CVE-2011-4296 in Moodle
Summary
by MITRE
lib/db/access.php in Moodle 2.0.x before 2.0.4 and 2.1.x before 2.1.1 assigns incorrect capabilities to the course-creator role, which allows remote authenticated users to modify course filters by leveraging this role.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/06/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2011-4296 resides within the Moodle learning management system's database access component, specifically in the lib/db/access.php file. This issue affects Moodle versions 2.0.x prior to 2.0.4 and 2.1.x prior to 2.1.1, representing a critical authorization flaw that undermines the system's role-based access control mechanisms. The vulnerability stems from improper capability assignment to the course-creator role, which is a fundamental security component in Moodle's permission architecture designed to grant users specific rights within the educational platform.
The technical flaw manifests when the course-creator role receives incorrect capability assignments that allow authenticated users to manipulate course filters beyond their intended scope. This misconfiguration creates a privilege escalation vector where users with the course-creator role can leverage their existing permissions to modify course filter settings, potentially gaining unauthorized access to course content or altering system configurations that should be restricted to administrators or higher-privileged users. The vulnerability operates at the access control layer, specifically targeting the capability management system that governs user permissions within Moodle's role hierarchy.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to educational institutions relying on Moodle for their learning management needs. Remote authenticated users who possess the course-creator role can exploit this flaw to modify course filters, which may result in unauthorized access to sensitive course materials, data manipulation, or disruption of educational content delivery. The impact extends beyond individual course modifications to potentially compromise entire course structures and user data integrity, particularly in environments where course creators have elevated privileges but should not possess administrative control over course filtering mechanisms.
The vulnerability aligns with CWE-264, which addresses permissions, privileges, and access control issues, and demonstrates characteristics consistent with ATT&CK technique T1078 for valid accounts and T1484 for domain policy modification. Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including updating to affected Moodle versions 2.0.4 or 2.1.1, reviewing and validating role assignments, and conducting comprehensive access control audits. Additionally, security teams should monitor for unauthorized access attempts and implement network segmentation to limit exposure. The remediation process requires careful verification of capability assignments and role definitions to ensure that course-creator privileges remain appropriately scoped while maintaining the intended functionality of the course creation process. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be implemented to identify similar access control misconfigurations that may exist within the broader Moodle ecosystem or related applications.