Vulnerabilities in LMS Plugins Allow Students to Access Records, Edit Data

Security researchers discovered that students could abuse vulnerabilities in certain learning management system (LMS) plugins to access records and edit data.

Check Point Research conducted a security audit of three popular WordPress LMS plugins: LearnPress, LearnDash and LifterLMS. Those plugins were installed on 100,000 educational platforms at the time of analysis, including both traditional universities and hundreds of online academies.

The researchers uncovered several vulnerabilities that were worthy of attention. For instance, they observed one security flaw through which registered users could have elevated their privileges to those belonging to a teacher. They could have then used those rights to retrieve test answers, change the test answers of their fellow students or even change their own grades.

Through some of the other bugs, students and unauthenticated users could have even stolen sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and full names.

Vulnerabilities in Other LMS Plugins and Software

The three WordPress LMS plugins discussed above aren’t the only educational software programs that have suffered from security vulnerabilities. As reported by InfoWorld back in 2017, researchers observed that they could have exploited several vulnerabilities in Moodle to create secret administrative accounts and execute malicious PHP code. And in December 2019, Cisco Talos uncovered three SQL injection vulnerabilities in the Forma LMS.

Strengthen Your Organization’s Patching Capabilities

Security professionals can help their organizations remediate vulnerabilities such as the ones discussed above by breaking down the silos that separate departments. By improving interdepartmental cooperation, organizations can more easily remedy critical vulnerabilities on a timely basis. Organizations also need to maintain and continually manage an inventory of assets that is prioritized based on their value to the business.

David Bisson

Contributing Editor

Hive0137 and AI-supplemented malware distribution

12 min read - IBM X-Force tracks dozens of threat actor groups. One group in particular, tracked by X-Force as Hive0137, has been a highly active malware distributor since at least October 2023. Nominated by X-Force as having the “Most Complex Infection Chain” in a campaign in 2023, Hive0137 campaigns deliver DarkGate, NetSupport, T34-Loader and Pikabot malware payloads, some of which are likely used for initial access in ransomware attacks. The crypters used in the infection chains also suggest a close relationship with former…

Unveiling the latest banking trojan threats in LATAM

9 min read - This post was made possible through the research contributions of Amir Gendler.In our most recent research in the Latin American (LATAM) region, we at IBM Security Lab have observed a surge in campaigns linked with malicious Chrome extensions. These campaigns primarily target Latin America, with a particular emphasis on its financial institutions.In this blog post, we’ll shed light on the group responsible for disseminating this campaign. We’ll delve into the method of web injects and Man in the Browser, and…

Crisis communication: What NOT to do

4 min read - Read the 1st blog in this series, Cybersecurity crisis communication: What to doWhen an organization experiences a cyberattack, tensions are high, customers are concerned and the business is typically not operating at full capacity. Every move you make at this point makes a difference to your company’s future, and even a seemingly small mistake can cause permanent reputational damage.Because of the stress and many moving parts that are involved, businesses often fall short when it comes to communication in a crisis.…

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

Vulnerabilities in Other LMS Plugins and Software

Strengthen Your Organization’s Patching Capabilities

More from

Hive0137 and AI-supplemented malware distribution

Unveiling the latest banking trojan threats in LATAM

Crisis communication: What NOT to do

Topic updates