CVE-2025-0055 in GUI for Windows
Summary
by MITRE • 01/14/2025
SAP GUI for Windows stores user input on the client PC to improve usability. Under very specific circumstances an attacker with administrative privileges or access to the victim�s user directory on the Operating System level would be able to read this data. Depending on the user input provided in transactions, the disclosed data could range from non-critical data to highly sensitive data, causing high impact on confidentiality of the application.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/31/2026
SAP GUI for Windows implements client-side data persistence mechanisms to enhance user experience by remembering input values across sessions. This functionality operates by storing user-entered data within the local operating system environment, typically within user directory structures or temporary storage locations. The vulnerability arises from the insufficient security controls governing these locally stored credentials and input data, particularly when the application lacks proper access controls or encryption mechanisms for protecting sensitive information stored on the client machine. The security flaw specifically manifests when administrative privileges or direct operating system access to the victim's user directory is obtained by an attacker, allowing them to directly access and read the persisted data without proper authentication or authorization checks.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to adequately protect locally stored user input data through proper access controls, encryption, or secure storage mechanisms. When users interact with SAP transactions, their input values are cached locally to improve usability, but this caching process does not adequately protect against unauthorized access when an attacker gains administrative access to the victim's machine. The vulnerability represents a classic case of insufficient data protection at rest, where sensitive information flows through the application's client-side caching mechanism without proper security controls. This flaw can be categorized under CWE-312, which addresses the exposure of sensitive information through improper data handling, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for unsecured credentials and T1074.001 for data staged in local storage.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple credential exposure, as the locally stored data may contain highly sensitive information from various SAP transactions including financial data, personal identification information, system access credentials, and business-critical operational details. The confidentiality impact is rated as high because the vulnerability can potentially expose data that ranges from non-critical transaction inputs to highly sensitive enterprise information, depending on the specific user activities and transaction types involved. Attackers who successfully exploit this vulnerability could gain access to comprehensive information about user activities, system interactions, and potentially sensitive business data that was cached locally. The risk is particularly elevated in environments where multiple users share the same machine or where administrative access is compromised through other attack vectors, as the attacker could potentially access data from multiple user accounts stored on the same system.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper access controls for locally stored data, enforcing encryption of cached information, and establishing secure temporary storage mechanisms that do not persist sensitive data in easily accessible locations. Organizations should consider disabling or limiting the client-side caching functionality for sensitive transactions, implementing proper file system permissions for user directories, and ensuring that local storage locations are protected through proper access control lists and encryption mechanisms. The solution should also include regular security assessments of client-side storage mechanisms, implementation of proper data sanitization procedures, and monitoring for unauthorized access attempts to local storage locations. Additionally, organizations should consider implementing zero-trust security models that do not rely on client-side data persistence for critical business operations and ensure that any cached data is properly encrypted and protected against unauthorized access at the operating system level.