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MoodleCMS

CVE-2024-43434

HIGH · 8.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.1.12 / 4.2.9 or later.
See remediation →
88/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges

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
The bulk message sending feature in Moodle's Feedback module's non-respondents report had an incorrect CSRF token check, leading to a CSRF vulnerability.

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

A CSRF vulnerability exists in Moodle's Feedback module's non-respondents report where the bulk message sending feature has an incorrect CSRF token check, allowing attackers to craft malicious requests that trick authenticated users into sending unintended bulk messages to other users.

MitigationImplement proper CSRF token validation on the bulk message sending action in the Feedback module's non-respondents report, and add referrer/Origin header validation as additional protection.

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:< 4.1.12>= 4.2.0, < 4.2.9>= 4.3.0, < 4.3.6>= 4.4.0, < 4.4.2

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
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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. Determine Moodle installed version
    Navigate to Site Administration > Server > Environment or check the version.php file in the Moodle root directory (look for $release or $version variables)
    Affected if The installed version falls within < 4.1.12, >= 4.2.0 and < 4.2.9, >= 4.3.0 and < 4.3.6, or >= 4.4.0 and < 4.4.2
  2. Verify Feedback module is installed
    Navigate to Site Administration > Plugins > Plugins overview and search for 'Feedback' in the activity modules section, or check for mod/feedback directory in the Moodle installation
    Affected if Feedback module is present and enabled
  3. Check access to non-respondents report
    Navigate to a course with Feedback activity, open the Feedback, then go to the non-respondents report (Analysis > Non-respondents). Verify the bulk message sending feature is accessible.
    Affected if User can access non-respondents report with bulk messaging capability
  4. Inspect CSRF token handling in bulk message action
    Use browser developer tools to inspect the form submission when sending bulk messages from the non-respondents report. Check if the form includes a valid CSRF token (sesskey) and whether the server properly validates it.
    Affected if The bulk message form lacks proper CSRF token validation or uses an ineffective token check

Environment is affected if running a vulnerable Moodle version (per the ranges above) AND the Feedback module with its non-respondents report bulk messaging feature is accessible to 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 4.1.12 / 4.2.9 / 4.3.6 or later
Fixed in 4.1.124.2.94.3.6
Interim mitigation

Implement proper CSRF token validation on the bulk message sending action in the Feedback module's non-respondents report, and add referrer/Origin header validation as additional protection.

Recommended fix High confidence

Moodle 4.1.12, 4.2.9, 4.3.6, or 4.4.2 (depending on your current branch)

  1. 1. Identify the currently installed Moodle version by checking the version.php file in the Moodle root directory or via the Site Administration > Server > Environment page.
  2. 2. Determine which upgrade path applies based on your current version branch (4.1.x, 4.2.x, 4.3.x, or 4.4.x).
  3. 3. Backup the Moodle database and the entire Moodle directory (including moodledata if external).
  4. 4. Download the appropriate fixed version from moodle.org: 4.1.12, 4.2.9, 4.3.6, or 4.4.2.
  5. 5. Place the site in maintenance mode via Site Administration > Server > Maintenance Mode.
  6. 6. Replace the Moodle source files with the new version, preserving config.php and any custom code in local/ or theme/ directories.
  7. 7. Run the upgrade process by accessing the site URL, which will trigger database schema updates.
  8. 8. Complete post-upgrade tasks: clear caches (Site Administration > Development > Purge caches), verify plugins are up to date, and test the Feedback module's non-respondents report.
Caveat Standard Moodle upgrades may require plugin compatibility checks; review plugin developer notes before upgrading major versions

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 / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2024-43434 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