Exploited CVE from 2016, added in 2021

CVE-2016-3643

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager · Monitoring, ITSM and asset management

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on November 3, 2021.

Affected product: SolarWinds Virtualization Manager (category Monitoring, ITSM and asset management, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: SolarWinds Virtualization Manager.

What should I do?

Apply the security update from SolarWinds.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 181 days (due May 3, 2022). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

SolarWinds security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2016-3643 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Timeline

June 17, 2016 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
November 3, 2021 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
May 3, 2022 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on November 3, 2021 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Not requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the security update from SolarWinds. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: May 3, 2022, 181 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: June 17, 2016 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: SolarWinds Virtualization Manager Filed by this site under “Monitoring, ITSM and asset management” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

7.8 / 10 CVSS severity: high

Score from the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager 6.3.1 and earlier allow local users to gain privileges by leveraging a misconfiguration of sudo, as demonstrated by "sudo cat /etc/passwd."

SolarWinds Virtualization Manager allows for privilege escalation through leveraging a misconfiguration of sudo.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

No advisory among the latest CERT-FR publications this site follows. That does not mean there are none.

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).