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MaharaApplication

CVE-2023-47799

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2025-08-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 22.10.4 / 23.04.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
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 before 22.10.4 and 23.x before 23.04.4 allows information disclosure if the experimental HTML bulk export is used via the administration interface or via the CLI, and the resulting export files are given to the account holders. They may contain images of other account holders because the cache is not cleared after the files of one account are exported.

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 before 22.10.4 and 23.x before 23.04.4 contains an information disclosure vulnerability in the experimental HTML bulk export feature. When exporting files for multiple account holders via admin interface or CLI, the cache is not cleared after each account's files are exported, causing subsequent export files to contain images belonging to other account holders.

MitigationUpgrade Mahara to version 22.10.4 or 23.04.4 or later. If unable to upgrade immediately, avoid using the experimental HTML bulk export feature until the patch can be applied.

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:< 22.10.4>= 23.04.0, < 23.04.4

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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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. Identify installed Mahara version
    Access the admin interface and navigate to Site Administration > Configuration > General settings, or check the version.php file in the Mahara root directory for the $cfg->version or $config['version'] value
    Affected if The installed version is less than 22.10.4, or greater than or equal to 23.04.0 but less than 23.04.4
  2. Determine if HTML bulk export feature is in use
    Check if the experimental HTML bulk export has been executed. Look for exported HTML files in the export directory or examine recent admin activity logs for bulk export operations
    Affected if The HTML bulk export feature has been used to export files for multiple account holders through the admin interface or CLI
  3. Verify cache behavior during export
    After performing an HTML bulk export for one account holder, examine the cache directory used during export. Then perform another export for a different account holder and compare the cache contents
    Affected if The cache directory retains files from previous account exports, indicating the cache is not being cleared between exports
  4. Inspect exported files for cross-account content
    Compare exported image files from different account holders' export packages. Check if images from one account appear in another account's export
    Affected if Export files for one account contain images or content that belongs to a different account holder

You are affected if your Mahara installation is version 22.10.4 or higher (or 23.04.4 or higher for the 23.x branch) AND you have used the experimental HTML bulk export feature to export files for multiple users.

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 22.10.4 / 23.04.4 or later
Fixed in 22.10.423.04.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Mahara to version 22.10.4 or 23.04.4 or later. If unable to upgrade immediately, avoid using the experimental HTML bulk export feature until the patch can be applied.

Recommended fix High confidence

Mahara 22.10.4 (for 22.x branch) or Mahara 23.04.4 (for 23.x branch)

  1. 1. Back up your Mahara database and all files (including the data directory) before upgrading
  2. 2. Download the appropriate fixed release for your version branch from mahara.org: either Mahara 22.10.4 (for 22.x versions) or Mahara 23.04.4 (for 23.x versions)
  3. 3. Extract the new Mahara archive and replace the existing application files with the new version
  4. 4. If using a packaged version (e.g., Debian, Ubuntu), use your package manager to install the update
  5. 5. Run the database upgrade script via the administration interface or CLI (e.g., php admin/upgrade.php)
  6. 6. Clear all caches including the HTML export cache to ensure no cached images remain
  7. 7. Test the HTML bulk export functionality to verify the fix works correctly
  8. 8. Verify that exported files no longer contain images from other account holders
Caveat Check release notes for your specific version branch for any breaking changes between your current version and the fixed release

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

Fix this in Mahara Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,280
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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-2023-47799 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