CVE-2020-6208
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 Business Objects Business Intelligence Platform (Crystal Reports), versions- 4.1, 4.2, allows an attacker with basic authorization to inject code that can be executed by the application and thus allowing the attacker to control the behaviour of the application, leading to Remote Code Execution. Although the mode of attack is only Local, multiple applications can be impacted as a result of the 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 · moderate confidenceSAP Business Objects Business Intelligence Platform (Crystal Reports) versions 4.1 and 4.2 contain a code injection vulnerability allowing authenticated attackers with basic authorization to inject malicious code that the application executes, leading to Remote Code Execution. Although characterized as a local attack mode, the vulnerability impacts multiple applications on the affected system.
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= 4.1= 4.2CVSS 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
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
-
Identify Crystal Reports installationCheck the installed Crystal Reports version through SAP BusinessObjects installation directory, SAP LMDB, or the Crystal Reports About box (Help > About Crystal Reports). On Windows, also check Add/Remove Programs for 'SAP Crystal Reports' version 4.1 or 4.2.Affected if Installed version is exactly 4.1 or exactly 4.2
-
Confirm web service exposureDetermine if the Crystal Reports web service (usually on port 8080 or 443) is accessible from the network. Check SAP BusinessObjects Central Management Console (CMC) under 'Servers' to identify Crystal Reports service status and listening ports.Affected if Crystal Reports web service is running and network-accessible (even internally)
-
Verify authentication configurationReview the Crystal Reports web service authentication settings in the CMC under 'Authentication' to confirm whether Basic Authentication is enabled for the Crystal Reports service.Affected if Basic Authentication is enabled for the Crystal Reports web application
-
Audit for unauthorized accessReview Crystal Reports server logs (typically in the /logging directory of the installation) for entries from unauthorized IP addresses or unusual query patterns around the report generation endpoints.Affected if Log entries show requests from unexpected sources or suspicious injection patterns in report parameters
-
Check for persistence mechanismsInspect the Crystal Reports server file system for newly created executables, scripts, or modified configuration files in the installation directory or temporary folders that may indicate post-exploitation activity.Affected if Unexpected files exist in the Crystal Reports installation directory or scheduled tasks/jobs were created for the service account
You are affected if Crystal Reports version 4.1 or 4.2 is installed with its web service accessible and Basic Authentication enabled. Investigate for compromise if any signs of unauthorized access appear in logs or unexpected files exist on the server.
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 SAP Security Note for CVE-2020-6208 to patch the code injection vulnerability in Crystal Reports; verify no unauthorized access or persistence mechanisms were introduced by attackers who may have already exploited this flaw.
- Consultation6.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,816.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-6208 — 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-2020-6208 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
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- 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