CVE-2019-0261 in HANA Extended Application Services
Summary
by MITRE
Under certain circumstances, SAP HANA Extended Application Services, advanced model (XS advanced) does not perform authentication checks properly for XS advanced platform and business users. Fixed in 1.0.97 to 1.0.99 (running on SAP HANA 1 or SAP HANA 2 SPS0 (second S stands for stack)).
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/10/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-0261 affects SAP HANA Extended Application Services advanced model which represents a critical security flaw in the authentication mechanism of the XS advanced platform. This issue specifically impacts the proper validation of user credentials and authorization checks within the SAP HANA environment, creating potential entry points for unauthorized access to sensitive business applications and data. The vulnerability exists in versions prior to 1.0.97 and affects systems running on both SAP HANA 1 and SAP HANA 2 SPS0 platforms, making it particularly concerning for organizations maintaining legacy infrastructure.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability lies in the improper implementation of authentication controls within the XS advanced runtime environment. When users attempt to access business applications or platform services, the system fails to adequately verify their credentials and authorization levels, potentially allowing attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms entirely. This flaw operates at the application layer and specifically targets the user management and access control components of the XS advanced model, which is designed to provide enterprise-grade application hosting capabilities for SAP HANA environments.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risk exposure for organizations utilizing SAP HANA Extended Application Services advanced model. Attackers could potentially gain unauthorized access to business applications, execute privileged operations, and access sensitive data without proper authentication. The impact extends beyond simple unauthorized access as it could enable privilege escalation attacks, data exfiltration, and potential lateral movement within the SAP HANA ecosystem. The vulnerability affects both platform administrators and business users, creating a broad attack surface that could compromise the entire application stack.
Organizations should immediately implement the recommended patch updates to versions 1.0.97 through 1.0.99, which contain the necessary fixes for the authentication bypass vulnerability. The remediation process requires careful planning and testing to ensure compatibility with existing applications and business processes. Security teams should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments to identify any potential exploitation attempts and monitor system logs for suspicious authentication patterns. Additionally, organizations should review their access control policies and implement additional monitoring controls to detect unauthorized access attempts. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-287 which addresses improper authentication issues, and represents a significant concern under ATT&CK framework category T1078 for valid accounts and T1566 for credential stuffing attacks. The fix addresses the core authentication flaw by strengthening the verification processes and ensuring proper authorization checks are enforced for all user sessions within the XS advanced platform.