CVE-2012-6105 in Moodle
Summary
by MITRE
blog/rsslib.php in Moodle 2.1.x before 2.1.10, 2.2.x before 2.2.7, 2.3.x before 2.3.4, and 2.4.x before 2.4.1 continues to provide a blog RSS feed after blogging is disabled, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by reading this feed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2012-6105 affects Moodle learning management systems across multiple version ranges, specifically impacting versions 2.1.x before 2.1.10, 2.2.x before 2.2.7, 2.3.x before 2.3.4, and 2.4.x before 2.4.1. This security flaw resides within the blog/rsslib.php component of the platform, creating a persistent information disclosure issue that undermines the system's access control mechanisms. The vulnerability represents a classic case of inadequate privilege enforcement where the application fails to properly verify user permissions before serving content, allowing unauthorized access to blog feeds even when the blogging functionality has been explicitly disabled by administrators.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the application's failure to validate whether blogging features remain enabled before generating and serving RSS feeds. When administrators disable blogging functionality through the system configuration, the underlying code continues to process and deliver blog content through the RSS feed endpoint, effectively bypassing the intended access controls. This flaw demonstrates poor input validation and access control implementation, as the system does not properly check the blogging status flag before executing the feed generation process. The vulnerability can be classified under CWE-639 as it involves improper authorization in web applications where the system fails to verify that the requesting user has proper permissions to access the requested resource.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses significant risks to educational institutions using Moodle platforms, as it allows remote attackers to harvest sensitive information from blog posts that should be restricted to authorized users only. The RSS feed mechanism becomes a vector for information leakage containing potentially confidential data such as student contributions, personal reflections, or administrative communications that were intended to remain private within the blogging context. Attackers can exploit this vulnerability without requiring authentication credentials, making it particularly dangerous as it can be leveraged by anyone with knowledge of the target system's URL structure. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure, as the leaked content may include personal identifiable information, academic work, or other sensitive materials that could be used for social engineering attacks or academic misconduct.
The attack pattern associated with this vulnerability aligns with techniques described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework under the information gathering phase, where adversaries systematically collect data from exposed services. The exploitation process requires minimal technical expertise and can be automated, making it attractive to threat actors seeking to harvest sensitive information from educational platforms. Organizations using affected Moodle versions face potential compliance violations under data protection regulations such as GDPR or FERPA, as the unauthorized disclosure of blog content could constitute a breach of student privacy. The vulnerability also creates opportunities for targeted attacks where harvested information could be used to craft more convincing phishing campaigns or identify potential targets for further exploitation within the educational institution's network infrastructure.
The recommended mitigations for this vulnerability include immediate patching to the affected Moodle versions, ensuring that all instances are updated to the latest stable releases that contain the necessary security fixes. Administrators should also implement additional monitoring of RSS feed access patterns to detect anomalous usage that might indicate exploitation attempts. The platform should be configured to properly enforce access controls through comprehensive testing of all content delivery mechanisms, particularly those that serve aggregated or public-facing data. Organizations should conduct regular security assessments of their learning management systems to identify similar authorization bypass vulnerabilities, implementing principle of least privilege configurations and maintaining up-to-date security patches across all deployed software components. Additionally, network segmentation and access controls should be implemented to limit exposure of sensitive data feeds and reduce the attack surface available to potential adversaries.