CVE-2023-5542 : Vulnerability Insights and Analysis

This CVE record was published on November 9, 2023, by Fedora. The vulnerability is related to students being able to view other users in "only see own membership" groups in Moodle, even though these users should be hidden. The severity of this issue is rated as Low by Red Hat.

Understanding CVE-2023-5542

This section will provide an overview of CVE-2023-5542, including details about the vulnerability, its impact, technical aspects, and mitigation strategies.

What is CVE-2023-5542?

CVE-2023-5542 refers to a vulnerability in Moodle that allows students in "Only see own membership" groups to view other students within the group, compromising the expected privacy and access control measures.

The Impact of CVE-2023-5542

The impact of this vulnerability is considered low, as it primarily involves an information disclosure issue where students can see other users' information that should have been restricted.

Technical Details of CVE-2023-5542

In this section, we will delve into the technical details of CVE-2023-5542, focusing on the vulnerability description, affected systems, and the exploitation mechanism.

Vulnerability Description

The vulnerability allows students in specific Moodle groups to view information about other users in the same groups, which should have been hidden as per the "only see own membership" setting.

Affected Systems and Versions

Affected Systems:

Moodle version 4.2.3
Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 7 with Moodle package from Fedora
Fedora systems with Moodle package from Fedora

Unaffected Systems:

Moodle version 4.2.3

Exploitation Mechanism

The exploitation of this vulnerability requires student interaction within the Moodle platform, specifically within the context of "only see own membership" groups.

Mitigation and Prevention

This section will outline the steps that organizations and users can take to mitigate the impact of CVE-2023-5542 and prevent similar vulnerabilities in the future.

Immediate Steps to Take

Organizations using Moodle should review their group settings and user permissions to ensure that sensitive information is adequately protected.
Regularly monitor user activities within Moodle to detect any unauthorized access to user data.

Long-Term Security Practices

Provide security awareness training to users regarding data privacy and confidentiality.
Implement role-based access controls (RBAC) to restrict user access to sensitive information based on their roles within the platform.

Patching and Updates

Ensure that the Moodle platform and associated packages are regularly updated to the latest versions to patch known vulnerabilities and maintain the overall security posture of the system. Regularly check for security advisories from Moodle and Fedora to stay informed about potential security risks.