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MaharaApplication

CVE-2022-45134

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 21.10.6 / 22.04.4 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
Mahara 21.10 before 21.10.6, 22.04 before 22.04.4, and 22.10 before 22.10.1 deserializes user input unsafely during skin import. A particularly structured XML file could cause code execution when being processed.

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 confidence

Mahara versions 21.10 before 21.10.6, 22.04 before 22.04.4, and 22.10 before 22.10.1 contain an insecure deserialization vulnerability in the skin import feature. The application deserializes user-supplied XML input without proper validation, allowing a specially crafted XML file to trigger arbitrary code execution on the server.

MitigationUpgrade Mahara to version 21.10.6, 22.04.4, or 22.10.1 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable the skin import functionality as a temporary workaround.

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:>= 21.10.0, < 21.10.6>= 22.04.0, < 22.04.4>= 22.10.0, < 22.10.1

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
High

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

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 from admin interface
    Log in as administrator, navigate to Administration -> Configuration -> General, and locate the version number displayed on the page.
    Affected if The installed version falls within any of these ranges: 21.10.0 to 21.10.5, 22.04.0 to 22.04.3, or 22.10.0.
  2. Check Mahara version from files
    Examine the lib/version.php file in the Mahara installation directory for the $config->version or $config->release variable that indicates the installed version.
    Affected if The version number found corresponds to any of the affected versions listed above.
  3. Verify skin import feature availability
    Navigate to Administration -> Appearance -> Skins (or similar skin management section) and determine whether an import option exists and is accessible to administrators.
    Affected if The skin import functionality is present and enabled in the Mahara installation.
  4. Confirm XML skin file upload capability
    In the skin management section, attempt to locate and access any XML-based skin import or upload feature that processes user-supplied XML files.
    Affected if The feature allows uploading or importing XML files without visible restrictions or validation mechanisms.

A system is affected if it runs Mahara version 21.10.0 through 21.10.5, 22.04.0 through 22.04.3, or 22.10.0 AND the skin import feature that accepts XML files is enabled and accessible.

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 21.10.6 / 22.04.4 / 22.10.1 or later
Fixed in 21.10.622.04.422.10.1
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Mahara to version 21.10.6, 22.04.4, or 22.10.1 or later. If immediate patching is not feasible, disable the skin import functionality as a temporary workaround.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to Mahara 21.10.6, 22.04.4, or 22.10.1 (whichever is the next patch release for your branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Mahara version by checking the version.php file in the htdocs directory
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on your current version (21.10.x -> 21.10.6, 22.04.x -> 22.04.4, or 22.10.x -> 22.10.1)
  3. 3. Back up the entire Mahara installation directory and database before proceeding
  4. 4. Download the appropriate fixed version from the official Mahara repository (launchpad.net)
  5. 5. Extract the new version files, replacing the old installation files
  6. 6. Run the upgrade script (if required) or simply ensure the new files are in place
  7. 7. Verify the version number has updated correctly
  8. 8. Test the skin import functionality to confirm the vulnerability is patched

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

Fix this in Mahara 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
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,800.

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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-2022-45134 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