CVE-2022-30944 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting Intel(R) Active Management Technology (AMT) and Intel(R) Standard Manageability. These technologies provide out-of-band management capabilities for enterprise systems, allowing administrators to remotely monitor, maintain, and repair computers even when the operating system is unresponsive. The vulnerability arises from insufficient protection of credentials within these management interfaces. Specifically, a privileged local user—someone with elevated access on the affected system—could potentially exploit this flaw to disclose sensitive information. This information disclosure could include credentials or other sensitive data stored or accessible via Intel AMT or Standard Manageability components. The vulnerability does not require user interaction but does require local privileged access, limiting the attack vector to insiders or attackers who have already gained elevated privileges on the machine. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 5.5, reflecting a medium severity, with a high impact on confidentiality but no impact on integrity or availability. The attack vector is local, and the attack complexity is low, meaning that once a privileged user has access, exploitation is straightforward. There are no known exploits in the wild as of the publication date, and no patches are explicitly linked in the provided data, though Intel typically addresses such issues in firmware or management software updates. The underlying weakness is categorized under CWE-522, which relates to insufficiently protected credentials, indicating that credentials may be stored or transmitted in a manner that allows unauthorized disclosure under certain conditions.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-30944 can be significant, particularly in environments where Intel AMT and Standard Manageability are widely deployed for remote management of enterprise endpoints. The vulnerability allows a privileged local user to extract sensitive credentials, which could then be leveraged to escalate privileges further, move laterally within the network, or access confidential data. This risk is heightened in organizations with large fleets of Intel-based devices managed via AMT, such as government agencies, financial institutions, and critical infrastructure operators. Confidentiality breaches could lead to exposure of sensitive corporate or personal data, potentially violating GDPR and other data protection regulations, resulting in legal and financial penalties. Although the vulnerability requires local privileged access, it could be exploited by malicious insiders or attackers who have already compromised a system to deepen their foothold. The lack of impact on integrity and availability means the threat is primarily data leakage rather than system disruption. However, the stolen credentials could facilitate further attacks that impact integrity or availability downstream. The absence of known exploits in the wild reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate it, especially as threat actors often develop exploits after vulnerabilities become public. Organizations relying heavily on Intel AMT for remote management should consider this vulnerability a risk to their endpoint security posture.

To mitigate CVE-2022-30944, European organizations should take several targeted steps beyond generic best practices: 1) Inventory and identify all systems using Intel AMT and Standard Manageability to understand exposure. 2) Apply all available firmware and management software updates from Intel promptly, as these often contain fixes for credential protection issues. 3) Restrict and monitor privileged local access rigorously, employing least privilege principles and strong access controls to minimize the number of users who can exploit this vulnerability. 4) Enable and enforce strong authentication mechanisms for Intel AMT interfaces, including the use of complex passwords and, where possible, multi-factor authentication to reduce credential compromise risk. 5) Monitor logs and audit trails related to Intel AMT usage for unusual or unauthorized access attempts. 6) Consider disabling Intel AMT or Standard Manageability features on devices where they are not required, reducing the attack surface. 7) Implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions capable of detecting suspicious local privilege escalations or credential access patterns. 8) Educate IT and security teams about the vulnerability to ensure rapid response to any suspicious activity. These measures collectively reduce the likelihood of exploitation and limit the potential damage if exploitation occurs.