MoodleCMS
CVE-2016-2152
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 · uneditedMultiple cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in auth/db/auth.php in Moodle through 2.6.11, 2.7.x before 2.7.13, 2.8.x before 2.8.11, 2.9.x before 2.9.5, and 3.0.x before 3.0.3 allow remote attackers to inject arbitrary web script or HTML via an external DB profile field.
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 confidenceMoodle contains multiple stored XSS vulnerabilities in the external database authentication module (auth/db/auth.php). User-supplied data from external DB profile fields is not properly sanitized before being rendered in web pages, allowing remote attackers to inject malicious JavaScript or HTML.
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
<= 2.6.11= 2.7.0= 2.7.1= 2.7.2= 2.7.3= 2.7.4= 2.7.5= 2.7.6= 2.7.7= 2.7.8= 2.7.9= 2.7.10CVSS 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
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/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.
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Check Moodle versionAccess the admin page or check version.php in the Moodle root directory. The version is typically displayed on the site administration page or can be found in version.php file.Affected if The installed version is <= 2.6.11 OR equals any of 2.7.0 through 2.7.10
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Verify external DB auth module is presentCheck if the auth/db directory exists in the Moodle installation under auth/db/. This directory contains the external database authentication code.Affected if The auth/db/ directory exists in the Moodle installation
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Confirm external DB authentication is enabledCheck the Moodle configuration database table mdl_config or the config.php file for the auth plugin setting. Look for auth plugins configuration where 'db' or 'auth/db' is listed as an enabled authentication method.Affected if External database authentication (auth/db) is enabled in the authentication settings
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Verify external DB auth is actively configuredCheck the Moodle admin interface under Plugins > Authentication > Manage authentication, or inspect the mdl_external_services tables, to see if an external database connection is actually configured and in use.Affected if External database authentication is configured and active with external profile fields mapped
A user is affected if running a vulnerable Moodle version (2.7.0-2.7.10 or <=2.6.11) AND has the external database authentication module (auth/db) enabled with external profile fields configured for import.
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 2.6.11+, 2.7.13+, 2.8.11+, 2.9.5+, or 3.0.3+ as appropriate, or apply the vendor patch to sanitize external DB profile field input before output.
Fix this in Moodle
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-2152 — 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-2016-2152 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
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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