CVE-2025-24870 Overview
SAP GUI for Windows and RFC service credentials are incorrectly stored in the memory of the program, allowing an unauthenticated attacker to access sensitive information within systems. This memory storage vulnerability could result in privilege escalation and disclosure of highly sensitive credential information. The vulnerability has no impact on system integrity or availability, but poses a significant confidentiality risk.
Critical Impact
Attackers with local access can extract RFC service credentials from SAP GUI for Windows memory, leading to privilege escalation and exposure of highly sensitive authentication data.
Affected Products
- SAP GUI for Windows
- SAP RFC Services
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-02-11 - CVE-2025-24870 published to NVD
- 2025-02-18 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-24870
Vulnerability Analysis
This vulnerability falls under CWE-921 (Storage of Sensitive Data in a Mechanism without Access Control). SAP GUI for Windows improperly stores RFC service credentials in program memory without adequate protection mechanisms. When users authenticate to SAP systems through the GUI client, their credentials persist in memory in an insecure manner that can be accessed by unauthorized processes or users with local system access.
The attack requires local access to the system running SAP GUI for Windows and elevated privileges on the local machine. However, once an attacker gains this access, they can dump the process memory to extract stored credentials. These harvested credentials can then be used for privilege escalation within SAP environments, potentially granting unauthorized access to critical business systems and sensitive enterprise data.
Root Cause
The root cause is insecure memory storage of authentication credentials (CWE-921). SAP GUI for Windows stores RFC service credentials in memory without implementing proper access controls or encryption. This design flaw allows processes with sufficient privileges to read the memory contents and extract plaintext or weakly-protected credential data.
Attack Vector
The attack requires local access to a Windows system running SAP GUI. An attacker with high privileges on the local machine can leverage memory forensics tools or custom scripts to dump the SAP GUI process memory. By analyzing this memory dump, the attacker can locate and extract stored RFC service credentials.
The exploitation scenario involves:
- Gaining local access to a workstation with SAP GUI for Windows installed
- Identifying the SAP GUI process in memory
- Dumping the process memory using tools such as procdump, custom PowerShell scripts, or memory forensics utilities
- Parsing the memory dump to locate and extract stored credentials
- Using the extracted credentials to escalate privileges within the SAP environment
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24870
Indicators of Compromise
- Unusual process memory dump activities targeting sapgui.exe or related SAP GUI processes
- Unexpected access to SAP GUI process memory from non-standard applications
- Suspicious use of memory forensics tools such as procdump.exe on systems running SAP GUI
- Authentication attempts to SAP systems from unexpected sources using valid credentials
Detection Strategies
- Monitor for process memory access patterns targeting SAP GUI executables
- Implement endpoint detection rules for memory dumping tools accessing SAP-related processes
- Configure Windows Event Logging to capture process handle access events (Event ID 4656, 4663) for SAP GUI processes
- Deploy behavioral analysis to detect credential harvesting activities on SAP client workstations
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable enhanced process auditing on systems running SAP GUI for Windows
- Implement SIEM correlation rules to detect memory access anomalies
- Monitor SAP authentication logs for unusual login patterns or privilege escalation attempts
- Establish baseline behavior for SAP GUI memory usage and alert on deviations
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24870
Immediate Actions Required
- Apply the security patch referenced in SAP Note 3562336
- Review and restrict local administrator access on workstations running SAP GUI
- Implement endpoint protection solutions to detect memory-based credential extraction
- Consider implementing multi-factor authentication for SAP system access as an additional security layer
Patch Information
SAP has released a security patch addressing this vulnerability. Administrators should consult SAP Note 3562336 for detailed patching instructions and apply updates according to the SAP Security Patch Day guidelines. Organizations should prioritize patching SAP GUI installations on workstations with access to sensitive SAP environments.
Workarounds
- Restrict local administrative privileges on SAP GUI workstations to minimize attack surface
- Implement application whitelisting to prevent unauthorized memory access tools from running
- Enable Windows Credential Guard on supported systems to protect credentials in memory
- Consider network segmentation to limit the impact of compromised workstation credentials
- Implement session timeouts and credential rotation policies to reduce exposure window
# Example: Enable Windows Credential Guard via Group Policy
# Navigate to: Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates >
# System > Device Guard > Turn On Virtualization Based Security
# Set "Credential Guard Configuration" to "Enabled with UEFI lock"
# Alternative: Enable via Registry
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard" /v EnableVirtualizationBasedSecurity /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
reg add "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa" /v LsaCfgFlags /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
