CVE-2023-5549Network attack vector

Unauthorized category moves via unchecked parent context

Published Nov 9, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Improper privilege management in Moodle LMS allows remote authenticated users to move course categories across permission boundaries. The core_course_external::update_categories method checked moodle/category:manage only in the category's current context and accepted a new parent without validating the destination context. Exploitation requires an account that can manage the source category; it enables unauthorized restructuring under a parent the account cannot manage.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.56%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper privilege management in Moodle LMS allows remote authenticated users to move course categories across permission boundaries. The core_course_external::update_categories method checked moodle/category:manage only in the category's current context and accepted a new parent without validating the destination context. Exploitation requires an account that can manage the source category; it enables unauthorized restructuring under a parent the account cannot manage.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-5549
Published
Nov 9, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
Moodle
Product
Moodle LMS
Classifications
CWE-269, CWE-284, T1565.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 9, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 2, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=0 <3.9.24
  2. Affected versionversion=3.11.0 <3.11.17
  3. Affected versionversion=4.0.0 <4.0.11
  4. Affected versionversion=4.1.0 <4.1.6
  5. Affected versionversion=4.2.0 <4.2.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Moodle · Moodle LMSversion=0 <3.9.24; version=3.11.0 <3.11.17; version=4.0.0 <4.0.11; version=4.1.0 <4.1.6; version=4.2.0 <4.2.3

Published CVSS scores

5.3NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
3.3Fedora ProjectCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
CWE-284Improper Access Control
T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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