CVE-2017-2641 — moodle/moodle
CRITICALCVE-2017-2641 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) SQL Injection vulnerability in moodle/moodle. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for moodle/moodle — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Moodle SQL injection via user preferences
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.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2017-2641 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 376,715 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
moodle/moodle🐘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
In Moodle 2.x and 3.x, SQL injection can occur via user preferences.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 2.7&&< 2.7.19 | 2.7.19composer require moodle/moodle:^2.7.19 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.0&&< 3.0.9 | 3.0.9composer require moodle/moodle:^3.0.9 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.1&&< 3.1.5 | 3.1.5composer require moodle/moodle:^3.1.5 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.2&&< 3.2.2 | 3.2.2composer require moodle/moodle:^3.2.2 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Moodle 2.x/3.x - SQL Injection
by Marko Belzetski · Apr 6, 2017
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 2.7.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2017-2641 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-2017-2641 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2017-2641. 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-2017-2641 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2017-2641 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.