps.

What if my vulnerability scanner still flags CVE-2020-10148 after I patch?

Re-run the scan after a service restart, then confirm the scanner's plugin set is up to date. Some scanners detect by banner version only and lag the official fix metadata by a release.

References

Official vendor advisory: https://www.solarwinds.com/securityadvisory
NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-10148
CISA KEV catalog: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
Additional reference: https://kb.cert.org/vuls/id/843464

*Written by Sai Kiran Pandrala on 2026-05-25. Sourced from the official vendor advisory, the NVD record, and the CISA KEV listing. Always confirm against the vendor advisory before applying changes in production.*

How to Fix CVE-2020-10148: CWE-288 Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

Related fixes

What is CVE-2020-10148?

Am I affected?

How to fix CVE-2020-10148

Linux (Ubuntu / Debian)

Linux (RHEL / CentOS / Rocky)

Windows (PowerShell, admin)

PowerShell script (Windows) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log

Bash script (Linux) - detect, back up, upgrade, verify, log

If you can't patch immediately

Restrict the management interface to a trusted admin subnet

How to verify the fix worked

Frequently asked questions

References