CVE-2021-41251 Explained : Impact and Mitigation

This CVE involves a vulnerability in SAP's cloud-sdk-js affecting versions prior to 1.52.0 leading to potential elevation of privileges or unauthorized access to data.

Understanding CVE-2021-41251

This CVE impacts applications that use the SAP Cloud SDK on the SAP Business Technology Platform and have enabled caching of destinations.

What is CVE-2021-41251?

The vulnerability allows caching of destinations without user information, potentially enabling other users to access the same destination with its permissions.

The Impact of CVE-2021-41251

The base severity is medium (CVSS score: 5.9), with high confidentiality impact, affecting systems with user information missing during caching.

Technical Details of CVE-2021-41251

This section covers specific technical aspects of the vulnerability.

Vulnerability Description

The @sap-cloud-sdk/core library in SAP cloud-sdk-js before version 1.52.0 allows unauthorized access to cached destinations without user information, potentially leading to privilege escalation.

Affected Systems and Versions

Product: cloud-sdk-js
Vendor: SAP
Affected Versions: < 1.52.0

Exploitation Mechanism

The issue arises when user information is absent, allowing unauthorized users to exploit cached destinations.

Mitigation and Prevention

Learn how to mitigate and prevent risks associated with CVE-2021-41251.

Immediate Steps to Take

Upgrade to version 1.52.0 to implement enhanced security for destination caching.
If unable to update, disable destination caching as it is disabled by default.

Long-Term Security Practices

Regularly monitor and update software versions to patch vulnerabilities.
Implement least privilege access controls to limit unauthorized data access.

Patching and Updates

Ensure timely installation of patches and updates to address security vulnerabilities.