Static Code Analysis for SAP ABAP Security
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current static code analysis (SCA) tools lack the capability to effectively identify, prioritize, and repair security and compliance defects in SAP ABAP software applications due to the proprietary nature of the ABAP compiler, unique programming paradigms, and integrated database access, which prevents them from hooking into the ABAP compiler, performing data flow analysis, and analyzing authorization violations.
Innovation Solution
A static code analysis tool that aggregates ABAP code and meta-information, transforms it into an execution model, and applies ABAP-specific rules to identify security and compliance violations, using asset flow analysis to determine the business impact of defects, and provides a report generator for human-readable and machine-readable outputs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing SCA tools are used to analyze ABAP code, then general security analysis capability is available, but the tools cannot effectively identify security and compliance issues in SAP ABAP applications due to proprietary compiler limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component that sits between the existing SCA tool and the ABAP codebase. This intermediary translates ABAP-specific constructs into a format that general SCA tools can analyze, enabling effective security defect detection without requiring direct integration with the proprietary ABAP compiler. The intermediary acts as a bridge that preserves both the specificity of ABAP analysis and the generality of existing SCA capabilities.
2Measurement precision
If the ABAP compiler framework is accessed to perform analysis, then precise code understanding is achieved, but the proprietary nature of the compiler prevents hooking into the compilation process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a simplified copy or model of the ABAP compilation process that captures the essential semantic information needed for security analysis. Instead of attempting to hook into the actual proprietary compiler, the invention reconstructs the necessary compilation semantics through alternative means, such as parsing ABAP source code directly or using available ABAP runtime interfaces, thereby achieving precise code understanding without requiring access to the proprietary compiler framework.
3Reliability
If data flow analysis is performed on ABAP code, then security vulnerabilities can be identified, but the unique programming paradigms of ABAP prevent standard data flow analysis techniques from being applied
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies data flow analysis selectively to specific ABAP constructs and code regions where security vulnerabilities are most likely to occur, rather than attempting to analyze the entire codebase uniformly. By identifying and focusing on critical areas such as database access points, user input handling, and authorization checks, the invention achieves effective security vulnerability detection while managing analysis complexity through targeted rather than comprehensive coverage.
4Reliability
If authorization violations are analyzed in ABAP code, then compliance issues can be detected, but ABAP lacks standard authentication and authorization mechanisms found in other languages
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adapts the authorization analysis approach by changing the parameters and metrics used to evaluate security in ABAP code. Instead of relying on standard authentication and authorization mechanisms from other programming languages, the invention defines ABAP-specific parameters such as authorization objects, roles, and permissions that are native to the SAP ecosystem. This allows compliance violation detection tailored to ABAP's unique authorization model while maintaining the ability to analyze authorization issues in a language-specific manner.
Data Source
AI summary
A static code analysis (SCA) tool, apparatus and method detects, prioritizes and fixes security defects and compliance violations in SAP® ABAP™ code. The code, meta information and computer system configuration settings are transformed into an interchangeable format, and parsed into an execution model. A rules engine is applied to the execution model to identify security and compliance violations. The rules engine may include information about critical database tables and critical SAP standard functions, and the step of applying the rules engine to the execution model may include the calculation of specific business risks or whether a technical defect has a business-relevant impact. In particular, an asset flow analysis may be used to determine whether critical business data is no longer protected by the computer system. Such critical business data may include credit or debit card numbers, financial data or personal data.