NetweaverApplication · Sap

CVE-2023-29186

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
In SAP NetWeaver (BI CONT ADDON) - versions 707, 737, 747, 757, an attacker can exploit a directory traversal flaw in a report to upload and overwrite files on the SAP server. Data cannot be read but if a remote attacker has sufficient (administrative) privileges then potentially critical OS files can be overwritten making the system unavailable.

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

A directory traversal vulnerability in SAP NetWeaver BI CONT ADDON (versions 707, 737, 747, 757) allows authenticated attackers to upload and overwrite arbitrary files on the server file system through a vulnerable report. While the flaw does not permit reading sensitive data, attackers with administrative privileges can overwrite critical OS files, potentially causing complete system unavailability.

MitigationApply the relevant SAP security patch for CVE-2023-29186 and review access controls to restrict which users can execute the vulnerable report, especially removing administrative privileges from non-essential users.

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:= 707= 737= 747= 757

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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 SAP NetWeaver BI CONT ADDON installation
    Query your SAP system for installed software components identifying the BI CONT ADDON package
    Affected if The BI CONT ADDON component is present on the system
  2. Determine installed version of BI CONT ADDON
    Use SAP transaction code like SMICM or check via SAP LMDB to retrieve the exact version number of the BI CONT ADDON component
    Affected if The installed version matches 707, 737, 747, or 757
  3. Locate the vulnerable report
    Search the SAP report repository for the specific report referenced in the CVE that handles file upload operations, typically found via transaction SE38 or SM37
    Affected if The vulnerable report exists and is accessible in the system
  4. Verify user access to the vulnerable report
    Check user authorizations using transaction SUIM or SU53 to determine which users have execute rights on the identified vulnerable report
    Affected if Users with administrative privileges have access to the vulnerable report
  5. Review administrative privilege assignments
    Examine user role assignments via transaction PFCG or SU01 to identify accounts with elevated privileges that could exploit this flaw
    Affected if Administrative privileges are assigned to users beyond those required for essential business functions

A system is affected if SAP NetWeaver BI CONT ADDON versions 707, 737, 747, or 757 are installed and the vulnerable report is accessible to authenticated users with administrative privileges.

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 the relevant SAP security patch for CVE-2023-29186 and review access controls to restrict which users can execute the vulnerable report, especially removing administrative privileges from non-essential users.

Fix this in Netweaver Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-29186 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2023-29186 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