# CVE-2016-5014: Moodle information disclosure in Event Monitor notifications

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2016-5014-moodle-information-disclosure-in-event-monitor-notifications  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2017-01-20. Updated: 2026-05-13  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2016-5014 · Severity: medium · CVSS 5.4 · Published 2017-01-20

A flaw in the Moodle learning management system allows users who have been unenrolled from a course to continue receiving automated notifications from that course. This could lead to the unauthorized disclosure of course updates or sensitive information to individuals who should no longer have access. Organizations using Moodle for private or sensitive training should ensure they have applied the relevant security patches.

Technologies: [Moodle](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/moodle), [moodle/moodle (Packagist)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/moodle-moodle). Vendors: [Moodle](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/moodle), [Packagist](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/packagist).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2016-5014 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2016-5014 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2016-5014?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 5.4, published 20 January 2017.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Moodle 2.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.0; moodle/moodle (Packagist) ECOSYSTEM:introduced=3.1.0,fixed=3.1.1.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2016-5014?** Yes. moodle/moodle (Packagist): upgrade to 3.1.1 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2016-5014 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a network appliance.

**Am I affected by CVE-2016-5014?** Check whether you run Moodle or moodle/moodle (Packagist) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- moodle/moodle (Packagist): upgrade to 3.1.1 or later

  ```sh
  composer require moodle/moodle:^3.1.1
  ```


## Technical details

An information disclosure vulnerability exists in Moodle versions 2.x and 3.x within the Event Monitor component. The root cause is a failure to properly terminate notification subscriptions when a user is unenrolled from a course. As a result, a remote user who was previously enrolled can continue to receive event notifications via the network despite losing authorized access to the course content. This is classified as CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor). Patches have been released by the vendor to address this behavior.

## Affected products

- Moodle Moodle 2.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.0

## Identifiers

- CVE-2016-5014
- GHSA-c4cq-v4wp-28hg

## Timeline

- 2016-07-18: advisory: Vendor advisory published by Moodle
- 2017-01-20: disclosed: NVD publication date

## References

- [http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92042](http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/92042)
- [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=336699](https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=336699)

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