CVE-2023-5549
Moodle: insufficient capability checks when updating the parent of a course category
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
Moodle: insufficient capability checks when updating the parent of a course category
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
CVE-2023-5549- CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2023-2959
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
EUVD-2023-2959- CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-fm5h-58g2-4m3f
Moodle Improper Access Control vulnerability
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
GHSA-fm5h-58g2-4m3f- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
CVE-2023-5549- CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-284, CWE-269
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
Moodle: insufficient capability checks when updating the parent of a course category
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
CVE-2023-5549- CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-fm5h-58g2-4m3f
Moodle Improper Access Control vulnerability
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
GHSA-fm5h-58g2-4m3f- CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-269, CWE-284
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2023-5549
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2023-5549- CVSS 3.1
- 3.3 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 5.3 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-moodle-2023-5549 No score
Moodle: insufficient capability checks when updating the parent of a course category
Insufficient web service capability checks made it possible to move categories a user had permission to manage, to a parent category they did not have the capability to manage.
- Record
BIT-moodle-2023-5549- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
moodle/moodlePackagist |
before 4.3.0-rc2 | 4.3.0-rc2 |
moodleBitnami |
before 3.9.24, 3.11.0 up to 3.11.17, 4.0.0 up to 4.0.11, 4.1.0 up to 4.1.6, 4.2.0 up to 4.2.3 | 3.9.243.11.174.0.114.1.64.2.3 |
moodle/moodlePackagist |
before 4.3.0-rc2, plus listed versions v2.3.10v2.3.11v2.3.4v2.3.5v2.3.6 Show 45 moreShow lessv2.3.7v2.3.8v2.3.9v2.4.0v2.4.0-rc1v2.4.1v2.4.10v2.4.11v2.4.2v2.4.3v2.4.4v2.4.5v2.4.6v2.4.7v2.4.8v2.4.9v2.5.0v2.5.0-betav2.5.0-rc1v2.5.1v2.5.2v2.5.3v2.5.4v2.5.5v2.5.6v2.5.7v2.5.8v2.5.9v2.6.0v2.6.0-betav2.6.0-rc1v2.6.1v2.6.10v2.6.11v2.6.2v2.6.3v2.6.4v2.6.5v2.6.6v2.6.7v2.6.8v2.6.9v2.7.0v2.7.0-betav2.7.0-rc1 |
4.3.0-rc2 |
moodleUbuntu:Pro:16.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 2.7.9+dfsg-12.7.10+dfsg-12.7.11+dfsg-12.7.11+dfsg-22.7.12+dfsg-13.0.3+dfsg-0ubuntu13.0.3+dfsg-0ubuntu1+esm1 |
None known |
moodleUbuntu:Pro:18.04:LTS |
All versions, plus listed versions 3.0.3+dfsg-0ubuntu13.0.3+dfsg-0ubuntu1+esm1 |
None known |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2023-5549 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 3.3) in Moodle, published November 9, 2023. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.59%, the 48th percentile. Fixed in moodle/moodle 4.3.0-rc2.
References
git.moodle.org/gw?p=moodle.git&a=search&h=HEAD&st=commit&s=MDL-66730
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2243451
moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=451590
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-5549
github.com/moodle/moodle/commit/5a765e124c950b1e4313c9bf96ea2dd194f65c75
Left out here: 322 versions. The JSON record has them.