What is CVE-2016-3976?

CVE-2016-3976 is a high-severity vulnerability in SAP Netweaver Application Server Java, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2016-04-07.

How severe is CVE-2016-3976?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.

Is CVE-2016-3976 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2016-3976 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Path Traversal in SAP Netweaver Application Server Java

CVE-2016-3976

Directory traversal vulnerability in SAP NetWeaver AS Java 7.1 through 7.5 allows remote attackers to read arbitrary files via a ..\ (dot dot backslash) in the fileName parameter to CrashFileDownloadServlet, aka SAP Security Note 2234971.

Vulnerability class: Path Traversal (Directory Traversal)

Published 2016-04-07 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.473 (98.8th percentile), scored 2026-10-18.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 99th percentile — 98.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.473 · newest: 0.473 · change: 0.000

Affected products

SAP Netweaver Application Server Java

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-22 — Path Traversal

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2021-11-03. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-05-03.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

erpscan.io/press-center/blog/sap-security-notes-march-2016-review/ (Third Party Advisory)
seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2016/Jun/40 (mailing-list, Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory)
packetstormsecurity.com/files/137528/SAP-NetWeaver-AS-JAVA-7.5-Directory-Traver… (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)
erpscan.io/advisories/erpscan-16-012/ (Third Party Advisory)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39996/ (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, exploit)
launchpad.support.sap.com/ (Permissions Required)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-3976?: CVE-2016-3976 is a high-severity vulnerability in SAP Netweaver Application Server Java, classified under Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2016-04-07.
How severe is CVE-2016-3976?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.
Is CVE-2016-3976 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2016-3976 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03), indicating it is being actively exploited. 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.