CVE-2020-25701
MEDIUMCVE-2020-25701 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-284 vulnerability in moodle/moodle. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2020-25701 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Privilage Escalation in moodle
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
If the upload course tool in Moodle was used to delete an enrollment method which did not exist or was not already enabled, the tool would erroneously enable that enrollment method. This could lead to unintended users gaining access to the course. Versions affected: 3.9 to 3.9.2, 3.8 to 3.8.5, 3.7 to 3.7.8, 3.5 to 3.5.14 and earlier unsupported versions. This is fixed in moodle 3.9.3, 3.8.6, 3.7.9, 3.5.15, and 3.10.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.9.0&&< 3.9.3 | 3.9.3 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.8.0&&< 3.8.6 | 3.8.6 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.7.0&&< 3.7.9 | 3.7.9 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 3.5&&< 3.5.15 | 3.5.15 |
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 3.9.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2020-25701 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-2020-25701 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-2020-25701. 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-2020-25701 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2020-25701 across Packagist dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.