CVE-2013-4522 — moodle/moodle
Fix: moodle/moodle@d0041fbCVE-2013-4522 is a Information Exposure 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 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
EPSS Exploitation Probability
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
moodle/moodle🐘moodle/moodle🐘moodle/moodleReal-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
lib/filelib.php in Moodle through 2.2.11, 2.3.x before 2.3.10, 2.4.x before 2.4.7, and 2.5.x before 2.5.3 does not send "Cache-Control: private" HTTP headers, which allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information by requesting a file that had been previously retrieved by a caching proxy server.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | all versions | 2.3.10composer require moodle/moodle:^2.3.10 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 2.4.0-beta&&< 2.4.7 | 2.4.7composer require moodle/moodle:^2.4.7 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 2.5.0-beta&&< 2.5.3 | 2.5.3composer require moodle/moodle:^2.5.3 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
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 2.3.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2013-4522 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-2013-4522 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2013-4522. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2013-4522 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2013-4522 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.