CVE-2020-25629
HIGHCVE-2020-25629 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) CWE-284 vulnerability in moodle/moodle. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-25629 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Moodle incorrect access control
Blast Radius
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 vulnerability was found in Moodle where users with "Log in as" capability in a course context (typically, course managers) may gain access to some site administration capabilities by "logging in as" a System manager. This affects 3.9 to 3.9.1, 3.8 to 3.8.4, 3.7 to 3.7.7, 3.5 to 3.5.13 and earlier unsupported versions. This is fixed in 3.9.2, 3.8.5, 3.7.8 and 3.5.14.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.9&&< 3.9.2 | 3.9.2 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.8&&< 3.8.5 | 3.8.5 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.7&&< 3.7.8 | 3.7.8 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.5&&< 3.5.14 | 3.5.14 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for moodle/moodle. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update moodle/moodle to 3.9.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-25629 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 pinpoints whether CVE-2020-25629 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2020-25629. 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-2020-25629 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-25629 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.