GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) Code Injection vulnerability in moodle/moodle. A fix is available for moodle/moodle — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Moodle has a Remote Code Execution risk via file restore
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966.
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
GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966 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/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 identified in Moodle’s backup restore functionality where specially crafted backup files were not properly validated during processing. If a malicious backup file is restored, it could lead to unintended execution of server-side code. Since restore capabilities are typically available to privileged users, exploitation requires authenticated access. Successful exploitation could result in full compromise of the Moodle server.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 5.1.0-beta&&< 5.1.2 | 5.1.2composer require moodle/moodle:^5.1.2 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | ≥ 5.0.0-beta&&< 5.0.5 | 5.0.5composer require moodle/moodle:^5.0.5 |
| 🐘Packagist | moodle/moodle | all versions | 4.5.9composer require moodle/moodle:^4.5.9 |
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 5.1.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966 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 GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-ggxq-2mg9-8966 across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.