# CVE-2021-21474: Weak cryptography in SAP HANA Database

> Attackers can tamper with MD5-signed SAML tokens to impersonate users and read database contents in SAP HANA.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Feb 2021
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8xcp-qvv3-hccf

## What is CVE-2021-21474?

CVE-2021-21474 is a medium-severity vulnerability in SAP HANA Database, published on 9 Feb 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

SAP HANA Database, versions - 1.0, 2.0, accepts SAML tokens with MD5 digest, an attacker who manages to obtain an MD5-digest signed SAML Assertion issued for an SAP HANA instance might be able to tamper with it and alter it in a way that the digest continues to be the same and without invalidating the digital signature, this allows them to impersonate as user in HANA database and be able to read the contents in the database.

Weakness: CWE-326 (Inadequate Encryption Strength)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2021-21474?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Sap Hana Database.

## How do I fix CVE-2021-21474?

No fix has been published for CVE-2021-21474 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2021-21474 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21474 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in SAP HANA Database

- [CVE-2018-2424](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-2424/): Cross-site scripting in SAP HANA Database (critical 9.8)
- [CVE-2026-0492](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-0492/): Privilege escalation vulnerability in SAP HANA database (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2019-0350](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0350/): Denial of service in SAP HANA Database (high 7.5)
- [CVE-2017-16687](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-16687/): Information disclosure in SAP HANA extended application services (medium 5.3)
- [CVE-2020-26834](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-26834/): Auth bypass in SAP HANA Database (medium 4.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2021-21474 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2021-21474 is a medium-severity vulnerability in SAP HANA Database, published on 9 Feb 2021. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2021-21474 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: SAP HANA Database. 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-2021-21474/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21474/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-21474
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21474
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2021-21474

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-21474/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.