CVE-2017-16680 in HANA
Summary
by MITRE
Two potential audit log injections in SAP HANA extended application services 1.0, advanced model: 1) Certain HTTP/REST endpoints of controller service are missing user input validation which could allow unprivileged attackers to forge audit log lines. Hence the interpretation of audit log files could be hindered or misdirected. 2) User Account and Authentication writes audit logs into syslog and additionally writes the same audit entries into a log file. Entries in the log file miss escaping. Hence the interpretation of audit log files could be hindered or misdirected, while the entries in syslog are correct.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/13/2019
CVE-2017-16680 represents a critical audit logging vulnerability within SAP HANA extended application services version 1.0, advanced model, exposing significant security weaknesses in the system's logging infrastructure. This vulnerability manifests through two distinct but related injection points that compromise the integrity and reliability of audit trail data. The first issue occurs in the controller service's HTTP/REST endpoints where insufficient user input validation creates opportunities for unprivileged attackers to manipulate audit log entries. This flaw directly aligns with CWE-20, which categorizes improper input validation as a fundamental weakness that can lead to various injection attacks. The second vulnerability involves the user account and authentication module's dual logging approach, where audit entries are written simultaneously to syslog and a local log file. While the syslog entries remain properly formatted, the log file entries lack proper escaping mechanisms, creating a scenario where malicious input can corrupt the log file structure. This dual logging approach demonstrates a common security pattern where one logging mechanism is properly secured while another is not, creating an inconsistent security posture. The impact of these vulnerabilities extends beyond simple data corruption, as they fundamentally compromise the trustworthiness of audit logs that organizations rely upon for security monitoring, compliance verification, and forensic analysis. Attackers exploiting these flaws could potentially manipulate audit records to hide malicious activities, create false log entries, or confuse security analysts during incident investigations. The operational implications are particularly severe in regulated environments where audit logs must maintain absolute integrity for compliance purposes. According to ATT&CK framework category T1070, this vulnerability enables adversaries to tamper with or manipulate security logs, which is a critical step in maintaining persistence and avoiding detection. The vulnerability's exploitation potential is heightened by the fact that it affects unprivileged users, meaning attackers do not require elevated privileges to compromise the audit logging system. Organizations implementing SAP HANA solutions face significant risk when this vulnerability remains unpatched, as it undermines the fundamental security controls that depend on reliable audit data for monitoring and threat detection. The technical flaw stems from inadequate input sanitization practices, where developers failed to implement proper escaping mechanisms for log file entries while maintaining proper validation for syslog output. This inconsistency suggests a broader security design issue within the application's logging architecture, where different components receive varying levels of security hardening. The vulnerability's classification as an audit log injection issue places it within the context of CWE-117, which specifically addresses improper output escaping in logging contexts. The security implications extend to potential denial of service scenarios where corrupted log files could prevent proper system monitoring, or more sophisticated attacks where attackers manipulate log data to cover their tracks during security incidents. Organizations should prioritize patching this vulnerability as part of their vulnerability management processes, while also implementing additional monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability's presence in the extended application services component indicates that organizations using SAP HANA in production environments must ensure comprehensive patch management strategies that cover all components of their SAP installations. Proper implementation of input validation and output escaping mechanisms would prevent this vulnerability from being exploited, as these controls are fundamental to preventing injection attacks across various security domains. The remediation approach should focus on implementing consistent escaping mechanisms across all logging outputs, ensuring that both syslog and file-based logging handle user input in a secure manner.