How severe is CVE-2024-28986?

CVE-2024-28986 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2024-28986?

Affected package information for CVE-2024-28986 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2024-28986?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2024-28986 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2024-28986 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2024-28986, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2024-28986?

CVE-2024-28986 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 81.7%, placing it in the 99th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2024-28986 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2024-28986 (SolarWinds Web Help Desk Deserialization of Untrusted Data Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2024-08-15. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2024-09-05. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2024-28986?

CVE-2024-28986 is classified as Deserialization of Untrusted Data (CWE-502). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation. This is a high-impact weakness class that often enables remote code execution or data exposure.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2024-28986?

CVE-2024-28986 affects solarwinds web help desk (1 version, e.g. 12.8.3). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2024-28986?

A Nuclei detection template exists for CVE-2024-28986, meaning automated scanners can fingerprint it. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2024-28986 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2024-28986 was published on August 13, 2024 and was last updated on October 27, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2024-08-15 — agencies required to remediate by 2024-09-05

CVE-2024-28986

CRITICAL

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…

Published

Aug 13, 2024

Updated

Oct 27, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

1 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

81.7%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk99th percentile+1.72%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

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.

While it was reported as an unauthenticated vulnerability, SolarWinds has been unable to reproduce it without authentication after thorough testing.

However, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend all Web Help Desk customers apply the patch, which is now available.

Affected Products

1 product · 2 configurations

Application

web help desksolarwinds

≤ 12.8.2

1 version

12.8.3

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

SolarWinds Web Help Desk was found to be susceptible to a Java Deseriali…

cisa.govCISAAug 2024

Frequently Asked Questions

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. While it was reported as an unauthenticated vulnerability, SolarWinds has been unable to reproduce it without authentication after thorough testing. However, out of an abundance of caution, we recommend all Web Help Desk customers apply the patch, which is now available.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2024-28986 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2024-28986 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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