The Reality of SAP Patching: Endless Updates, Limited Resources.
If you’ve worked with SAP for a while, you know keeping SAP systems secure isn’t an easy task. SAP systems and infrastructure are deep and wide, and vulnerabilities lurk in all kinds of places. Some known, but many unknown.
So, most SAP teams focus on the most visible to maintain a sense of security. One of the most common of these is patching. It is highly visible, critical, and a no-brainer to keep on top of.
But it’s not all that straightforward.
Patching is a Complicated Process
1. Patch Tuesday - Awareness
SAP releases its monthly Security Notes on the second Tuesday of the month. This month saw 19 new patches land on the team’s desk; last month, it was 30.
These Notes are SAP’s way of saying, “Hey, we found something you need to fix.”
The challenge for most teams is that these keep on coming - like waves crashing onto a beach. And the trend is upwards – more Notes, more with higher CVSS.
Keeping up is becoming challenging.
Resources are limited. Many teams focus their efforts on the higher CVSS Notes and leave the rest until later.
2. Understanding the vulnerability risk – Assessment
But here’s the catch: not every Note applies to your system, and figuring out which ones do can take quite a lot of effort.
Then, having a list of high CVSS SAP Security Notes to implement is one thing, but knowing what each patch is for and what it means for your SAP system security is another.
Is it a minor nuisance or a gaping hole that a bad actor could exploit easily?
This takes time.
The Note must be reviewed and checked for relevance. Does this need to be applied to our systems? And if your landscape is complex (which most are), that’s not a five-minute job.
3. Mitigating the system risk – Analysis
This is where the heavy lifting happens.
Once the Note has been determined to be relevant, the next hurdle is figuring out how to apply it without causing unintended consequences.
Unfortunately, an SAP security patch is a little black box of change. Its potential impact is unknown.
You might solve the security issue, but suddenly a business process stopped working because some custom code wasn’t expecting the change.
This generally results in a one-size-fits-all testing regime. To ensure nothing is missed.
4. Applying the patch – Application
Applying SAP security patches often means scheduling downtime, coordinating with other teams, testing the changes, and ensuring production remains operational.
It’s a balancing act between speed (closing the vulnerability before it’s exploited) and stability (making sure you don’t cause an outage).
One of the reasons SAP teams are reluctant to apply every patch. The process consumes additional resources, often in short supply.
5. Is it fixed – Verification.
Here’s where things can get tricky.
Your team applies the patch, runs the tests, and says, “We’re good.” But are you?
Sometimes fixes don’t fully take effect; critical follow-up steps are not completed. Other times, the patch was applied in one environment but not across the whole landscape.
Without a solid verification process, you could be walking around with a false sense of security — thinking you’re safe when you’re not.
Here is how we can help
We can help in three ways:
1. Risk-based patching protocol
Firstly, we can work with you to develop a patching approach that’s risk-based and realistic, taking into account your team’s actual capacity.
Most SAP teams can’t apply every patch within 2–5 days of release. Together we’ll define what’s reasonable for you—ensuring you reduce exposure without overwhelming your resources.
The benefit: You gain a clear, achievable patching plan that balances security with workload.
2. Patch impact analysis
Secondly, we provide you with an automated tool that analyses each patch almost instantly.
It identifies which patches are relevant for your systems, the specific transactions that may be impacted, and the best users to test them.
The benefit: You avoid unnecessary work, focus only on the patches that matter, and test smarter with less disruption to business users.
3. Post-application verification and assurance
Finally, with an SAP security analytical tool from the same vendor, we help you ensure each patch is successfully applied, all remediation steps are completed, and nothing is left unchecked.
The benefit: You gain confidence and documented assurance that your systems remain secure, stable, and compliant after every patch cycle.
About Leg Up Software
Leg Up Software is an expert in SAP IT operational and infrastructure software automation solutions.
From basis to security, we know the SAP operations and infrastructure automation solutions landscape and have already done the legwork to identify the best available solutions.
We have excellent relationships with a wide range of SAP add-on third party vendors and can negotiate an evaluation process that best suits your circumstances and budget.
Why not schedule a time to start the conversation by adding it to our calendar?
