CVE-2012-0798 in Moodle
Summary
by MITRE
The self-enrolment functionality in Moodle 2.1.x before 2.1.4 and 2.2.x before 2.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to obtain the manager role by leveraging the teacher role.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/18/2019
The vulnerability described in CVE-2012-0798 represents a critical access control flaw within the Moodle learning management system that affects versions prior to specific patch releases. This issue resides in the self-enrolment functionality which is designed to allow users to enroll themselves in courses without administrator intervention. The flaw enables authenticated users with a teacher role to escalate their privileges and obtain the manager role, which represents a significant security escalation vector within the system's permission model.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper privilege validation within the self-enrolment process. When users with teacher roles attempt to self-enroll in courses, the system fails to properly verify whether the user has the necessary authorization to grant elevated permissions. This weakness allows malicious actors who already possess teacher credentials to exploit the system's trust model and escalate their access rights. The vulnerability specifically targets the role assignment mechanism that should prevent unauthorized privilege escalation between different user roles within Moodle's access control framework.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is substantial as it allows attackers to gain administrative control over courses and potentially the entire Moodle instance. With manager privileges, an attacker can modify course content, manage user accounts, create new courses, and access sensitive data that should be restricted to authorized administrators only. This privilege escalation capability undermines the fundamental security model of Moodle's role-based access control system and can lead to complete system compromise. The vulnerability affects both Moodle 2.1.x versions before 2.1.4 and 2.2.x versions before 2.2.1, representing a wide range of affected installations that would require immediate patching.
This vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and relates to ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation. Organizations running affected Moodle versions face significant risk of unauthorized access to educational content, potential data breaches, and compromise of student information. The attack vector requires only authentication as the attacker already possesses legitimate teacher credentials, making this vulnerability particularly dangerous as it operates within the bounds of legitimate system usage patterns.
The recommended mitigation strategy involves immediate deployment of the security patches released by Moodle for versions 2.1.4 and 2.2.1, which address the privilege escalation flaw in the self-enrolment functionality. System administrators should also implement additional monitoring of role assignment activities and review access controls regularly. Organizations should consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of Moodle systems to unauthorized users. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper role-based access control validation and the need for thorough security testing of privilege escalation pathways within educational platforms.