CVE-2022-35156 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability identified in Bus Pass Management System version 1.0. The vulnerability exists in the 'searchdata' parameter of the '/buspassms/download-pass.php' endpoint. SQL Injection (CWE-89) allows an attacker to manipulate backend SQL queries by injecting malicious input, potentially leading to unauthorized data access, data modification, or complete compromise of the underlying database. This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, indicating critical severity with network attack vector, no required privileges, no user interaction, and impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Exploitation does not require authentication, making it highly accessible to remote attackers. Although no known exploits are reported in the wild, the vulnerability's nature and critical score suggest it could be leveraged to exfiltrate sensitive data such as personal information of bus pass holders, modify or delete records, or disrupt service availability. The lack of vendor or product details beyond the application name limits precise attribution, but the vulnerability affects a public-facing web application component responsible for managing bus pass downloads, which is likely used by transportation authorities or service providers.

For European organizations, especially public transportation authorities or private companies managing bus pass systems, this vulnerability poses significant risks. Exploitation could lead to unauthorized disclosure of personal data, violating GDPR requirements and resulting in regulatory penalties and reputational damage. Data integrity compromise could disrupt service operations, causing denial of service or incorrect issuance of passes, impacting citizens relying on public transport. Availability impacts could degrade user experience or halt critical services. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication and is remotely exploitable, attackers could target these systems to conduct espionage, fraud, or sabotage. The critical severity and potential for full database compromise make this a high-risk threat for organizations managing transportation credentials or related personal data in Europe.

Immediate mitigation should include implementing parameterized queries or prepared statements to sanitize the 'searchdata' input and prevent SQL Injection. If source code modification is not immediately feasible, deploying a Web Application Firewall (WAF) with rules to detect and block SQL Injection patterns targeting the vulnerable endpoint can provide temporary protection. Conduct thorough input validation and output encoding on all user-supplied data. Organizations should audit their database access controls to limit privileges of the application user to only necessary operations, minimizing potential damage. Regularly monitor logs for suspicious query patterns or anomalous access attempts. Since no official patch or vendor information is available, organizations should consider isolating or restricting access to the affected application until a secure version or patch is released. Additionally, perform a comprehensive security assessment of related systems to identify and remediate similar injection flaws.