CVE-2024-3699: Dreryk Gabinet Information Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2024-3699 Overview

CVE-2024-3699 is a critical hardcoded credentials vulnerability affecting drEryk Gabinet, a medical practice management software. The application contains a hard-coded password for accessing the patients' database, allowing attackers with local access to retrieve highly sensitive medical data. This vulnerability is particularly severe because the same password is used across all drEryk Gabinet installations, meaning a single credential disclosure compromises every deployment of the affected software versions.

Critical Impact

Attackers can access sensitive patient medical records across all affected drEryk Gabinet installations using a single hard-coded password, potentially impacting healthcare organizations and patient privacy on a wide scale.

Affected Products

• drEryk Gabinet versions 7.0.0.0 through 9.17.0.0
• All installations using the default database configuration
• Healthcare organizations using drEryk Gabinet for patient management

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-06-10 - CVE-2024-3699 published to NVD
• 2025-10-03 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-3699

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-259 (Use of Hard-coded Password) and CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials). The drEryk Gabinet software embeds a static password within its codebase or configuration files that provides direct access to the underlying patient database. Because this credential is identical across all installations, any individual who discovers or extracts the password from one installation can potentially access the databases of every other drEryk Gabinet deployment.

The local attack vector requires the attacker to have some form of access to a system running drEryk Gabinet or its installation files. From there, the hard-coded credential can be extracted through reverse engineering, configuration file analysis, or memory inspection. Once obtained, the attacker gains unauthorized access to patient records, medical histories, and other protected health information stored in the database.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from a fundamental insecure design decision where developers embedded database authentication credentials directly into the application rather than implementing secure credential management. This approach violates secure coding principles by eliminating the ability for administrators to set unique, strong passwords for each installation. The use of a universal password across all deployments creates a single point of failure that, once compromised, affects the entire install base.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access to a system where drEryk Gabinet is installed. An attacker can extract the hard-coded password through several methods:

1. Analyzing the application binaries or configuration files on an accessible installation
2. Examining database connection strings in memory during runtime
3. Reviewing installation media or deployment packages
4. Obtaining credentials from compromised backup files

Once the password is extracted from any single installation, the attacker can use it to authenticate against the patient database on any other drEryk Gabinet deployment, gaining access to sensitive medical records, patient information, and potentially enabling data theft or manipulation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-3699

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected database queries or connections from unauthorized users or processes
• Anomalous access patterns to patient records outside normal business hours
• Evidence of credential extraction tools or reverse engineering utilities on systems running drEryk Gabinet
• Database authentication logs showing connections from unexpected sources or IP addresses

Detection Strategies

• Implement database activity monitoring to detect unusual query patterns against patient tables
• Deploy file integrity monitoring on drEryk Gabinet installation directories to detect tampering or unauthorized access
• Enable comprehensive logging of all database authentication attempts and access events
• Utilize endpoint detection solutions to identify reverse engineering tools or memory dumping utilities

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure alerts for bulk data extraction operations from the patient database
• Monitor for database connections originating from non-application processes
• Implement user behavior analytics to detect anomalous access to sensitive patient data
• Establish baseline access patterns and alert on deviations from normal database activity

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-3699

Immediate Actions Required

• Contact drEryk for guidance on obtaining a patched version that addresses the hard-coded credential issue
• Implement network segmentation to restrict database access to only authorized application servers
• Deploy additional access controls and firewall rules around the database infrastructure
• Conduct an audit of database access logs to identify any potential unauthorized access

Patch Information

Organizations should contact drEryk directly or consult the DrEryk Product Information page for information about updated software versions that address this vulnerability. Additional technical details can be found in the CERT Poland Advisory.

Workarounds

• Implement strict network access controls limiting database connectivity to designated application servers only
• Deploy database activity monitoring solutions to detect and alert on unauthorized access attempts
• Consider implementing an additional authentication layer or database proxy in front of the affected database
• Restrict physical and logical access to systems running drEryk Gabinet to minimize credential extraction opportunities

# Example: Restrict database network access via firewall
# Allow only the application server IP to connect to the database
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 1433 -s <application_server_ip> -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 1433 -j DROP