dbcve.org
NetweaverApplication · Sap

CVE-2023-0021

MEDIUM · 6.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-03-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
Due to insufficient encoding of user input, SAP NetWeaver - versions 700, 701, 702, 731, 740, 750, allows an unauthenticated attacker to inject code that may expose sensitive data like user ID and password, which could lead to reflected Cross-Site scripting. These endpoints are normally exposed over the network and successful exploitation can partially impact confidentiality 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 · high confidence

Reflected XSS vulnerability in SAP NetWeaver versions 700-750 caused by insufficient encoding of user input, allowing unauthenticated attackers to inject malicious scripts that can expose sensitive credentials like user ID and password.

MitigationApply the relevant SAP security patch (refer to SAP Security Note) which implements proper output encoding. Consider WAF rules filtering malicious script patterns as a temporary workaround until the patch is deployed.

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
NetweaverApplication
Affected:= 700= 701= 702= 731= 740= 750

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
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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 version
    Execute transaction SM51 in SAP GUI or use SAPMMC to view the kernel release version, or query the SAP system landscape via SAP LMDB
    Affected if Installed version matches exactly 700, 701, 702, 731, 740, or 750
  2. Confirm web exposure of NetWeaver
    Verify if SAP NetWeaver Web UI components (SAP GUI for HTML, ITS, or web-based transactions) are accessible over HTTP/HTTPS from the network
    Affected if Web interfaces are exposed externally or to untrusted networks without proper filtering
  3. Review HTTP response headers
    Use browser developer tools or curl to inspect HTTP responses from SAP web URLs and submit test input in forms or query parameters
    Affected if User-supplied input is reflected unencoded in HTML responses without proper HTML escaping
  4. Examine SAP security logs
    Check SAP system logs (transaction SM37, ST03N) and web server logs for unusual script injection patterns in request parameters
    Affected if Logs show attempts to inject script tags or malicious JavaScript in user input fields
  5. Audit WAF or reverse proxy logs
    Review any Web Application Firewall or SAP Web Dispatcher logs for blocked XSS patterns targeting the NetWeaver interface
    Affected if WAF rules are detecting or blocking XSS payloads aimed at the SAP application

A system is affected if it runs SAP NetWeaver version 700, 701, 702, 731, 740, or 750 AND has web-based interfaces accessible to users where unsanitized user input can be reflected in responses.

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

Apply the relevant SAP security patch (refer to SAP Security Note) which implements proper output encoding. Consider WAF rules filtering malicious script patterns as a temporary workaround until the patch is deployed.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to NetWeaver 7.50 or higher (where the fix is incorporated)

  1. Check SAP Security Note 3188614 for the specific patch for CVE-2023-0021
  2. Apply the relevant SAP Security Note to your NetWeaver installation via SAP Support Portal
  3. After patching, verify the fix by testing that user input is properly encoded in affected endpoints
  4. Confirm no regression in other security controls
Caveat Upgrading NetWeaver major versions may require compatibility testing of custom ABAP code and integrations

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

Fix this in Netweaver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,580
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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-2023-0021 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