Businessobjects AnalysisApplication · Sap

CVE-2021-40497

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-12
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges 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 BusinessObjects Analysis (edition for OLAP) - versions 420, 430, allows an attacker to exploit certain application endpoints to read sensitive data. These endpoints are normally exposed over the network and successful exploitation could lead to exposure of some system specific data like its version.

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 confidence

SAP BusinessObjects Analysis (edition for OLAP) versions 420 and 430 contain insecurely exposed application endpoints that allow remote attackers to retrieve sensitive system information such as version details without proper authorization. This information disclosure vulnerability stems from endpoints that should require authentication but are accessible over the network without sufficient access controls.

MitigationApply SAP security patches for CVE-2021-40497 and review network exposure of BusinessObjects endpoints to ensure only authorized users can access OLAP analysis 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
Businessobjects AnalysisApplication
Affected:= 420= 430

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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 Analysis OLAP installation and version
    Check installed SAP BusinessObjects Analysis (edition for OLAP) version by reviewing SAP installer logs, SAP LM or checking the BI platform version through SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise XI menu or system information page
    Affected if Installed version equals 420 or 430 specifically
  2. Locate OLAP analysis web application endpoints
    Identify the OLAP analysis web service URLs within the SAP BusinessObjects deployment - typically found under /BOE/OLAP or similar BI launch pad paths in the web application server configuration
    Affected if OLAP analysis endpoints exist in the deployment and are accessible via HTTP/HTTPS
  3. Test endpoint accessibility without authentication
    Send HTTP requests to identified OLAP analysis endpoints from an unauthenticated context (no session token, no login) using curl or browser to observe if system information is returned
    Affected if Endpoints return sensitive system information (version details, configuration data) without requiring authentication credentials
  4. Verify network exposure of OLAP endpoints
    Review firewall rules, network segmentation and web application server access controls to determine if OLAP analysis endpoints are reachable from untrusted networks or the internet
    Affected if OLAP endpoints are accessible from outside the trusted internal network without IP restriction or VPN requirement

A user is affected if they have SAP BusinessObjects Analysis OLAP edition version 420 or 430 running with exposed endpoints that return sensitive system information to unauthenticated network requests.

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-2021-40497 and review network exposure of BusinessObjects endpoints to ensure only authorized users can access OLAP analysis functionality.

Fix this in Businessobjects Analysis Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2021-40497 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data