CVE-2017-16691
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 · uneditedSAP Note Assistant tool (SAP BASIS from 7.00 to 7.02, from 7.10 to 7.11, 7.30, 7.31,7.40, from 7.50 to 7.52) supports upload of digitally signed note file of type 'SAR'. The digital signature verification is done together with the extraction of note file contained in the SAR archive. It is possible to append a tampered file to the SAR archive using SAPCAR tool and during the extraction, digital signature verification fails but the tampered file is extracted.
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 · high confidenceThe SAP Note Assistant tool in SAP BASIS versions 7.00-7.52 has a vulnerability where digital signature verification occurs during SAR archive extraction but fails to prevent extraction of tampered files. An attacker can append malicious content to a signed SAR file using the SAPCAR tool; when extracted, the signature verification fails but the tampered file is still written to the system, allowing code execution.
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= 7.00= 7.01= 7.02= 7.10= 7.11= 7.30= 7.31= 7.40= 7.50= 7.51= 7.52CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 SAP BASIS versionExecute transaction SM51 or use SAPMMC to view the SAP BASIS release version. Alternatively, check the kernel version via 'sapcontrol -getprocs' or inspect the 'sapctrl' log files for the BASIS release number.Affected if The installed BASIS version matches one of: 7.00, 7.01, 7.02, 7.10, 7.11, 7.30, 7.31, 7.40, 7.50, 7.51, or 7.52
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Confirm SAP Note Assistant is in useCheck if the Note Assistant transaction (transaction code SPAM or SAINT) is installed and accessible on the system. Query the SAP system for installed Note Assistant components via transaction SE11 on table TADIR for objects related to 'Note Assistant' or 'SPAM'.Affected if The Note Assistant (SPAM/SAINT) is installed and available on the SAP system
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Identify SAR file processing activityReview system logs (transaction SM37, system logs via SM37) and the transport directory (usually /usr/sap/trans or the relevant 'trans' directory) for evidence of SAR file extractions. Use operating system-level auditing or file monitoring on the SAPCAR tool usage to detect SAR archive extraction events.Affected if SAR files are being extracted using SAPCAR on the system, particularly files that may have been obtained from external or untrusted sources
A system is affected if it runs SAP BASIS versions 7.00 through 7.52, has the Note Assistant tool installed, and processes SAR archive files from potentially untrusted sources.
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 dataApply the relevant SAP security note/patch to correct the signature verification logic so that extraction is blocked when signature verification fails. Until patched, avoid processing SAR files from untrusted sources.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,648.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2017-16691 — 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-2017-16691 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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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data