CVE-2019-3852: Moodle/moodle Moodle Context Freezing Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-v2rh-5v88-rgvh
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CVSS 4.3
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2019-3852 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.3) moodle context freezing vulnerability (General Security Weakness) affecting Moodle/moodle libraries in the Packagist ecosystem. The issue involves moodle context freezing. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.6.3.

CVE-2019-3852 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2019-3852
GHSA Identifier GHSA-v2rh-5v88-rgvh
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.3
CWE Classification General Security Weakness
Affected Product Moodle/moodle
Package Ecosystem Packagist
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2019-3852

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Moodle/moodle dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

moodle/moodle fixed: 3.6.3 
Upgrade moodle/moodle to 3.6.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for moodle/moodle

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2019-3852, inspect your project dependencies for Moodle/moodle:

inspect dependencies for moodle/moodle

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Moodle/moodle in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.6.3), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under General Security Weakness. In Moodle/moodle, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

A vulnerability was found in moodle before version 3.6.3. The get_with_capability_join and get_users_by_capability functions were not taking context freezing into account when checking user capabilities

CVE-2019-3852 Affected Moodle/moodle Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.6.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
moodle/moodle
 Packagist
≥ 3.6
< 3.6.3
3.6.3

References

NVD — CVE-2019-3852 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3852
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/moodle/moodle/commit/5ee3cbc624c1c4d39adc08c2121a1738d6b5e700
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/moodle/moodle/commit/90c2e5e707c27cd1ef0b992cc5e55e76dcd17204
bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi WEB
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-3852
Moodle/moodle Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/moodle/moodle
moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.p... WEB
https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=384015#p1547748
web.archive.org/web/20210624085935/... WEB
https://web.archive.org/web/20210624085935/http://git.moodle.org/gw?p=moodle.git&a=search&h=HEAD&st=commit&s=MDL-64410

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2019-3852?
CVE-2019-3852 is a security vulnerability in Moodle/moodle involving Moodle context freezing under General Security Weakness.
Which Moodle/moodle versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.6.3 across affected packages: moodle/moodle.
What version fixes CVE-2019-3852?
Upgrading to 3.6.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is moodle/moodle affected?
Yes, moodle/moodle is affected in releases prior to 3.6.3. Upgrade your dependency to 3.6.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2019-3852?
CVE-2019-3852 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2019-3852?
CVE-2019-3852 is classified under General Security Weakness.
How can I check Packagist dependencies for CVE-2019-3852?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for moodle/moodle'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-v2rh-5v88-rgvh",
  "modified" : "2025-05-23T20:00:10Z",
  "published" : "2022-05-13T01:22:28Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2019-3852" ],
  "summary" : "Moodle context freezing",
  "details" : "A vulnerability was found in moodle before version 3.6.3. The get_with_capability_join and get_users_by_capability functions were not taking context freezing into account when checking user capabilities",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Packagist",
      "name" : "moodle/moodle"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.6"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.6.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3852"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/moodle/moodle/commit/5ee3cbc624c1c4d39adc08c2121a1738d6b5e700"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/moodle/moodle/commit/90c2e5e707c27cd1ef0b992cc5e55e76dcd17204"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2019-3852"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/moodle/moodle"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=384015#p1547748"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://web.archive.org/web/20210624085935/http://git.moodle.org/gw?p=moodle.git&a=search&h=HEAD&st=commit&s=MDL-64410"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2024-01-26T19:28:27Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2019-03-26T18:29:00Z"
  }
}