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MaharaApplication

CVE-2022-24111

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-02-10
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 21.04.3 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
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
In Mahara 21.04 before 21.04.3 and 21.10 before 21.10.1, portfolios created in groups that have not been shared with non-group members and portfolios created on the site and institution levels can be viewed without requiring a login if the URL to these portfolios is known.

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

Mahara before 21.04.3 and 21.10.1 contains a broken access control vulnerability where portfolios created in private groups or at site/institution levels can be accessed by unauthenticated users who know the direct URL. This is an IDOR-style authorization bypass where the application fails to verify user authentication before serving portfolio content.

MitigationApply the vendor patch by updating Mahara to version 21.04.3 or 21.10.1 or later, then verify that portfolio access controls correctly require authentication for all private portfolios.

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
MaharaApplication
Affected:>= 21.04.0, < 21.04.3= 21.10.0

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/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. Determine Mahara version
    Log into the Mahara admin dashboard and navigate to Administration > Configuration > Site options, or check the version file in the Mahara installation directory if you have CLI access. Compare the version number to the affected ranges: >= 21.04.0, < 21.04.3 or = 21.10.0
    Affected if The installed version falls within 21.04.0 through 21.04.2, or is exactly 21.10.0
  2. Identify private portfolios
    In the Mahara UI, browse to the Pages and collections section. Look for portfolios created in private groups (group visibility set to private/members-only) or portfolios at site or institution level with restricted access settings
    Affected if There are portfolios in private groups or with site/institution-level restricted access
  3. Test unauthenticated URL access
    Copy the direct URL of a private portfolio (from a browser while logged in), then open an incognito/private browser window and attempt to navigate to that URL without logging in
    Affected if The private portfolio loads and displays content without requiring authentication (the page should redirect to login or return an error, but if content is served, the system is vulnerable)
  4. Verify authentication enforcement
    After confirming a portfolio URL is accessible unauthenticated, attempt the same with different private portfolios from different private groups or institution levels to confirm the pattern
    Affected if Any private portfolio is accessible without authentication using its direct URL, indicating broken access control

You are affected if your Mahara version is 21.04.0-21.04.2 or 21.10.0 AND you have portfolios in private groups or at site/institution level that can be accessed by unauthenticated users who know the direct URL.

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 21.04.3 or later
Fixed in 21.04.3
Interim mitigation

Apply the vendor patch by updating Mahara to version 21.04.3 or 21.10.1 or later, then verify that portfolio access controls correctly require authentication for all private portfolios.

Recommended fix High confidence

Mahara 21.04.3+ or 21.10.1+ (depending on your branch)

  1. Identify the current Mahara version by checking the admin panel or VERSION file in the installation directory
  2. Backup the Mahara database and all files including the htdocs directory
  3. For Mahara 21.04.x: upgrade to version 21.04.3 or later
  4. For Mahara 21.10.0: upgrade to version 21.10.1 or later
  5. Run the upgrade script via the web interface or command line (php admin/upgrade.php)
  6. Verify that portfolios at site and institution levels, as well as unshared group portfolios, now require authentication
  7. Clear all caches after upgrade
Caveat Standard Mahara upgrade - review release notes for deprecations

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

Fix this in Mahara Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,720
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,752.

Scan for this in your stack

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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-2022-24111 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