CVE-2025-42954 is a vulnerability identified in the SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse (BW) CCAW application, specifically affecting multiple versions including DW4CORE 100 through 400, SAP_BW versions 700 through 816, and SAP_BW_VIRTUAL_COMP 701. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-835, which pertains to a loop with an unreachable exit condition. This flaw allows a privileged attacker to invoke RFC (Remote Function Call) enabled function modules without providing any input parameters, triggering a loop that causes high CPU utilization. The consequence of this behavior is a significant degradation in system performance or potential interruption of the affected resource's operation. Importantly, the vulnerability does not impact the confidentiality or integrity of the system, as it solely affects availability by causing resource exhaustion. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 2.7, indicating a low severity level, with the attack vector being network-based, requiring low attack complexity, and needing high privileges but no user interaction. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability's root cause is a programming logic error where the loop condition cannot be exited under certain circumstances, leading to an infinite or excessively long loop when the function modules are called improperly. This issue is particularly relevant for environments where privileged users or processes have the ability to execute RFC calls, as they could inadvertently or maliciously trigger this condition, resulting in denial of service through resource exhaustion.

For European organizations utilizing SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse, this vulnerability primarily threatens system availability. High CPU load induced by the vulnerability can degrade performance, slow down business-critical data processing, and potentially cause service interruptions. This can affect reporting, analytics, and decision-making processes dependent on SAP BW. Although the impact on confidentiality and integrity is null, availability issues can lead to operational disruptions, financial losses, and reputational damage, especially in sectors with stringent uptime requirements such as finance, manufacturing, and public services. Given that SAP BW is widely used across Europe in large enterprises and government agencies, the vulnerability could affect a broad range of organizations. However, exploitation requires privileged access, which limits the threat to insider threats or compromised privileged accounts. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the potential for future attacks. Organizations with automated or scripted RFC calls should be cautious, as these might inadvertently trigger the high CPU load condition.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should implement the following specific measures: 1) Restrict and monitor privileged access to SAP BW systems, ensuring that only authorized personnel can execute RFC calls. 2) Audit and review all RFC-enabled function modules to identify and control those that can be invoked without input parameters, applying stricter input validation where possible. 3) Implement resource usage monitoring and alerting on SAP BW servers to detect abnormal CPU spikes early, enabling rapid response to potential exploitation attempts. 4) Apply SAP security notes and patches promptly once available, as SAP is expected to release updates addressing this issue. 5) Use SAP's security configuration guides to harden the environment, including disabling unnecessary RFC modules and enforcing least privilege principles. 6) Conduct regular security training for administrators to recognize and prevent misuse of privileged functions. 7) Consider implementing runtime application self-protection (RASP) or similar technologies to detect and block anomalous function calls. These steps go beyond generic advice by focusing on controlling privileged access, input validation, and proactive monitoring tailored to the nature of this vulnerability.