CVE-2025-67856 is a medium severity authorization logic vulnerability identified in Moodle versions 4.1.0, 4.4.0, 4.5.0, 5.0.0, and 5.1.0. The flaw stems from incomplete role verification during the badge awarding process, which is a feature used to recognize user achievements within the platform. Specifically, the system fails to properly check whether the user awarding the badge has the necessary permissions, allowing unauthorized users to grant themselves or others badges without proper authorization. Since badges can be linked to access privileges or elevated roles, this unauthorized badge granting can lead to privilege escalation or unauthorized access to restricted features or content. The vulnerability is exploitable remotely over the network with low attack complexity, requiring the attacker to have some privileges but no user interaction is needed. Although no known exploits are currently reported in the wild, the flaw presents a risk especially in environments where badge assignments correlate with access control. The vulnerability was published on February 3, 2026, and has a CVSS v3.1 score of 5.4, reflecting limited confidentiality and integrity impacts but no availability impact. The flaw is rooted in authorization logic errors, a common and critical class of security issues that can undermine trust in access control mechanisms.

For European organizations, especially educational institutions, government agencies, and enterprises using Moodle as their learning management system, this vulnerability could allow unauthorized users to escalate privileges by illegitimately awarding themselves badges. This could lead to unauthorized access to sensitive course materials, administrative features, or other restricted functionalities tied to badge ownership. The impact includes potential data confidentiality breaches, integrity violations through unauthorized changes, and erosion of trust in the platform's security. Since Moodle is widely used across Europe in public and private sectors, exploitation could disrupt training programs, compliance tracking, and certification processes. Although the vulnerability does not affect availability, the unauthorized privilege escalation could facilitate further attacks or data misuse. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate risk but does not eliminate the threat, especially as attackers may develop exploits once patches are released.

Organizations should monitor Moodle vendor advisories and apply security patches promptly once released to address CVE-2025-67856. Until patches are available, administrators should audit and restrict badge awarding permissions to the minimum necessary trusted roles, ensuring only authorized personnel can assign badges. Implement role-based access control reviews focusing on badge-related capabilities to detect and remove excessive privileges. Enable detailed logging and monitoring of badge assignment activities to detect suspicious or unauthorized badge grants. Consider temporarily disabling badge awarding features if feasible in high-risk environments. Conduct user training to raise awareness about the risk of privilege escalation through badge misuse. Additionally, integrate Moodle with centralized identity and access management systems to enforce consistent authorization policies. Regularly review and update security configurations to minimize attack surface related to badge management.