CVE-2019-14828 in Moodle
Summary
by MITRE • 03/20/2021
A vulnerability was found in Moodle affecting 3.7 to 3.7.1, 3.6 to 3.6.5, 3.5 to 3.5.7 and earlier unsupported versions, where users with the capability to create courses were assigned as a teacher in those courses, regardless of whether they had the capability to be automatically assigned that role.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/08/2025
This vulnerability in Moodle represents a critical access control flaw that undermines the platform's role-based permission system. The issue affects multiple version ranges including 3.7.0 to 3.7.1, 3.6.0 to 3.6.5, 3.5.0 to 3.5.7, and older unsupported versions, indicating a widespread problem that has persisted across several major releases. The vulnerability specifically targets the course creation functionality where users who possess the capability to create courses can be automatically assigned as teachers in those newly created courses without proper authorization checks. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege that should govern all educational platform access controls.
The technical flaw stems from insufficient validation of user capabilities during the course creation process. When a user with course creation privileges creates a new course, the system automatically assigns them as a teacher role without verifying whether they should be eligible for such assignment based on their actual permissions. This misconfiguration allows unauthorized individuals to gain teaching privileges in courses they might not otherwise be entitled to access, effectively bypassing the normal role assignment mechanisms that should enforce proper access controls. The vulnerability operates at the application logic level and can be classified as a weakness in authorization mechanisms under CWE-285. The flaw essentially creates a privilege escalation path where users can assume roles beyond their intended scope without proper authentication or authorization validation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple access control violations and creates significant security risks for educational institutions relying on Moodle. Attackers or malicious users with course creation capabilities could potentially manipulate course environments to gain unauthorized access to student data, modify course content, or interfere with educational processes. This vulnerability could enable insider threats or external exploitation where unauthorized individuals leverage their legitimate course creation privileges to gain elevated access. The implications are particularly severe in environments where Moodle serves as the primary learning management system, as it could compromise the integrity of educational data and create opportunities for data breaches. The vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1078 which covers valid accounts and privilege escalation through unauthorized access to resources. Institutions using Moodle are particularly vulnerable when administrators fail to properly configure role assignments and when the default security assumptions are not rigorously enforced.
Organizations should immediately implement mitigation strategies focusing on role-based access control enforcement and privilege management. The most effective immediate solution involves updating to patched versions of Moodle where this vulnerability has been addressed through proper capability validation during course creation. Administrators should review and tighten their role assignment policies to ensure that course creation privileges are not automatically coupled with teaching privileges. Implementing additional monitoring and logging of course creation activities can help detect unauthorized access patterns. Security configurations should enforce explicit role assignment rather than automatic assignment based on capability presence. The mitigation approach should include regular security audits of role assignments and capability configurations to ensure that users cannot inadvertently gain elevated privileges through legitimate system functions. Organizations should also consider implementing network segmentation and access controls to limit the scope of potential exploitation while waiting for official patches to be deployed across their systems.