Detect SolarWinds Web Help Desk Security Control Bypass (CVE-2025-40536) in Sumo Logic CSE
Detects exploitation of CVE-2025-40536, a security control bypass vulnerability (CWE-693) in SolarWinds Web Help Desk. This vulnerability is actively exploited in the wild (CISA KEV) and allows attackers to bypass authentication or authorization controls within the Web Help Desk application. Successful exploitation may enable unauthorized access to ticketing data, credential stores, or administrative functions.
MITRE ATT&CK
Sumo Detection Query
_sourceCategory=*solarwinds* OR _sourceCategory=*helpdesk* OR _sourceCategory=*whd* OR _sourceCategory=*iis*
| parse regex "(?<src_ip>\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3}\.\d{1,3})" nodrop
| parse regex "(?<method>GET|POST|PUT|DELETE|PATCH|HEAD|OPTIONS) (?<uri_path>/[^\s]*)" nodrop
| parse regex "HTTP/[\d\.]+\" (?<status_code>\d{3})" nodrop
| where uri_path matches "/helpdesk/*" or uri_path matches "/WebHelpDesk/*" or uri_path matches "/whd/*"
| where (method in ("PUT","DELETE","PATCH") and status_code in ("200","201","204"))
or uri_path matches "*admin*"
or uri_path matches "*config*"
or uri_path matches "*bypass*"
or uri_path matches "*../*"
| count by src_ip, method, uri_path, status_code
| where _count >= 2
| sort by _count descSumo Logic query to surface potential CVE-2025-40536 exploitation activity by parsing web access logs for suspicious request patterns targeting SolarWinds Web Help Desk paths.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Authorized administrators performing maintenance via REST API using non-GET methods
- Monitoring tools that periodically probe WHD health and admin endpoints
- ITSM integrations that legitimately update tickets via PUT or PATCH requests
- Security compliance tools scanning WHD for configuration drift
Other platforms for CVE-2025-40536
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 3 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1Unauthenticated Access to WHD Admin Endpoint
Expected signal: HTTP request to WHD ticket creation endpoint without session cookie; response code 200 or redirect to a normally-protected resource instead of 401/403
- Test 2HTTP Method Bypass Probe Against WHD API
Expected signal: HTTP PUT request to WHD REST API ticket endpoint without valid session; response code 200 or 204 indicating the operation succeeded without authentication
- Test 3Path Traversal Bypass Attempt on WHD Configuration Endpoint
Expected signal: HTTP GET request containing path traversal sequence /../ targeting WHD admin path; 200 response code indicating bypass of path-level access control
References (4)
Unlock Pro Content
Get the full detection package for CVE-2025-40536 including response playbook, investigation guide, and atomic red team tests.