CVE-2021-27619 in Commerce
Summary
by MITRE • 05/11/2021
SAP Commerce (Backoffice Search), versions - 1808, 1811, 1905, 2005, 2011, allows a low privileged user to search for attributes which are not supposed to be displayed to them. Although the search results are masked, the user can iteratively enter one character at a time to search and determine the masked attribute value thereby leading to information disclosure.
If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.
Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/15/2021
SAP Commerce Backoffice Search vulnerability CVE-2021-27619 represents a critical information disclosure weakness that undermines the principle of least privilege within the platform's access control mechanisms. This vulnerability affects multiple major versions including 1808, 1811, 1905, 2005, and 2011, indicating a widespread issue that has persisted across several release cycles. The flaw specifically resides in the search functionality of the Backoffice component, which is a critical administrative interface used by commerce platform operators to manage various business operations and data configurations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and output masking mechanisms within the search processing pipeline. While the system correctly masks attribute values in the initial search results display, the underlying search engine maintains the ability to process individual character inputs and return partial matches. This design flaw creates a reconnaissance opportunity for malicious actors who can systematically probe the system by entering single characters, thereby bypassing the intended data obfuscation measures. The iterative nature of this attack allows an attacker to reconstruct complete attribute values through careful character-by-character enumeration, effectively nullifying the protective masking mechanism.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability significantly compromises data confidentiality and can lead to severe business consequences including exposure of sensitive customer information, proprietary business data, and internal system configurations. The low privilege requirement means that even users with minimal access rights can exploit this vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in environments where access controls are not strictly enforced. The attack vector operates through standard search functionality, making it difficult to detect through conventional security monitoring approaches as legitimate user behavior patterns are mimicked during the exploitation process.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-200, which specifically addresses "Information Exposure," and demonstrates characteristics consistent with CWE-215, "Information Exposure Through Debug Information." Additionally, this weakness maps to ATT&CK technique T1213.002, "Data from Information Repositories," as it enables unauthorized access to repository data through search interfaces. Organizations utilizing SAP Commerce platforms are particularly vulnerable since the attack does not require elevated privileges or specialized tools beyond normal administrative access. The iterative search approach also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1213.001, "Data from Information Repositories," representing a systematic reconnaissance process that can be automated to efficiently extract sensitive information.
Effective mitigations for this vulnerability require implementing robust input validation at the search engine level, ensuring that search parameters cannot be manipulated to bypass existing access controls. Organizations should deploy enhanced output filtering mechanisms that prevent partial result leakage even when individual character searches are performed. The recommended approach includes implementing proper access control checks at the search processing level, ensuring that attribute-level permissions are enforced regardless of the search method used. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing rate limiting and monitoring for unusual search patterns that could indicate exploitation attempts. SAP has issued patches for affected versions, and organizations should prioritize immediate deployment of these updates to remediate the vulnerability and restore proper access control enforcement within their commerce platform environments.