MoodleCMS
CVE-2012-0797
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 · uneditedThe webservices functionality in Moodle 2.0.x before 2.0.7, 2.1.x before 2.1.4, and 2.2.x before 2.2.1 allows remote authenticated users to bypass the deleted status and continue using a server via a token.
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 · high confidenceThe webservices functionality in Moodle versions 2.0.x before 2.0.7, 2.1.x before 2.1.4, and 2.2.x before 2.2.1 contains an access control flaw where authentication tokens remain valid after the associated user account is deleted or deactivated, allowing former authenticated users to continue accessing webservices.
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
>= 2.0, <= 2.0.6>= 2.1, <= 2.1.3= 2.2.0CVSS 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
- Single
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check installed Moodle versionNavigate to Site Administration > Server > Environment or check the version.php file in the Moodle root directory (look for $version or $release variables)Affected if Version is 2.0.0-2.0.6, 2.1.0-2.1.3, or 2.2.0 specifically
-
Verify webservices are enabledNavigate to Site Administration > Advanced Features and check if 'Enable web services' is ticked, or query the mdl_config table for 'enablewebservices' settingAffected if Webservices functionality is enabled in the Moodle installation
-
Identify active webservice tokens in the databaseRun SQL query: SELECT t.id, t.token, t.userid, t.created, t.lastaccess, u.username, u.deleted, u.suspended FROM mdl_external_tokens t JOIN mdl_user u ON t.userid = u.id WHERE u.deleted = 1 OR u.suspended = 1Affected if Any tokens exist where the associated user is marked as deleted=1 or suspended=1
-
Check token validity periodReview the token records from step 3 and check the 'validuntil' field - tokens without expiration or with future expiration dates remain activeAffected if Orphaned tokens (from deleted/suspended users) have no validuntil set or have validuntil in the future
You are affected if your Moodle version is 2.0.0-2.0.6, 2.1.0-2.1.3, or 2.2.0 AND webservices are enabled AND you find active tokens belonging to deleted or suspended user accounts in the database.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUpgrade Moodle to version 2.0.7, 2.1.4, 2.2.1 or later. Review active webservice tokens and invalidate any tokens associated with deleted user accounts.
Fix this in Moodle
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2012-0797 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2012-0797 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
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.
- 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