CVE-2020-14321Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Teacher-to-manager escalation via unchecked role assignment

Published Aug 16, 2022 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Incorrect authorization in Moodle LMS before 3.9.1, 3.8.4, 3.7.7, and 3.5.13 allows remote authenticated users to gain manager privileges. The enrol/manual/ajax.php endpoint accepted a caller-supplied role ID without checking moodle/role:assign or confirming that the role was assignable in the course context. A teacher account and manual-enrollment access expose manager-level course controls; a public exploit chains those privileges to code execution.

CVSS severity8.8
High
EPSS probability16.24%
Next 30 days · Sep 17, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Incorrect authorization in Moodle LMS before 3.9.1, 3.8.4, 3.7.7, and 3.5.13 allows remote authenticated users to gain manager privileges. The enrol/manual/ajax.php endpoint accepted a caller-supplied role ID without checking moodle/role:assign or confirming that the role was assignable in the course context. A teacher account and manual-enrollment access expose manager-level course controls; a public exploit chains those privileges to code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-14321
Published
Aug 16, 2022
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Moodle
Product
Moodle LMS
Classifications
CWE-863, T1098
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 16, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=Moodle 3.9, 3.8 to 3.8.3, 3.7 to 3.7.6, 3.5 to 3.5.12 and earlier unsupported versions

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Moodle · Moodle LMSversion=Moodle 3.9, 3.8 to 3.8.3, 3.7 to 3.7.6, 3.5 to 3.5.12 and earlier unsupported versions

Published CVSS scores

8.8GitHub Advisory DatabaseCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 11, 2026Sep 17, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 17, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-863Incorrect Authorization
T1098Account Manipulation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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