CVE-2022-23403 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in Intel(R) Data Center Manager (DCM) software versions prior to 4.1. The vulnerability arises from improper input validation, classified under CWE-20, which allows an authenticated user with local access to potentially trigger a denial of service (DoS) condition. Specifically, the flaw does not impact confidentiality or integrity but affects availability by enabling disruption of the DCM software's normal operation. Intel DCM is a management tool used for monitoring and managing data center infrastructure, including power, thermal, and asset management. The vulnerability requires local access and low privileges (authenticated user), with no user interaction needed beyond authentication. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity with the vector AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H, indicating local attack vector, low attack complexity, low privileges required, no user interaction, unchanged scope, no confidentiality or integrity impact, but high impact on availability. There are no known exploits in the wild, and no patches are explicitly linked in the provided data, though upgrading to version 4.1 or later is implied to remediate the issue. The vulnerability could be exploited by malicious insiders or attackers who have gained local authenticated access to the system running Intel DCM, potentially causing service interruptions and impacting data center management operations.

For European organizations, especially those operating large-scale data centers or cloud infrastructure, this vulnerability could lead to significant operational disruptions. Intel DCM is used to monitor and manage critical data center resources; a denial of service could impair the ability to monitor power usage, thermal conditions, or hardware health, potentially leading to cascading failures or inefficient resource utilization. This could affect sectors such as finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and government agencies that rely heavily on data center uptime and performance. Although the vulnerability requires local authenticated access, insider threats or attackers who have compromised user credentials could exploit this to disrupt services. The impact on availability could translate into downtime, increased operational costs, and potential regulatory compliance issues under frameworks like GDPR if service disruptions affect personal data processing.

European organizations should prioritize upgrading Intel Data Center Manager software to version 4.1 or later, where this vulnerability is addressed. In the absence of immediate patching, organizations should enforce strict access controls to limit local authenticated access to trusted personnel only. Implementing robust user authentication mechanisms, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), can reduce the risk of credential compromise. Monitoring and logging local access to systems running Intel DCM can help detect suspicious activity indicative of exploitation attempts. Network segmentation and the principle of least privilege should be applied to restrict access to management consoles. Additionally, organizations should conduct regular vulnerability assessments and penetration testing focused on local privilege escalation and DoS vectors. Incident response plans should include scenarios for DoS attacks on management software to ensure rapid recovery.