Executive Summary

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'CVE-2025-59544 is a high-severity vulnerability in Chamilo LMS versions up to and including 1.11.32. The vulnerability occurs because the application allows users to update the "category_id" parameter without performing any authorization checks. This means that any user can change the category of any other user by manipulating this parameter.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'The root cause is a missing authorization check (CWE-862), where the system fails to verify if the user is authorized to perform the update action on the category_id. Attackers can exploit this by brute forcing the category_id values to update categories across multiple users.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This issue was fixed in Chamilo LMS version 1.11.34 by adding proper server-side authorization checks on the category_id parameter.'}] [1]

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows an attacker to change the category of any user in the Chamilo LMS without proper authorization. This can lead to unauthorized modifications of user data and potentially disrupt user management or access controls within the system.

Because the vulnerability can be exploited via brute force attacks on the category_id parameter, an attacker could systematically alter categories for many users, which might cause confusion, misclassification, or unauthorized access to resources tied to user categories.

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Compliance Impact

I don't know

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Detection Guidance

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring and testing the endpoint that handles updates to the "category_id" parameter in Chamilo LMS versions up to 1.11.32. Since the issue allows unauthorized users to modify the category of any user by manipulating the numeric "category_id" parameter, detection involves attempting to update categories for users without proper authorization.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'A practical approach is to perform controlled brute force or fuzzing attacks on the update endpoint by sending requests with different "category_id" values to check if unauthorized updates are accepted.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Example commands using curl to test the vulnerability might look like this (replace URL and parameters accordingly):'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'curl -X POST https://your-chamilo-instance/api/updateCategory -d "user_id=target_user&category_id=some_category"'}, {'type': 'list_item', 'content': 'Repeat the above command with different "category_id" values to see if unauthorized changes are accepted.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Monitoring logs for unexpected category changes or unauthorized access attempts can also help detect exploitation attempts.'}] [1]

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Mitigation Strategies

[{'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'The immediate mitigation step is to upgrade Chamilo LMS to version 1.11.34 or later, where the vulnerability has been patched by implementing proper server-side authorization checks on the "category_id" parameter.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'If upgrading immediately is not possible, restrict access to the affected endpoint to trusted users only, and monitor for suspicious activity related to category updates.'}, {'type': 'paragraph', 'content': 'Additionally, review and tighten authorization controls around user category updates to prevent unauthorized modifications.'}] [1]

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