How severe is CVE-2008-5153?

No CVSS score has been assigned to CVE-2008-5153 yet. Review the advisory details and affected package list to assess your exposure.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2008-5153?

CVE-2008-5153 affects the following packages: moodle/moodle (Packagist), moodle/moodle (Packagist), moodle/moodle (Packagist), moodle/moodle (Packagist). Ecosystems affected: Packagist.

How do I fix CVE-2008-5153?

Update moodle/moodle to 1.9.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2008-5153 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2008-5153 in my Packagist dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for moodle/moodle, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.

How do I mitigate CVE-2008-5153 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2008-5153?

O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2008-5153 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Is CVE-2008-5153 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 1 known exploit references for CVE-2008-5153, including 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2008-5153?

CVE-2008-5153 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.4%, placing it in the 33th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

When was CVE-2008-5153 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2008-5153 was published on May 17, 2022 and was last updated on February 9, 2024. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐘 Packagist

Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2008-5153 — moodle/moodle

CVE-2008-5153 is a security vulnerability in moodle/moodle. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for moodle/moodle — see the affected versions and patch details below.

Moodle vulnerable to symlink attack

Published

May 17, 2022

Updated

Feb 9, 2024

Affected

4 pkgs

Patched

4 / 4

Exploits

1 known

Exploitation data as of Sep 21, 2026 · OSV.dev, FIRST.org (EPSS)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.4%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs33th percentile — riskier than 33% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Real-World Exposure

4 pkgs affected

🐘moodle/moodle🐘moodle/moodle🐘moodle/moodle🐘moodle/moodle

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

spell-check-logic.cgi in Moodle 1.9 before 1.9.4, 1.8 before 1.8.8, 1.7 before 1.7.7 and 1.6 before 1.6.9 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the (1) /tmp/spell-check-debug.log, (2) /tmp/spell-check-before, or (3) /tmp/spell-check-after temporary file.

Affected Packages

4 total 4 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐘Packagist	`moodle/moodle`	≥ 1.9.0&&< 1.9.4	1.9.4`composer require moodle/moodle:^1.9.4`
🐘Packagist	`moodle/moodle`	≥ 1.8.0&&< 1.8.8	1.8.8`composer require moodle/moodle:^1.8.8`
🐘Packagist	`moodle/moodle`	≥ 1.7.0&&< 1.7.7	1.7.7`composer require moodle/moodle:^1.7.7`
🐘Packagist	`moodle/moodle`	≥ 1.6.0&&< 1.6.9	1.6.9`composer require moodle/moodle:^1.6.9`

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

spell-check-logic.cgi in Moodle 1.8.2 allows local users to overwrite ar…

uvw.ruNVDAug 2017

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for moodle/moodle, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update moodle/moodle to 1.9.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2008-5153 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2008-5153 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.

Tailored to CVE-2008-5153. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Fixing This On Your OS

If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.

Ubuntu

USN-791-1Ubuntu

Frequently Asked Questions

`spell-check-logic.cgi` in Moodle 1.9 before 1.9.4, 1.8 before 1.8.8, 1.7 before 1.7.7 and 1.6 before 1.6.9 allows local users to overwrite arbitrary files via a symlink attack on the (1) `/tmp/spell-check-debug.log`, (2) `/tmp/spell-check-before`, or (3) `/tmp/spell-check-after` temporary file.

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2008-5153 in your dependencies?

O3 Security finds CVE-2008-5153 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works