CVE-2022-41475 is a high-severity vulnerability identified in RPCMS version 3.0.2, characterized as a Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) flaw. CSRF vulnerabilities allow attackers to trick authenticated users into submitting unauthorized requests to a web application in which they are currently authenticated. In this specific case, the vulnerability enables an attacker to arbitrarily add an administrator account to the RPCMS system without requiring prior authentication or elevated privileges. The CVSS v3.1 score of 8.8 reflects the critical nature of this vulnerability, with an attack vector that is network-based (AV:N), requiring no privileges (PR:N), but requiring user interaction (UI:R). The impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability is rated high, as the attacker can gain administrative control, potentially leading to full system compromise, data exfiltration, or disruption of services. Although the affected product and vendor are not explicitly named beyond RPCMS v3.0.2, the vulnerability is classified under CWE-352, which corresponds to improper protection against CSRF attacks. No public exploits are currently known in the wild, and no patches or mitigations have been linked in the provided data, indicating that affected organizations may still be vulnerable if they have not implemented custom mitigations or updates. The lack of detailed product information limits the ability to precisely identify the ecosystem impacted, but the nature of the vulnerability suggests it targets web-based content management or administrative systems.

For European organizations, the impact of CVE-2022-41475 could be significant, particularly for those using RPCMS or similar web-based content management systems. An attacker exploiting this vulnerability could add unauthorized administrator accounts, leading to full system compromise. This could result in unauthorized access to sensitive data, disruption of business operations, defacement of websites, or use of compromised systems as a foothold for further attacks within the network. Given the high CVSS score and the ability to exploit the vulnerability remotely without authentication, organizations face a substantial risk of data breaches and operational disruptions. The impact is exacerbated in sectors with strict regulatory requirements such as GDPR, where unauthorized access and data breaches can lead to heavy fines and reputational damage. Additionally, the requirement for user interaction means that social engineering or phishing campaigns could be used to facilitate exploitation, increasing the attack surface. European organizations with public-facing web management portals or administrative interfaces are particularly at risk.

To mitigate CVE-2022-41475, organizations should first identify if they are using RPCMS version 3.0.2 or similar vulnerable systems. Since no official patches are linked, immediate mitigation steps include implementing anti-CSRF tokens in all forms and state-changing requests to ensure that requests originate from legitimate users. Web application firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to detect and block suspicious CSRF attack patterns. Organizations should enforce strict session management, including short session timeouts and re-authentication for sensitive operations such as user management. User education to recognize phishing attempts that could trigger CSRF attacks is critical. Network segmentation and least privilege principles should be applied to limit the impact of any compromised accounts. Monitoring and logging administrative account creation events can help detect exploitation attempts early. If possible, upgrading to a newer, patched version of RPCMS or migrating to alternative CMS platforms with robust security controls is recommended. Finally, organizations should conduct regular security assessments and penetration testing focusing on CSRF and related web vulnerabilities.