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Abap PlatformApplication · Sap

CVE-2021-44231

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-12-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Internally used text extraction reports allow an attacker to inject code that can be executed by the application. An attacker could thereby control the behavior of the application.

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 · low confidence

A code injection vulnerability exists in internally used text extraction reports, allowing attackers to inject malicious code that the application will execute. This enables full control of application behavior. The vulnerability stems from insufficient sanitization of user-supplied data within the text extraction reporting functionality.

MitigationImplement strict input validation and sanitization on all data fed into text extraction reports; apply security patches from the vendor; consider sandboxing or sandboxing the text extraction functionality to limit code execution scope.

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
Abap PlatformApplication
Affected:= 701= 740= 750= 751= 752= 753= 754= 755= 756= 804
Netweaver Application Server AbapApplication
Affected:= 701= 740= 750= 751= 752= 753= 754= 755= 756= 804

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
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed SAP ABAP version
    Execute transaction code SM51 or use SAPMSSY8 to retrieve the SAP kernel version and patch level. Alternatively, check the SAP System Landscape Directory (SLD) or use report RSWB0002 for component versions.
    Affected if The installed version matches 701, 740, 750, 751, 752, 753, 754, 755, 756, or 804.
  2. Determine if text extraction reporting is active
    Check if the text extraction reporting functionality (report RSBARDUMP or related text extraction reports) is present and accessible in the system using transaction SE11 or SE38 to search for reports with 'TEXT' and 'EXTRACT' in their names.
    Affected if Text extraction reports exist and are accessible in the system.
  3. Verify text extraction module configuration
    Review the configuration of text extraction functionality in transaction SPRO under SAP Reference IMG. Navigate to Basis Components -> Text Extraction or search for related customizing tables in SE11.
    Affected if Text extraction module is configured and active in the system.
  4. Inspect authorizations for text extraction reports
    Use transaction SUIM to check which users have authorization to execute text extraction reports. Review roles containing S_RS_REPORT or similar authorization objects.
    Affected if Users with broad authorizations exist who can execute text extraction reports.

Your system is potentially affected if it runs an affected SAP ABAP Platform or Netweaver version AND has text extraction reporting functionality enabled or 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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Implement strict input validation and sanitization on all data fed into text extraction reports; apply security patches from the vendor; consider sandboxing or sandboxing the text extraction functionality to limit code execution scope.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

SAP ABAP Platform 752 or higher, or SAP NetWeaver AS ABAP 7.52 or higher

  1. Locate the specific SAP Security Note for CVE-2021-44231 in the SAP Support Portal (launchpad.support.sap.com)
  2. Implement the security note using SAP Transaction SNOTE or via SAP Transport Management System (TMS)
  3. After applying the note, verify the correction is active in the ABAP system
  4. Ensure the text extraction reports mentioned in the vulnerability are secured and test the fix in a non-production system first
  5. Monitor SAP for any additional related security notes that may need to be applied
Caveat Review SAP Security Note for any manual steps or post-implementation considerations; standard security patches typically have minimal impact

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Abap Platform Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation12.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
25.0 hours of engineering $4,400
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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-2021-44231 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