CVE-2022-38985 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in the facial recognition module of Huawei's HarmonyOS version 2.0. The root cause of this vulnerability is improper input validation, classified under CWE-20, which refers to insufficient validation of input data. Specifically, the facial recognition component fails to adequately verify the inputs it receives, potentially allowing an attacker to craft malicious input that could be processed incorrectly by the system. Successful exploitation of this flaw could lead to a breach of data confidentiality, meaning that sensitive biometric data or other protected information handled by the facial recognition module could be exposed or leaked. The vulnerability has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5, indicating a high level of severity. The CVSS vector (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N) shows that the attack can be performed remotely over the network without any privileges or user interaction, and the impact is limited to confidentiality with no effect on integrity or availability. There are no known exploits in the wild at the time of publication, and no official patches have been linked yet. Given the nature of the vulnerability, it primarily threatens the confidentiality of biometric data, which is highly sensitive and critical for user authentication and privacy. The lack of required authentication and user interaction makes this vulnerability more accessible to attackers, increasing the risk of exploitation if a suitable attack vector is discovered.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-38985 could be significant, especially for those using Huawei devices running HarmonyOS 2.0 that incorporate facial recognition for authentication or access control. Exposure of biometric data could lead to privacy violations and regulatory non-compliance, particularly under the GDPR framework, which imposes strict rules on the protection of personal and biometric data. Organizations in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government that rely on biometric authentication may face increased risks of identity theft, unauthorized access, and reputational damage. Additionally, the compromise of facial recognition data could undermine trust in security systems and lead to costly incident response and remediation efforts. Although no known exploits are currently active, the ease of remote exploitation without user interaction means that threat actors could develop attacks targeting vulnerable devices, potentially leading to large-scale data breaches. The confidentiality impact is critical because biometric data, once compromised, cannot be changed like passwords, making the consequences long-lasting.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should prioritize the following actions: 1) Monitor Huawei's official security advisories and promptly apply any patches or updates released for HarmonyOS 2.0, especially those addressing the facial recognition module. 2) Where possible, disable facial recognition features on affected devices until a patch is available, or restrict their use to trusted environments. 3) Implement network-level protections such as firewalls and intrusion detection/prevention systems to limit exposure of vulnerable devices to untrusted networks. 4) Conduct thorough security assessments and penetration testing focused on biometric authentication components to identify potential exploitation paths. 5) Enforce strict access controls and logging around devices using facial recognition to detect suspicious activity early. 6) Educate users and administrators about the risks associated with biometric data exposure and best practices for device security. 7) Consider deploying multi-factor authentication mechanisms that do not solely rely on facial recognition to reduce risk. These targeted measures go beyond generic advice by focusing on the specific nature of the vulnerability and the affected technology.