CVE-2020-6183
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 Host Agent, version 7.21, allows an unprivileged user to read the shared memory or write to the shared memory by sending request to the main SAPOSCOL process and receive responses that may contain data read with user root privileges e.g. size of any directory, system hardware and OS details, leading to Missing Authorization Check vulnerability.
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 confidenceMissing authorization check in SAP Host Agent 7.21 allows unprivileged users to send requests directly to the SAPOSCOL process, enabling read/write access to shared memory. This exposes system information (directory sizes, hardware details, OS configuration) that is retrieved using root privileges, giving unauthorized users access to sensitive system data.
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= 7.21CVSS 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
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/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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Verify SAP Host Agent installationCheck if SAP Host Agent is installed by looking for its executables or service. On Unix/Linux: `which saposcol` or check `/usr/sap/hostctrl/exe/saposcol`. On Windows: check service 'SAP Host Agent' in services.msc or look in `C:\Program Files\sap\hostctrl\exe\saposcol.exe`.Affected if SAP Host Agent is installed and version is exactly 7.21
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Confirm SAP Host Agent versionRun `sapHostCtrl -version` or `/usr/sap/hostctrl/exe/sapHostCtrl -version` to display the installed version number.Affected if Version displayed is exactly 7.21
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Check if SAPOSCOL process is runningOn Unix/Linux: run `ps -ef | grep saposcol`. On Windows: check process 'saposcol.exe' in Task Manager or via `tasklist | findstr saposcol`.Affected if SAPOSCOL process is running on a system with SAP Host Agent version 7.21
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Inspect shared memory authorizationThis requires examining the SAPOSCOL configuration and authorization settings. Check for proper ACLs or permission controls on the shared memory segments used by SAPOSCOL (typically visible via `ipcs -m` on Unix systems). Unrestricted access indicates the vulnerability is present.Affected if Unprivileged users can access SAPOSCOL shared memory without authorization checks
System is affected if SAP Host Agent version 7.21 is installed AND the SAPOSCOL process is running with unrestricted access to shared memory interfaces.
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 patch for CVE-2020-6183 to upgrade SAP Host Agent to a version with proper authorization controls on the SAPOSCOL shared memory interface.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-6183 — 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-2020-6183 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
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