CVE-2012-1159 in Moodle
Summary
by MITRE
Moodle before 2.2.2: Overview report allows users to see hidden courses
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 11/15/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-1159 affects Moodle versions prior to 2.2.2 and represents a significant access control flaw that undermines the security model of the learning management system. This issue resides within the overview report functionality, which is designed to provide users with a consolidated view of their course activities and progress. The flaw allows authenticated users to bypass normal access restrictions and view courses that have been explicitly marked as hidden or restricted within the Moodle platform's course management system.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from insufficient input validation and access control checks within the overview report module. When users navigate to the overview report feature, the system fails to properly verify whether the requesting user has legitimate permissions to access specific course content. This oversight enables malicious or unauthorized users to exploit the system by manipulating the report parameters or by directly accessing course data that should remain hidden from their view. The vulnerability specifically impacts the course visibility management system where administrators can designate courses as hidden to prevent unauthorized access while maintaining course data integrity for legitimate users.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple information disclosure, as it creates potential pathways for privilege escalation and unauthorized access to sensitive educational content. Attackers could leverage this flaw to access confidential course materials, student information, or administrative data that should remain restricted to authorized personnel only. This represents a direct violation of the principle of least privilege and could compromise the privacy and security of educational institutions using vulnerable Moodle deployments. The vulnerability affects both instructors and students who might inadvertently gain access to restricted course content, potentially leading to academic integrity issues or data breaches.
Organizations utilizing Moodle versions prior to 2.2.2 should prioritize immediate remediation through official security patches released by Moodle developers. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which describes improper access control issues in software systems, and represents a clear violation of access control mechanisms that should be enforced at multiple layers within the application architecture. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and could be exploited as part of broader attack chains targeting educational environments. Additional mitigations include implementing network-level restrictions, monitoring access logs for suspicious activity patterns, and conducting regular security assessments of learning management systems to identify similar access control weaknesses that might exist in other components of the platform.