CVE-2018-10889 in Moodle
Summary
by MITRE
A flaw was found in moodle before versions 3.5.1, 3.4.4, 3.3.7. No option existed to omit logs from data privacy exports, which may contain details of other users who interacted with the requester.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/06/2023
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-10889 represents a significant data privacy flaw within the Moodle learning management system that affected versions prior to 3.5.1, 3.4.4, and 3.3.7. This issue stems from the absence of a mechanism to exclude user interaction logs from data privacy exports, creating potential exposure of sensitive information that could compromise user privacy and data protection standards. The flaw directly impacts the system's ability to properly handle data subject requests and maintain compliance with privacy regulations.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability lies in the data privacy export functionality where Moodle fails to provide administrators or users with the option to filter out logs containing information about other users who have interacted with the requester's account. When a user requests their personal data export, the system includes not only their own information but also logs of interactions with other users, potentially exposing personal data of third parties without their consent. This design flaw creates an unintended data leakage scenario where privacy boundaries are not properly maintained during data export operations.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability poses substantial risks to organizations using Moodle for educational or corporate training purposes. The exposure of user interaction logs can reveal sensitive information about peer relationships, communication patterns, and potentially confidential interactions between users. This creates compliance challenges for institutions that must adhere to data protection regulations such as gdpr, which require strict control over personal data processing and the ability to limit data exposure to only what is necessary for specific purposes. The vulnerability essentially allows for the inadvertent disclosure of personal data of individuals who have not consented to having their information included in privacy exports.
The impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple data exposure, as it undermines the trust users place in the system's privacy controls and can lead to regulatory penalties for organizations that fail to properly protect personal data. Security professionals should note that this issue aligns with CWE-200 (Information Exposure) and represents a failure in access control and data minimization principles. Organizations implementing privacy controls should consider this vulnerability when conducting security assessments and should ensure their Moodle installations are updated to versions that properly address this data privacy concern.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability include immediate deployment of the patched versions of Moodle that provide options to exclude user interaction logs from privacy exports. Administrators should also implement additional monitoring and access controls to limit who can initiate data export requests and review the content of these exports before distribution. The remediation process should include comprehensive testing to ensure that the privacy export functionality properly filters out unwanted data while maintaining the integrity of legitimate user data requests. Organizations should also conduct regular privacy impact assessments and review their data handling procedures to prevent similar issues from occurring in other system components.