SolarWinds SUNBURST Supply-Chain Attack
State-sponsored supply-chain compromise of SolarWinds Orion (2020) that inserted the SUNBURST backdoor into thousands of organizations through a trusted software update.
The SolarWinds campaign (2020) used a trojanized SolarWinds Orion update to deliver the SUNBURST backdoor into over 18,000 organizations, with follow-on access observed in U.S. government, technology and security-company networks.
Definition
Supply-chain intrusion in which the SolarWinds Orion build environment was compromised, inserting malicious code into signed software updates; the SUNBURST backdoor used DNS and HTTP C2 while evading detection with sleep-based throttling.
Why It Matters / Impact
18,000+ organizations downloaded the trojanized update; observed follow-on activity targeted government agencies, Fortune 500 companies and security vendors; the campaign drove national supply-chain security reviews.
Current Status
- Review status: published
- Last updated: 2026-08-26
- Evidence: 3 source(s) · 0 CVE(s) linked
- Confidence: 94%
Threat Actors
Related Malware
Timeline
- 2019-10-01 — Orion platform compromise begins (approx.)
- 2020-03-01 — SUNBURST trojanized updates delivered via Orion
- 2020-12-13 — FireEye discloses; CISA issues emergency directive 21-01
Sources
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- Timeline — events in chronological order.
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- Sources — NVD, CISA KEV, MITRE ATT&CK, vendor advisories.
- Notes — your own observations and working hypotheses.
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