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MoodleCMS

CVE-2019-14880

CRITICAL · 9.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-03-31
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.5.9 / 3.6.7 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
A vulnerability was found in Moodle versions 3.7 before 3.7.3, 3.6 before 3.6.7, 3.5 before 3.5.9 and earlier. OAuth 2 providers who do not verify users' email address changes require additional verification during sign-up to reduce the risk of account compromise.

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

Moodle's OAuth 2 authentication implementation fails to properly verify email addresses when using external OAuth 2 providers that do not themselves validate email address changes. This allows an attacker to register with an email address that may have belonged to another user, potentially leading to account compromise or takeover.

MitigationConfigure Moodle to require additional email verification steps during OAuth 2 sign-up, or ensure only OAuth 2 providers that verify email addresses are enabled, to prevent attackers from hijacking existing accounts via email address takeover.

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:>= 3.5, < 3.5.9>= 3.6, < 3.6.7>= 3.7, < 3.7.3

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 checks

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

  1. Verify installed Moodle version
    Access the site administration page or check the version.php file in the Moodle installation directory (usually in /lib/version.php). Look for the $release or $version variable.
    Affected if The version is >= 3.5 but < 3.5.9, OR >= 3.6 but < 3.6.7, OR >= 3.7 but < 3.7.3
  2. Confirm OAuth 2 authentication is enabled
    Navigate to Site Administration > Plugins > Authentication > Manage Authentication. Check if OAuth 2 (or OAuth2) is listed and enabled among the authentication methods.
    Affected if OAuth 2 authentication is listed as enabled or active
  3. Identify configured OAuth 2 providers
    Navigate to Site Administration > Plugins > Authentication > OAuth 2 services. Review the list of configured OAuth 2 service providers (such as Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, or custom providers).
    Affected if Any OAuth 2 provider is configured and enabled
  4. Check email verification setting for OAuth2
    Navigate to Site Administration > Plugins > Authentication > OAuth 2. Look for settings related to 'Prevent account takeover' or 'Email verification' for OAuth2 users. Check if the option to require email verification is disabled or not configured.
    Affected if Email verification is not required for OAuth2 sign-ups, allowing users to register with unverified email addresses

You are affected if your Moodle version falls within the vulnerable ranges AND OAuth 2 authentication is enabled with at least one provider that does not enforce email address verification.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.5.9 / 3.6.7 / 3.7.3 or later
Fixed in 3.5.93.6.73.7.3
Interim mitigation

Configure Moodle to require additional email verification steps during OAuth 2 sign-up, or ensure only OAuth 2 providers that verify email addresses are enabled, to prevent attackers from hijacking existing accounts via email address takeover.

Recommended fix High confidence

Moodle 3.5.9, 3.6.7, 3.7.3, or latest stable (3.9+ recommended)

  1. Back up your Moodle database and all Moodle files
  2. Download the fixed version (3.5.9, 3.6.7, 3.7.3, or the latest stable release) from moodle.org
  3. Extract the new Moodle files and replace the existing core files on your server
  4. Run the Moodle upgrade script by accessing your Moodle site URL in a browser
  5. Clear all Moodle caches via Site Administration > Development > Purge caches
  6. Verify that OAuth2 authentication is working correctly with email verification enabled
Caveat Minor patch upgrades within the same branch typically have no breaking changes; if upgrading across major branches (e.g., 3.5 to 3.7), review the release notes for breaking changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Moodle Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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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-2019-14880 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