CVE-2022-42200 is a medium-severity vulnerability identified in the Simple Exam Reviewer Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability is a Stored Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) flaw, classified under CWE-79, which allows an attacker to inject malicious scripts into the Exam List component of the application. Stored XSS occurs when malicious input is permanently stored on the target server (e.g., in a database) and then served to users without proper sanitization or encoding. When other users access the affected Exam List page, the malicious script executes in their browsers within the context of the vulnerable web application. This can lead to session hijacking, credential theft, unauthorized actions on behalf of the user, or distribution of malware. The CVSS 3.1 base score is 5.4 (medium), with the vector indicating that the attack can be performed remotely over the network (AV:N) with low attack complexity (AC:L), but requires privileges (PR:L) and user interaction (UI:R). The scope is changed (S:C), meaning the vulnerability affects resources beyond the initially vulnerable component. The impact on confidentiality and integrity is low (C:L, I:L), and availability is not affected (A:N). No patches or known exploits in the wild have been reported as of the published date. The lack of vendor or product details limits the ability to assess the full environment, but the vulnerability specifically targets the Exam List feature of this management system.

For European organizations using the Simple Exam Reviewer Management System v1.0, this vulnerability poses a risk primarily to the confidentiality and integrity of user data and session information. Educational institutions or training providers relying on this system could have their users' sessions hijacked or credentials stolen if malicious actors exploit the stored XSS flaw. This could lead to unauthorized access to exam materials, manipulation of exam data, or broader compromise of user accounts. Although availability is not impacted, the reputational damage and potential regulatory consequences under GDPR for failing to protect personal data could be significant. The requirement for user interaction and privileges reduces the likelihood of widespread exploitation but does not eliminate targeted attacks. Since the vulnerability affects a niche application, the impact is concentrated on organizations using this specific system rather than the broader European IT landscape.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should implement strict input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data displayed in the Exam List. Specifically, employing context-aware encoding (e.g., HTML entity encoding) before rendering data in the browser prevents script execution. If possible, update or patch the Simple Exam Reviewer Management System to a version that addresses this vulnerability; if no official patch exists, consider applying custom fixes or using web application firewalls (WAFs) to detect and block malicious payloads targeting the Exam List. Additionally, restrict privileges to only trusted users to reduce the risk of malicious input submission. Conduct regular security assessments and penetration tests focusing on XSS vulnerabilities. Educate users about the risks of interacting with suspicious content and ensure browsers are updated with XSS protection features enabled. Finally, monitor logs for unusual activity related to the Exam List feature to detect potential exploitation attempts early.