CVE-2022-37772 is a vulnerability identified in Maarch RM version 2.8.3, a document and records management solution. The core issue stems from improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts, specifically due to overly verbose responses from the application during login failures. This verbose feedback allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to perform effective brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks against user accounts. Because the application does not adequately limit the number of authentication attempts or obfuscate failure messages, attackers can infer valid usernames or passwords by analyzing the response differences. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-307, which relates to improper restriction of excessive authentication attempts. The CVSS v3.1 base score is 7.5 (high severity), with the vector indicating network attack vector (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), unchanged scope (S:U), high confidentiality impact (C:H), and no impact on integrity or availability (I:N/A:N). No patches or known exploits in the wild have been reported as of the publication date (November 23, 2022). The vulnerability enables attackers to compromise accounts remotely without authentication or user interaction, primarily threatening confidentiality by exposing user credentials or access.

For European organizations using Maarch RM 2.8.3, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the confidentiality of sensitive documents and records managed within the system. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to confidential information, including personal data, financial records, or intellectual property, potentially violating GDPR and other data protection regulations. The lack of integrity and availability impact means the system's data and operations remain intact, but unauthorized disclosure could cause reputational damage, regulatory fines, and loss of trust. Given Maarch RM's use in public administrations, healthcare, and legal sectors in Europe, attackers could target these sectors to gain access to sensitive citizen or client data. The vulnerability's ease of exploitation (no authentication or user interaction required) increases the likelihood of automated attacks, especially if exposed to the internet without additional protections. Organizations relying on Maarch RM must consider the risk of account compromise leading to lateral movement or privilege escalation within their environments.

1. Implement immediate rate limiting and account lockout policies on authentication endpoints to restrict excessive login attempts. 2. Modify application responses to provide generic error messages that do not reveal whether a username or password is incorrect, reducing information leakage. 3. Deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all user accounts to mitigate the impact of compromised credentials. 4. Monitor authentication logs for unusual patterns indicative of brute-force or credential-stuffing attacks and establish alerting mechanisms. 5. Restrict access to Maarch RM interfaces to trusted networks or VPNs where feasible, minimizing exposure to external attackers. 6. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on authentication mechanisms. 7. Engage with Maarch RM maintainers or community to obtain patches or updates addressing this vulnerability as they become available. 8. Educate users on strong password policies and the risks of credential reuse. These measures, combined, reduce the attack surface and limit the potential for account compromise.