dbcve.org
Businessobjects Business IntelligenceApplication · Sap

CVE-2021-21447

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-01-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
58/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable

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 BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform, versions 410, 420, allows an authenticated attacker to inject malicious JavaScript payload into the custom value input field of an Input Control, which can be executed by User who views the relevant application content, which leads to Stored Cross-Site Scripting.

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

This is a stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in SAP BusinessObjects Business Intelligence platform versions 410 and 420. An authenticated attacker can inject malicious JavaScript into the custom value input field of an Input Control. When other users view the affected application content, the stored payload executes in their browsers, allowing session hijacking, credential theft, or malicious actions.

MitigationApply input validation and output encoding to the custom value input field in Input Controls. Implement proper sanitization of user-supplied data before storage and before rendering. Monitor vendor security patches for this vulnerability.

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
Businessobjects Business IntelligenceApplication
Affected:= 410= 420

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

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

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

  1. Identify SAP BusinessObjects version
    Check the installed SAP BusinessObjects BI platform version through the CMC (Central Management Console) under 'About SAP BusinessObjects' or via the wdeploy tool: lsapbwsipl / sap_bi_platform/weblayout/-C:/Program Files/SAP BusinessObjects/ to locate version files, or query the CMS database for Version property.
    Affected if Installed version equals exactly 410 or 420 (the affected versions listed)
  2. Confirm Input Control module is accessible
    Verify that Input Controls are enabled in the SAP BusinessObjects BI platform through CMC under Applications > Web Application > Global Settings, or by attempting to access the Input Control functionality via the BI Launch Pad or CMC.
    Affected if Input Controls feature is enabled and users can access the Input Control designer or viewer
  3. Locate the custom value input field in Input Controls
    Navigate to any Input Control in the BI platform (via BI Launch Pad > Documents > Input Control), create or edit an Input Control, and identify the 'Custom Value' or 'Custom Value Input' field option within the Input Control configuration panel.
    Affected if The custom value input field exists and is available for user input within Input Control configuration
  4. Check authentication context for Input Control access
    Verify that users have permissions to create or edit Input Controls by checking user/group roles in CMC under Users/Groups and ensuring they have 'Create' or 'Modify' rights on Input Control objects.
    Affected if Authenticated users (not necessarily administrators) have access to Input Control creation/editing with custom value input capability

A user is affected if they have SAP BusinessObjects version 410 or 420 AND have access to Input Controls with the custom value input field, since an authenticated attacker could inject XSS into that field which would then execute for other users viewing the content.

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 input validation and output encoding to the custom value input field in Input Controls. Implement proper sanitization of user-supplied data before storage and before rendering. Monitor vendor security patches for this vulnerability.

Fix this in Businessobjects Business Intelligence Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
21.0 hours of engineering $3,680
Get help mitigating

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,888.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-21447 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2021-21447 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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.

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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data