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Adaptive Server EnterpriseApplication · Sap

CVE-2020-6241

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-05-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable Zero-click

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 · unedited
SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise, version 16.0, allows an authenticated user to execute crafted database queries to elevate privileges of users in the system, leading to SQL Injection.

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 confidence

SAP Adaptive Server Enterprise 16.0 contains a SQL injection vulnerability that allows authenticated users to execute crafted database queries to elevate their privileges to higher-tier users in the system, potentially gaining administrative access.

MitigationApply available SAP security patches for ASE 16.0; if no patch is available, restrict database user privileges to minimum required, audit existing user accounts, and review database query code for proper input validation and parameterized query usage.

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
Adaptive Server EnterpriseApplication
Affected:= 16.0

CVSS 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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the installed SAP ASE version
    Run 'select @@version' or 'select @@sp_version' in isql/ASE Cockpit, or check the ASE installation directory for version information in the $SYBASE/ASE-16_0/install/VERSION file
    Affected if The installed version is exactly 16.0 (note: the vulnerability affects version = 16.0, meaning specifically version 16.0)
  2. Confirm database authentication is enabled
    Check the ASE login configuration by querying syslogins or examining the ASE configuration file for authentication settings
    Affected if Database authentication is active, allowing any valid database user to connect and execute queries
  3. Identify user privilege levels
    Query 'sp_helprole' and 'sp_helpsrvrolemember' to list all database roles and their members; review 'sp_displaylogin' for individual user privilege assignments
    Affected if Users with lower-tier roles (such as 'mon_role' or standard users) exist alongside higher-privilege roles (like 'sa_role' or 'sso_role'), creating potential privilege escalation targets
  4. Review database query code for input validation
    Examine application code that constructs SQL queries against the ASE database; search for dynamic query construction using string concatenation instead of parameterized queries or stored procedures
    Affected if The application or any database objects use unsanitized input in SQL queries, enabling SQL injection vectors
  5. Check for privileged stored procedures accessible to standard users
    Query 'sp_helptext' on system stored procedures and review execute permissions via 'sp_helprotect' to identify which procedures low-privilege users can execute
    Affected if Authenticated users have execute permissions on procedures that can be manipulated for privilege escalation

You are affected if your SAP ASE installation is version 16.0 and your database environment allows authenticated users to execute custom SQL queries, particularly if standard users have access to procedures or code paths that could be exploited for privilege escalation.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply available SAP security patches for ASE 16.0; if no patch is available, restrict database user privileges to minimum required, audit existing user accounts, and review database query code for proper input validation and parameterized query usage.

Fix this in Adaptive Server Enterprise Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,880
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-6241 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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
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