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Netweaver Application Server AbapApplication · Sap

CVE-2021-33665

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-06-09
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 NetWeaver Application Server ABAP (Applications based on SAP GUI for HTML), versions - KRNL64NUC - 7.49, KRNL64UC - 7.49,7.53, KERNEL - 7.49,7.53,7.77,7.81,7.84, does not sufficiently encode user-controlled inputs, resulting in Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) 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 confidence

Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerability in SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP's GUI for HTML due to insufficient encoding of user-controlled inputs. Malicious scripts can be injected through unvalidated input fields and executed in the browsers of other users viewing the affected SAP GUI pages.

MitigationApply SAP security patches for CVE-2021-33665. Implement output encoding and input validation on all user-controlled fields within SAP GUI for HTML applications. Verify the fix does not introduce regressions in web transaction functionality.

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
Netweaver Application Server AbapApplication
Affected:= kernel_7.49= kernel_7.53= kernel_7.77= kernel_7.81= kernel_7.84= krnl64nuc_7.49= krnl64uc_7.49= krnl64uc_7.53

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 NetWeaver AS ABAP installation
    Check if SAP NetWeaver Application Server ABAP is running in your environment by querying the SAP system landscape or checking for SAP ABAP processes
    Affected if SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP is not present, the system is not affected by this CVE
  2. Determine kernel version
    Use SAP transaction SM51 or check the kernel version via SAP kernel binaries (kernel version typically displayed as something like 7.49, 7.53, 7.77, 7.81, or 7.84)
    Affected if The installed kernel version matches one of: kernel_7.49, kernel_7.53, kernel_7.77, kernel_7.81, kernel_7.84, krnl64nuc_7.49, krnl64uc_7.49, or krnl64uc_7.53
  3. Verify GUI for HTML is enabled
    Check if the web-based SAP GUI (transaction SE80, SICF service /sap/bc/gui/sap/its/webgui, or related ITS services) is active and accessible in your landscape
    Affected if GUI for HTML / ITS WebGUI is enabled and accessible to users
  4. Check for user-controlled input fields in SAP GUI for HTML
    Review custom or standard SAP GUI for HTML transactions and BSP applications that accept user input and render output in the browser
    Affected if User input fields exist in GUI for HTML transactions that could be exploited for XSS
  5. Inspect input validation configuration
    Examine SAP system profile parameters related to ITS/webgui security, or review custom application code for HTML encoding of user inputs (transaction SE24, SE80 for BSP applications)
    Affected if No input validation or output encoding is implemented for user-controlled fields in GUI for HTML applications

Your environment is affected if you are running SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP with a kernel version matching the affected list and have GUI for HTML enabled with unvalidated user input fields accessible to users.

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 SAP security patches for CVE-2021-33665. Implement output encoding and input validation on all user-controlled fields within SAP GUI for HTML applications. Verify the fix does not introduce regressions in web transaction functionality.

Fix this in Netweaver Application Server Abap Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2021-33665 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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