CVE-2024-3700: Estomed Simple Care Info Disclosure Flaw

CVE-2024-3700 Overview

CVE-2024-3700 is a critical hardcoded credentials vulnerability affecting Estomed Sp. z o.o. Simple Care medical software. The software contains a hard-coded password to the patients' database, allowing an attacker with local access to retrieve sensitive healthcare data stored within. The hardcoded password is identical across all Simple Care software installations, meaning any attacker who discovers the credential can potentially access patient databases on any system running the vulnerable software.

This vulnerability is particularly concerning as the software is no longer supported by the vendor, meaning no security patches will be released to address this issue. Healthcare organizations still using this software face significant data breach risks and potential regulatory compliance violations.

Critical Impact

Attackers with local access can retrieve sensitive patient medical data using a hardcoded password that is identical across all Simple Care installations. The software is end-of-life with no patches available.

Affected Products

• Estomed Simple Care (all versions)
• Simple Care patient database systems
• All installations using the default database configuration

Discovery Timeline

• 2024-06-10 - CVE-2024-3700 published to NVD
• 2025-10-03 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2024-3700

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability falls under CWE-259 (Use of Hard-coded Password) and CWE-798 (Use of Hard-coded Credentials). The Estomed Simple Care software embeds a static password within the application to authenticate to its patient database. This design flaw means the credential cannot be changed by administrators and remains constant across all deployments of the software.

The use of hardcoded credentials in medical software represents a fundamental security architecture failure. Once an attacker discovers the embedded password through reverse engineering, static analysis, or other means, they gain the ability to access patient databases on any Simple Care installation. This creates a systemic vulnerability across the entire install base rather than an isolated security issue.

Root Cause

The root cause is the insecure design practice of embedding database authentication credentials directly within the application code or configuration. The developers chose to use a static, universal password rather than implementing proper credential management that would allow unique passwords per installation or integration with secure credential storage mechanisms.

This approach likely simplified initial deployment but created a critical security weakness. Healthcare software handling protected health information (PHI) requires robust authentication mechanisms, and hardcoded credentials directly contradict security best practices and regulatory requirements for medical data protection.

Attack Vector

The attack requires local access to a system running Simple Care software. An attacker must first gain access to the local environment through physical access, compromised user credentials, or other initial access techniques. Once local access is established, the attacker can:

1. Extract the hardcoded password from the application binaries or configuration files
2. Connect directly to the patient database using the discovered credentials
3. Query and exfiltrate sensitive patient medical records
4. Potentially modify or delete database contents, affecting data integrity

The local attack vector means organizations with proper network segmentation and access controls have some protection, but insider threats and compromised endpoints remain significant risk factors.

Detection Methods for CVE-2024-3700

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected database connection attempts from unauthorized processes or users
• Database queries originating from unusual source applications or service accounts
• Bulk data extraction patterns from the patient database
• Access to patient records outside normal business hours or usage patterns
• Authentication events to the database from non-standard Simple Care processes

Detection Strategies

• Monitor database authentication logs for connections using the default Simple Care credentials from unexpected sources
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns against patient tables
• Deploy endpoint detection to identify unauthorized processes accessing Simple Care database files
• Establish baseline normal database access patterns and alert on deviations
• Review file access logs for attempts to read or copy Simple Care configuration or binary files

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive audit logging on the Simple Care database server
• Implement real-time alerting for database authentication events
• Deploy SentinelOne agents on systems hosting Simple Care to detect suspicious process behavior
• Monitor for reverse engineering tools or debuggers accessing Simple Care application files
• Track network connections from Simple Care systems to identify data exfiltration attempts

How to Mitigate CVE-2024-3700

Immediate Actions Required

• Assess your environment for any installations of Estomed Simple Care software
• Isolate systems running Simple Care from general network access using network segmentation
• Implement strict access controls limiting which users and systems can connect to Simple Care databases
• Begin planning migration to a supported, actively maintained healthcare management system
• Conduct a risk assessment regarding continued use of unsupported medical software

Patch Information

No patches are available for this vulnerability. Estomed has discontinued support for Simple Care software, and no security updates will be released. Organizations must implement compensating controls or migrate to alternative solutions to address this vulnerability.

For additional technical context, refer to the CERT.PL security advisory which provides analysis of related vulnerabilities in this software.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level access controls restricting database connectivity to authorized systems only
• Deploy database firewall solutions to monitor and control queries to the patient database
• Enable database-level audit logging and integrate with SIEM for real-time monitoring
• Consider implementing additional authentication layers at the network level before database access
• Evaluate migration to supported healthcare software with proper credential management as the only long-term solution

# Network isolation example for Simple Care database server
# Restrict database access to only authorized application servers

# Example iptables rules to limit database port access
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 3306 -s 192.168.1.100 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 3306 -s 192.168.1.101 -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 3306 -j DROP

# Enable database audit logging (MySQL example)
# Add to my.cnf configuration
# [mysqld]
# general_log = 1
# general_log_file = /var/log/mysql/query.log