CVE-2022-40293 is a critical security vulnerability classified as CWE-384 (Session Fixation) affecting PHP Point of Sale, a widely used web-based point of sale application developed by PHP Point of Sale LLC. Session fixation vulnerabilities occur when an attacker can fixate or set a user's session identifier (session ID) before the user logs in, allowing the attacker to hijack the authenticated session once the user logs in. In this case, the vulnerability allows an attacker to set or manipulate the session ID in such a way that, after the victim authenticates, the attacker can use the same session ID to gain unauthorized access to the victim's account. The CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8 (critical) reflects the high impact and ease of exploitation: the attack can be performed remotely over the network without any privileges or user interaction, and it compromises confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system. The vulnerability affects all versions of PHP Point of Sale (indicated by affectedVersions: "0" which likely means all versions prior to patching). No public exploits are known in the wild yet, but the severity and nature of the flaw make it a significant risk. The vulnerability could lead to full account takeover, unauthorized transactions, and potential data breaches involving sensitive customer and business information. Since PHP Point of Sale is a critical business application managing sales and inventory, exploitation could disrupt business operations and cause financial losses.

For European organizations using PHP Point of Sale, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Successful exploitation could lead to unauthorized access to sales data, customer information, and financial records, potentially violating GDPR requirements for data protection and privacy. Retailers and businesses relying on PHP Point of Sale could suffer operational disruptions, financial fraud, and reputational damage. The ability to hijack sessions without user interaction or privileges means attackers can automate attacks remotely, increasing the risk of widespread compromise. Additionally, compromised accounts could be used to manipulate sales data or inventory, impacting supply chain and business continuity. Given the critical nature of retail and point-of-sale systems in Europe’s economy, this vulnerability could have cascading effects on business trust and regulatory compliance.

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should immediately apply any available patches or updates from PHP Point of Sale LLC once released. In the absence of official patches, administrators should implement strict session management best practices: regenerate session IDs upon login to prevent fixation, enforce secure cookie attributes (HttpOnly, Secure, SameSite), and implement session expiration and invalidation on logout. Network-level protections such as Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) can be configured to detect and block suspicious session fixation attempts. Monitoring and logging of session-related activities should be enhanced to detect anomalies. Organizations should also conduct security audits and penetration testing focused on session management. User education on secure login practices and multi-factor authentication (MFA) deployment can add layers of defense, although MFA does not directly prevent session fixation, it can reduce the impact of compromised credentials.