The tech world is on high alert this week after a terrifying security flaw was uncovered in one of the most popular tools used to run major business data centers. Hewlett Packard Enterprise, better than known as HPE, just went public with details regarding a massive weakness in their OneView software. This isn’t just a minor glitch; security experts have given it a perfect 10 out of 10 on the scale of how dangerous it is. This means the door is wide open for hackers to take over entire systems without even needing a password, and the consequences for businesses that don’t act fast could be devastating.

A Total Takeover Without a Password

The software at the heart of this crisis, HPE OneView, is essentially the brain of a company’s digital infrastructure. It allows IT teams to manage all their servers, storage, and networking from one single screen. Because it has so much power over a company’s hardware, a vulnerability here is like handing a thief the master keys to a skyscraper. According to the official warnings, the flaw—now tracked by experts as CVE-2025-37164—allows someone from anywhere in the world to break into the system.

What makes this specific situation so frightening is that the attacker doesn’t need to be an employee or even have a stolen login. This is what the industry calls “unauthenticated remote code execution.” In plain English, it means a total stranger can send a malicious command over the internet and force the software to run their own code. Once they are in, they can steal data, shut down operations, or plant ransomware that could lock a company out of its own files forever. Because the CVSS score is a 10.0, it is considered the most urgent type of threat possible.

Is Your Business Running a Dangerous Version?

HPE has been very clear about who is at risk: almost everyone using the software. If you are running any version of OneView older than the brand-new 11.00 update, your systems are currently vulnerable to this attack. The company has been working behind the scenes to get a fix ready, and they are now urging every IT manager on the planet to drop what they are doing and update their systems immediately.

For many companies, a full upgrade to a new version of software can be a slow and difficult process. To help with this, HPE has released a special “hotfix”—essentially a digital band-aid—that can be applied to older versions ranging from 5.20 all the way up to 10.20. However, there is a catch that could leave some people thinking they are safe when they aren’t. If a company applies the fix but then decides to move from an older version like 6.60 up to version 7.00, the patch actually disappears. In those cases, the IT team has to remember to put the fix back on manually, or the door to hackers will swing wide open again.

A Pattern of Growing Security Concerns

While there is no proof yet that hackers have already started using this specific hole to rob companies, the timing is a major concern for the tech industry. This massive 10.0 rating comes just months after HPE had to scramble to fix other serious problems in their StoreOnce backup systems. Back in June, they dealt with eight different bugs that also could have let hackers bypass security.

The reality for modern businesses is that the tools meant to make life easier, like OneView, are becoming the primary targets for cybercriminals. By centralizing all the controls into one dashboard, these programs create a “single point of failure.” If the dashboard is weak, everything connected to it is at risk. HPE has also been busy patching other parts of their software that rely on outside technology, like Apache, which has had its own share of security nightmares recently. For now, the message from security pros is simple: if you use HPE OneView, update it today, or you might find yourself in the headlines for all the wrong reasons tomorrow.