CVE-2022-44544 is a critical remote code execution vulnerability affecting multiple versions of Mahara, specifically versions 21.04 prior to 21.04.7, 21.10 prior to 21.10.5, 22.04 prior to 22.04.3, and 22.10 prior to 22.10.0. Mahara is an open-source ePortfolio and social networking web application used primarily in educational institutions. The vulnerability arises during the PDF export functionality when the application runs on Ubuntu systems and uses Ghostscript without the '-dSAFER' flag enabled. Ghostscript is a widely used interpreter for PostScript and PDF files. The '-dSAFER' flag restricts the execution of potentially dangerous operations within Ghostscript. Without this flag, a specially crafted PDF export request can trigger Ghostscript to execute arbitrary shell commands remotely, effectively allowing an attacker to gain remote shell access on the server hosting Mahara. This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, indicating critical severity, with an attack vector of network (AV:N), low attack complexity (AC:L), no privileges required (PR:N), no user interaction (UI:N), and impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability (C:H/I:H/A:H). The vulnerability is classified under CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges). No known exploits are reported in the wild as of the publication date, but the high severity and ease of exploitation make it a significant threat. The lack of patch links suggests that users must upgrade to the fixed versions or apply mitigations manually. The vulnerability specifically targets Mahara installations on Ubuntu where Ghostscript is invoked without the '-dSAFER' flag during PDF export, making the environment configuration a critical factor in exploitation.

For European organizations, especially educational institutions and universities that deploy Mahara for ePortfolio management and social learning, this vulnerability poses a severe risk. Successful exploitation can lead to full system compromise, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary commands remotely, potentially leading to data theft, defacement, ransomware deployment, or lateral movement within the network. The confidentiality of sensitive student and staff data, integrity of academic records, and availability of the platform can all be severely impacted. Given that many European universities and educational bodies use open-source platforms like Mahara, the risk is amplified. Additionally, the vulnerability's exploitation does not require authentication or user interaction, increasing the likelihood of automated attacks. The reliance on Ubuntu as the underlying OS is common in European academic and public sector deployments, further increasing exposure. The absence of known exploits in the wild currently provides a window for proactive mitigation, but the critical CVSS score demands immediate attention to prevent potential future attacks.

1. Immediate upgrade of Mahara installations to the fixed versions: 21.04.7, 21.10.5, 22.04.3, or 22.10.0 or later. 2. Verify and enforce that Ghostscript is invoked with the '-dSAFER' flag during PDF export operations to restrict unsafe operations. This may require reviewing and modifying Mahara's PDF export configuration or scripts. 3. Restrict access to the Mahara application and its PDF export functionality via network-level controls such as firewalls and web application firewalls (WAF) to limit exposure to trusted users or networks. 4. Monitor logs for unusual PDF export requests or Ghostscript invocations that could indicate exploitation attempts. 5. Employ application-level sandboxing or containerization to isolate Mahara and limit the impact of potential exploitation. 6. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans focusing on web application configurations and underlying OS security posture. 7. Educate system administrators about the importance of secure Ghostscript configurations and patch management. 8. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, consider disabling PDF export functionality temporarily as a last resort to prevent exploitation.