CVE-2024-3699 is a critical security vulnerability identified in the drEryk Gabinet software, developed by drEryk sp. z o.o., affecting versions from 7.0.0.0 through 9.17.0.0. The vulnerability stems from the use of a hard-coded password embedded within the software to access the patients' database. This password is identical across all installations of drEryk Gabinet, which significantly increases the risk of exploitation. An attacker who discovers or obtains this hard-coded password can gain unauthorized access to sensitive patient data stored in the database without requiring any authentication or user interaction. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-259 (Use of Hard-coded Password), which is a well-known security weakness that undermines confidentiality and integrity. The CVSS 4.0 score of 9.3 (critical) reflects the high severity, with the vector indicating local attack vector (AV:L), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H, I:H, A:H). The vulnerability does not require network access but local access to the system running the software, which could be achieved through various means such as insider threats, malware, or physical access. Exploitation allows full compromise of the patient database, potentially leading to data breaches involving sensitive health information. No known exploits are currently reported in the wild, but the presence of a universal hard-coded password makes this a high-risk issue that could be targeted by attackers once discovered. No patches are currently linked, indicating that remediation may require vendor intervention or manual mitigation steps by users.

For European organizations, particularly healthcare providers using drEryk Gabinet software, this vulnerability poses a severe risk to patient privacy and data protection compliance under regulations such as GDPR. Unauthorized access to patient databases can lead to exposure of personal health information, resulting in reputational damage, legal penalties, and loss of patient trust. The critical nature of the vulnerability means that attackers could manipulate or delete patient records, disrupting healthcare services and potentially endangering patient safety. Given the software's use in medical environments, the impact extends beyond data confidentiality to operational availability and integrity of healthcare processes. Additionally, the uniform hard-coded password means that a single compromise can lead to widespread breaches across multiple installations, amplifying the threat landscape for European healthcare entities. This vulnerability also increases the risk of insider threats or malware leveraging local access to escalate privileges and exfiltrate data.

Immediate mitigation should focus on restricting local access to systems running drEryk Gabinet to trusted personnel only, employing strict physical and logical access controls. Organizations should audit existing installations to identify the presence of the vulnerable software versions and isolate affected systems from untrusted networks. Since no official patches are currently available, administrators should consider implementing compensating controls such as encrypting the patient database at rest and monitoring access logs for suspicious activity. Where possible, replacing the hard-coded password with unique, strong credentials or disabling the vulnerable authentication mechanism through configuration changes or vendor guidance is critical. Regular backups of patient data should be maintained to ensure recovery in case of data tampering. Organizations should also engage with drEryk sp. z o.o. for updates on patches or secure software versions and apply them promptly once released. Employee training on insider threat awareness and securing endpoints against malware can further reduce exploitation risk.