CVE-2011-5154
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMultiple untrusted search path vulnerabilities in (1) SAPGui.exe and (2) BExAnalyzer.exe in SAP GUI 6.4 through 7.2 allow local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse MFC80LOC.DLL file in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .sap file. NOTE: some of these details are obtained from third party information.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceUntrusted search path (DLL hijacking) vulnerability in SAP GUI 6.4-7.2 allows local privilege escalation. The applications SAPGui.exe and BExAnalyzer.exe load MFC80LOC.DLL from the current working directory instead of secure system paths, enabling attackers to place a malicious DLL in directories containing .sap files to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the logged-on user.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 6.4= 7.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- M
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Complete
- Integrity
- Complete
- Availability
- Complete
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify installed SAP GUI versionCheck the version of SAP GUI installed on the system. Common locations: C:\Program Files\SAP\SAP GUI\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\SAP\SAP GUI\. Look for version information in file properties of SAPGui.exe or check Add/Remove Programs.Affected if The installed version is exactly 6.4 or 7.2
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Locate vulnerable executablesFind SAPGui.exe and BExAnalyzer.exe on the system. Search in typical SAP installation directories under Program Files, or use: dir /s C:\SAPGui.exe C:\BExAnalyzer.exeAffected if Either SAPGui.exe or BExAnalyzer.exe exists on the system and version is 6.4 or 7.2
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Find directories containing .sap filesSearch for .sap files on the system to identify directories that may be used as working directories: dir /s C:\*.sapAffected if User-writable directories contain .sap files (these directories become potential DLL planting locations)
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Check for MFC80LOC.DLL in suspicious locationsSearch for MFC80LOC.DLL outside system directories: dir /s C:\MFC80LOC.DLL. Also check if the DLL exists in directories with .sap files found in the previous step.Affected if MFC80LOC.DLL is found in user-writable directories (particularly those with .sap files), indicating possible hijacking
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Verify directory permissionsReview write permissions on directories from which SAP GUI is commonly launched. Check if users have write access to folders containing .sap files.Affected if Users have write access to directories containing .sap files from which SAP GUI may be launched
A system is affected if SAP GUI version 6.4 or 7.2 is installed and there are user-writable directories containing .sap files where a malicious MFC80LOC.DLL could be placed for execution.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataRestrict write access to directories from which SAP GUI is typically launched; launch SAP GUI from trusted, read-only locations; consider upgrading to a patched version if available. Apply the principle of least privilege to user environments.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2011-5154 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-5154 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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