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GHSA-j3x5-cwfj-pfcw CVE-2011-4287

Moodle does not force password changes for autosubscribed users

Medium Packagist
Severity
0.0 / 10
Medium · CVSS 4.0
Exploit chance (EPSS)
2.07%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 81.39% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited
No
Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness
CWE-263 Password Aging with Long Expiration
Fix
2.0.2
Upgrade moodle/moodle to this version or later

Description

admin/uploaduser_form.php in Moodle 2.0.x before 2.0.3 does not force password changes for autosubscribed users, which makes it easier for remote attackers to obtain access by leveraging knowledge of the initial password of a new user.

Affected versions

Packagist

PackageVulnerableFixed in
moodle/moodle
>= 2.0.0, < 2.0.2
2.0.2

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

moodle/moodle Packagist → 2.0.2

composer
composer require moodle/moodle:^2.0.2

Severity breakdown

CVSS 4.0 0.0

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
High
Attack requirements
Present
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
High
Integrity (vulnerable system)
High
Availability (vulnerable system)
None
Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
None
Integrity (subsequent systems)
None
Availability (subsequent systems)
None
Exploit maturity
Unreported

Weakness

CWE-263: Password Aging with Long Expiration

The product supports password aging, but the expiration period is too long.

How to prevent it
  • Implementation: Previously, "password expiration" was widely advocated as a defense-in-depth approach to minimize the risk of weak passwords, and it has become a common practice. Password expiration requires a password to be changed within a fixed time window (such as every 90 days). However, this approach has significant limitations in the current threat landscape, and its utility has been reduced in light of the adoption of related protection mechanisms (such as password complexity and computational effort), along with the recognition that regular password changes often caused users to generate more predictable passwords. As a result, this is now a Discouraged Common Practice [REF-1488] [REF-1489], especially as the sole factor in protecting passwords. It is still strongly encouraged to force password changes in case of evidence of compromise, but this is not the same as a forced "expiration" on an arbitrary time frame.
  • Architecture and Design: Ensure that password aging is limited so that there is a defined maximum age for passwords. Note that if the expiration window is too short, it can cause users to generate poor or predictable passwords.
  • Architecture and Design: Ensure that the user is notified several times leading up to the password expiration.
  • Architecture and Design: Create mechanisms to prevent users from reusing passwords or creating similar passwords.
  • Implementation: Developers might disable clipboard paste operations into password fields as a way to discourage users from pasting a password into a clipboard. However, this might encourage users to choose less-secure passwords that are easier to type, and it can reduce the usability of password managers [REF-1294].

References

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Last updated by the source
  3. Latest EPSS score
AdvisorySeverityWhy it's related
GHSA-cg8j-5cr2-568q
Moodle TeX formula editor is vulnerable to DoS through lack of execution time limits
Medium Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966
Moodle has a Remote Code Execution risk via file restore
High Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-8jrv-wx83-w3xj
Moodle Inserts Sensitive Information Into Sent Data
Medium Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-hcm6-q6pc-xfhm
Moodle has an authorization logic flaw
Critical Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-vwhw-vp9v-q9c9
Moodle vulnerable to Cross-site Scripting
Medium Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-5cx4-w4fh-fr57
Moodle Affected by Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts
High Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-qv78-6gpp-hm68
Moodle Open Redirect vulnerability
Medium Also affects moodle/moodle
GHSA-qfh6-h7j6-fvjv
Moodle formula injection vulnerability
High Also affects moodle/moodle
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