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MoodleCMS

CVE-2011-4293

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-07-16
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The theme implementation in Moodle 2.0.x before 2.0.4 and 2.1.x before 2.1.1 triggers duplicate caching of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and JavaScript content, which allows remote attackers to bypass intended access restrictions and write to an operating-system temporary directory via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

The theme caching implementation in Moodle 2.0.x before 2.0.4 and 2.1.x before 2.1.1 has a flaw that causes duplicate caching of CSS and JavaScript files. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass access restrictions and write arbitrary content to the operating system's temporary directory, potentially leading to arbitrary file write or code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Moodle to version 2.0.4, 2.1.1, or later to address the theme caching vulnerability. Additionally, restrict write access to temporary directories and monitor for unauthorized file creation.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
MoodleCMS
Affected:= 2.0.0= 2.0.1= 2.0.2= 2.0.3= 2.1.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Moodle version
    Access the admin interface and navigate to Site Administration > Server > Environment, or check the version.php file in the Moodle installation directory (usually in the root moodle directory). The version is typically displayed on the main admin page or can be found in the version constant within version.php.
    Affected if The installed version is 2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2, 2.0.3, or 2.1.0 - these are the affected versions listed in the CVE.
  2. Verify theme caching is enabled
    In the Moodle admin panel, go to Site Administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme settings. Look for caching-related options such as 'Cache themes' or 'Theme designer mode'. Alternatively, check the config.php file in the Moodle root directory for $CFG->themecache = 1 or similar caching flags.
    Affected if Theme caching is enabled (this is the default state in affected versions, and the vulnerability exists specifically within the theme caching implementation).
  3. Check temp directory permissions
    Examine the permissions on the operating system's temporary directory (commonly /tmp on Linux systems, or the directory specified by $CFG->dataroot or the system temp folder). Verify write permissions for the web server user.
    Affected if The web server process has write access to the temporary directory, which is required for the vulnerability to be exploited for arbitrary file write.
  4. Inspect temp directory for unexpected theme cache files
    List contents of the temporary directory used by Moodle (check $CFG->tempdir in config.php or look in /tmp for moodle_ prefixed files). Look for unusually named CSS or JavaScript files, files with unexpected extensions, or files written at unusual times.
    Affected if There are duplicate or unexpected theme cache files present, or files that do not match expected Moodle theme cache naming conventions.
  5. Review web server access logs
    Examine web server access logs for unusual requests to theme-related endpoints, particularly repeated requests that might indicate cache manipulation attempts or patterns matching the duplicate caching behavior.
    Affected if There are patterns of repeated theme requests or evidence of cache manipulation attempts in the logs.

A user is affected if their Moodle installation version is 2.0.0 through 2.0.3 or 2.1.0, theme caching is enabled (the default state), and the web server has write access to temporary directories.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade Moodle to version 2.0.4, 2.1.1, or later to address the theme caching vulnerability. Additionally, restrict write access to temporary directories and monitor for unauthorized file creation.

Fix this in Moodle Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2011-4293 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data