CVE-2021-33705 in NetWeaver Portal
Summary
by MITRE • 09/16/2021
The SAP NetWeaver Portal, versions - 7.10, 7.11, 7.20, 7.30, 7.31, 7.40, 7.50, component Iviews Editor contains a Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability which allows an unauthenticated attacker to craft a malicious URL which when clicked by a user can make any type of request (e.g. POST, GET) to any internal or external server. This can result in the accessing or modification of data accessible from the Portal but will not affect its availability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/19/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2021-33705 resides within the SAP NetWeaver Portal's Iviews Editor component across multiple versions including 7.10 through 7.50. This represents a critical server-side request forgery flaw that fundamentally compromises the security boundaries of the portal environment. The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to construct malicious URLs that, when interacted with by legitimate users, can execute arbitrary requests to any internal or external server. The flaw operates by failing to properly validate and sanitize user-supplied URLs before processing them, creating an avenue for attackers to bypass normal access controls and potentially access sensitive internal resources that would otherwise be protected by network segmentation.
The technical implementation of this SSRF vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation within the Iviews Editor component where user-provided URLs are directly processed without proper sanitization or destination verification. This weakness enables attackers to craft requests that can traverse internal network boundaries, potentially accessing internal services, databases, or other systems that are not directly exposed to external networks. The vulnerability specifically affects the portal's ability to enforce proper access controls and can be exploited to perform various malicious activities including data exfiltration, internal network reconnaissance, and potentially privilege escalation within the affected environment. According to CWE classification, this vulnerability maps to CWE-918 Server-Side Request Forgery, which is categorized under the broader weakness of insecure direct object references and improper input validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data access issues as it can lead to significant information disclosure and potential system compromise. An attacker could leverage this flaw to access internal systems that may contain sensitive business data, credentials, or system configurations that are normally protected by network firewalls and access controls. The vulnerability does not directly impact system availability as noted in the description, but could indirectly affect availability through data manipulation or by enabling further attacks that do impact system operations. The attack vector requires user interaction through a malicious link, making it particularly dangerous in environments where users may not be fully security-aware or where social engineering tactics are employed. This vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1071.004 Application Layer Protocol: DNS where attackers may use DNS requests to access internal resources.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should implement immediate mitigations including network segmentation to restrict access to internal systems, implementing proper URL validation and sanitization within the portal environment, and deploying web application firewalls to detect and block suspicious requests. SAP has released patches and updates addressing this vulnerability, and organizations should prioritize applying these security updates to prevent exploitation. Additionally, security monitoring should be enhanced to detect unusual outbound requests from the portal environment, and user education programs should be implemented to reduce the risk of successful social engineering attacks that leverage this vulnerability. The remediation process should include thorough testing of patches in non-production environments to ensure compatibility with existing portal configurations and business processes.