CVE-2026-76961 in S4HANA
Summary
by MITRE • 09/08/2026
SAP S/4HANA Finance (Advanced Payment Management) does not perform sufficient Cross-Site Request Forgery protection on certain requests, due to this an attacker with low privileges could craft a malicious link or page. If an authenticated victim interacts with it, unintended actions could be triggered on the web server on their behalf. This results in a low impact on confidentiality and integrity. There is no impact on availability.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/08/2026
The vulnerability identified within SAP S/4HANA Finance Advanced Payment Management represents a classic Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) flaw, categorized under CWE-352: Using Web Parameters to Forge a Response in the Common Weakness Enumeration framework. This security deficiency arises from an insufficient implementation of anti-CSRF tokens or state verification mechanisms on specific HTTP requests handled by the application server. In a properly secured web application, every state-changing request should require a unique, unpredictable token that is tied to the user's session and validated upon receipt. The absence of this validation allows an attacker to construct malicious HTML pages or links containing forged requests that mimic legitimate actions initiated by authenticated users. When a victim with low privileges interacts with such content while their browser holds active authentication cookies for the SAP system, the browser automatically attaches these credentials to the request, thereby tricking the server into processing the action as if it were authorized by the user.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability enables unauthorized modification of application state without requiring any form of cross-site scripting or direct access to sensitive data like session IDs. The impact is primarily focused on integrity and confidentiality rather than availability, as noted in the initial description. An attacker could potentially manipulate payment configurations, alter bank account details associated with advanced payments, or initiate financial transactions that appear legitimate from a system perspective but were not intended by the user. Because the vulnerability targets low-privilege accounts, it may be exploited to escalate influence within the organization's financial workflows, leading to significant reputational damage and potential monetary loss if left unaddressed. The lack of impact on availability indicates that the service remains accessible during exploitation, which is typical for CSRF attacks where the goal is stealthy manipulation rather than disruption.
This type of vulnerability aligns with several tactics in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to Defense Evasion and Credential Access through social engineering or lure-based techniques. Attackers often use phishing emails containing malicious links as a delivery mechanism, leveraging the trust users place in familiar interfaces like SAP S/4HANA. The success of such an attack relies heavily on user interaction, making awareness training a critical component of defense alongside technical controls. To mitigate this risk, it is essential to implement robust CSRF protection mechanisms across all state-changing endpoints within the Advanced Payment Management module. This includes using synchronizer token patterns where each form submission requires a unique anti-CSRF token generated server-side and validated upon processing. Additionally, implementing strict SameSite cookie attributes can prevent browsers from sending session cookies in cross-site contexts, providing an additional layer of defense against such forgery attempts. Regular security assessments and code reviews focusing on input validation and state management are also recommended to ensure comprehensive protection against this class of web application vulnerabilities.