# CVE-2022-22789: Charactell - FormStorm Enterprise Account Take Over

> Attackers can take over user accounts by modifying the cleartext username and obfuscated password file stored in the application directory.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 25 Jan 2022
- **Updated:** 3 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-7f94-wghq-3rp7

## What is CVE-2022-22789?

CVE-2022-22789 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Charactell FormStorm Enterprise, published on 25 Jan 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Charactell - FormStorm Enterprise Account takeover – An attacker can modify (add, remove and update) passwords file for all the users. The xx_users.ini file in the FormStorm folder contains usernames in cleartext and an obfuscated password. Malicious user can take over an account by replacing existing password in the file.

Weakness: CWE-312 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-22789?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Charactell Formstorm.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-22789?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-22789 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-22789 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-22789 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-22789 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-22789 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Charactell FormStorm Enterprise, published on 25 Jan 2022. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-22789 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Charactell FormStorm Enterprise. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22789/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22789/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-22789
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-22789
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-22789

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-22789/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.