CVE-2018-16854 — moodle/moodle
HIGHCVE-2018-16854 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) vulnerability in moodle/moodle. 2 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 Login CSRF vulnerability in login form
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-2018-16854 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 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% 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
A flaw was found in moodle versions 3.5 to 3.5.2, 3.4 to 3.4.5, 3.3 to 3.3.8, 3.1 to 3.1.14 and earlier. The login form is not protected by a token to prevent login cross-site request forgery. Fixed versions include 3.6, 3.5.3, 3.4.6, 3.3.9 and 3.1.15.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.1&&< 3.1.15 | 3.1.15composer require moodle/moodle:^3.1.15 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.3&&< 3.3.9 | 3.3.9composer require moodle/moodle:^3.3.9 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.4&&< 3.4.6 | 3.4.6composer require moodle/moodle:^3.4.6 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.5&&< 3.5.3 | 3.5.3composer require moodle/moodle:^3.5.3 |
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 3.1.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2018-16854 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-2018-16854 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2018-16854. 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-2018-16854 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2018-16854 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.