CVE-2013-4500 in Quiz
Summary
by MITRE
The Quiz module 6.x-4.x before 6.x-4.5 for Drupal allows remote authenticated users with the "view any quiz results" or "view results for own quiz" permission to delete arbitrary results via the delete option.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 03/09/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-4500 affects the Quiz module version 6.x-4.x before 6.x-4.5 in the Drupal content management system. This security flaw represents a critical authorization bypass issue that undermines the integrity of quiz result management within Drupal environments. The vulnerability specifically targets users who possess legitimate permissions to view quiz results, creating a dangerous privilege escalation scenario where authorized individuals can manipulate quiz data beyond their intended scope.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate input validation and access control mechanisms within the Quiz module's result deletion functionality. When authenticated users with permissions such as "view any quiz results" or "view results for own quiz" attempt to delete quiz results, the system fails to properly verify whether the user has authorization to delete results that are not their own or that fall outside their scope of permitted access. This represents a classic case of insufficient authorization checks, where the module's delete function does not adequately validate the relationship between the requesting user and the target quiz results. The vulnerability allows attackers to exploit this gap by crafting malicious requests that target arbitrary quiz results, effectively bypassing the intended permission model.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data manipulation, creating significant risks for educational institutions, training organizations, and any entities relying on Drupal for quiz-based assessments. Attackers can potentially delete critical quiz results, compromise assessment integrity, and manipulate academic or professional evaluation records. This vulnerability particularly affects environments where quiz results are used for grading, certification, or performance tracking, as unauthorized deletions could lead to complete loss of assessment data or fraudulent manipulation of results. The implications become more severe in multi-user environments where different roles have varying levels of access, as the vulnerability could allow users to delete results belonging to other users or entire quiz sessions.
Organizations affected by this vulnerability should immediately implement mitigations including upgrading to the patched version 6.x-4.5 of the Quiz module, reviewing and tightening user permission assignments, and implementing additional access controls through custom code or security modules. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-284, which addresses improper access control, and represents a clear violation of the principle of least privilege. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability could be leveraged as part of a privilege escalation technique, potentially enabling adversaries to maintain persistent access to assessment data and undermine the trustworthiness of the system's evaluation processes. Security teams should also consider implementing audit logging for quiz result deletion activities and monitoring for unusual deletion patterns that might indicate exploitation attempts.