# CVE-2020-26838: Command injection in SAP BW4HANA

> Authenticated developers can inject OS commands via crafted requests, leading to full server compromise in SAP Business Warehouse.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Dec 2020
- **Updated:** 4 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-j3jc-48fv-7w6q

## What is CVE-2020-26838?

CVE-2020-26838 is a critical command injection vulnerability in SAP BW4HANA, published on 9 Dec 2020. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

SAP Business Warehouse, versions - 700, 701, 702, 731, 740, 750, 751, 752, 753, 754, 755, 782, and SAP BW4HANA, versions - 100, 200 allows an attacker authenticated with (high) developer privileges to submit a crafted request to generate and execute code without requiring any user interaction. It is possible to craft a request which will result in the execution of Operating System commands leading to Code Injection vulnerability which could completely compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the server and any data or other applications running on it.

Weakness: CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2020-26838?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Sap Business Warehouse, Sap Bw\/4hana.

## How do I fix CVE-2020-26838?

No fix has been published for CVE-2020-26838 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2020-26838 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-26838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in SAP BW4HANA

- [CVE-2021-21465](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21465/): SQL injection in SAP Business Warehouse (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2021-21466](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21466/): Code injection in SAP BW/4HANA (critical 9.9)
- [CVE-2021-21468](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21468/): Missing authorization in SAP Business Warehouse (medium 6.5)
- [CVE-2024-39594](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39594/): Cross-site scripting in SAP Business Warehouse - Business Planning and Simulation (medium 6.1)
- [CVE-2024-39595](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-39595/): Cross-site scripting in SAP Business Warehouse - Business Planning and Simulation (medium 5.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2020-26838 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2020-26838 is a critical command injection vulnerability in SAP BW4HANA, published on 9 Dec 2020. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2020-26838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: SAP BW4HANA. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26838/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26838/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-26838
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-26838
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2020-26838

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26838/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.