CVE-2022-44727 is a critical SQL Injection vulnerability affecting the EU Cookie Law GDPR (Banner + Blocker) module for PrestaShop versions prior to 2.1.3. This module is designed to help e-commerce websites comply with EU cookie regulations by displaying banners and blocking cookies until user consent is obtained. The vulnerability arises because the module improperly sanitizes or validates cookie values, specifically the 'lgcookieslaw' or '__lglaw' cookies, allowing an attacker to inject malicious SQL code directly into backend database queries. Exploitation requires no authentication or user interaction and can be performed remotely over the network. The CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.1 reflects the high impact and ease of exploitation. Successful exploitation can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive data (confidentiality impact), modification or corruption of data (integrity impact), but does not directly affect availability. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command). Although no known public exploits have been reported, the critical severity and the nature of the vulnerability make it a significant threat to PrestaShop e-commerce sites using the affected module versions. Since PrestaShop is a widely used open-source e-commerce platform, this vulnerability could be leveraged to compromise customer data, including personal and payment information, potentially leading to financial fraud and reputational damage.

For European organizations, particularly those operating e-commerce platforms using PrestaShop with the vulnerable EU Cookie Law GDPR module, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Exploitation can result in unauthorized access to customer databases, exposing personally identifiable information (PII) and payment details, which would violate GDPR requirements and lead to substantial regulatory fines and legal consequences. The integrity of transactional data could be compromised, affecting order processing and inventory management, potentially causing financial losses and operational disruption. Additionally, the breach of customer trust could damage brand reputation and customer retention. Given the GDPR context, organizations are under heightened scrutiny to protect user data, making this vulnerability especially critical. The lack of required authentication and user interaction means attackers can automate exploitation at scale, increasing the risk of widespread attacks against vulnerable European e-commerce sites.

To mitigate this vulnerability, European organizations should immediately upgrade the EU Cookie Law GDPR (Banner + Blocker) module to version 2.1.3 or later, where the SQL Injection flaw has been addressed. If upgrading is not immediately feasible, organizations should implement web application firewall (WAF) rules to detect and block malicious payloads targeting the 'lgcookieslaw' and '__lglaw' cookies. Input validation and sanitization should be enforced at the application level to ensure cookie values cannot be used to inject SQL commands. Regular security audits and code reviews of third-party modules should be conducted to identify similar injection flaws. Organizations should also monitor logs for suspicious database queries or unusual cookie values indicative of exploitation attempts. Finally, maintaining up-to-date backups and having an incident response plan tailored to data breaches involving e-commerce platforms will help minimize damage if exploitation occurs.