CVE-2025-42970 is a vulnerability identified in SAP SE's SAPCAR utility, specifically affecting versions 7.53 and 7.22EXT. SAPCAR is a tool used for compressing and extracting SAP archive files. The vulnerability arises due to improper sanitization of file paths during the extraction process. An attacker can craft a malicious SAPCAR archive containing directory traversal sequences (e.g., ../) that, when extracted by a user with high privileges, causes files to be written outside the intended extraction directory. This can lead to overwriting critical files in arbitrary locations on the victim's system. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-22, which pertains to improper limitation of a pathname to a restricted directory. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.8 (medium severity), with the vector indicating local attack vector (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), requiring high privileges (PR:H), and user interaction (UI:R). The impact primarily affects the integrity and availability of the system, as attackers can overwrite files, potentially disrupting application functionality or system stability. Confidentiality is not impacted by this vulnerability. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, and no patches have been linked yet. The vulnerability was published on July 8, 2025, with the reservation date in April 2025. The exploitation requires a privileged user to extract the malicious archive, which limits the attack surface but still poses a significant risk in environments where SAPCAR is used by administrators or automated processes with elevated rights.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the integrity and availability of SAP systems that rely on SAPCAR for archive extraction. Given SAP's widespread use in enterprise resource planning (ERP) across Europe, especially in sectors like manufacturing, finance, and public administration, exploitation could lead to disruption of critical business processes. Overwriting arbitrary files could result in corrupted SAP application files or system binaries, causing downtime or data loss. Although confidentiality is not directly impacted, the operational impact could be severe, potentially affecting compliance with regulations such as GDPR if system availability is compromised. The requirement for high privileges and user interaction somewhat limits the risk to insider threats or targeted attacks where attackers have already gained some level of access. However, automated deployment or extraction scripts running with elevated privileges could be exploited if malicious archives are introduced via supply chain or insider vectors. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests that immediate widespread attacks are unlikely, but the medium severity score indicates that organizations should prioritize mitigation to prevent potential future exploitation.

European organizations should implement several specific measures to mitigate this vulnerability effectively: 1) Restrict SAPCAR usage to trusted personnel and processes only, ensuring that only authorized administrators can extract SAPCAR archives. 2) Implement strict validation and scanning of SAPCAR archive files before extraction, using file integrity monitoring and malware scanning tools to detect malicious payloads. 3) Use sandboxed or isolated environments for extracting SAPCAR archives, preventing potential overwrites of critical system files. 4) Monitor and audit SAPCAR usage logs to detect unusual extraction activities or attempts to extract archives from untrusted sources. 5) Apply principle of least privilege by running SAPCAR extraction processes with the minimal required permissions, avoiding use of root or SYSTEM-level privileges where possible. 6) Stay alert for SAP's official patches or updates addressing this vulnerability and plan prompt deployment once available. 7) Educate administrators and users about the risks of extracting untrusted SAPCAR archives, emphasizing the need for caution and verification. 8) Consider implementing file system protections such as mandatory access control (e.g., SELinux, AppArmor) to limit the ability of SAPCAR to write outside designated directories. These targeted mitigations go beyond generic advice by focusing on operational controls and environment hardening specific to SAPCAR usage scenarios.