Moodle and Learning Platform Penetration Testing
A learning platform holds minors data, assessment integrity and a permission model with more roles than most enterprise applications. We test all three. CREST-certified testers, fixed price from £2,290, scoped in 24 hours.
- Unlimited retesting
- No rescheduling or cancellation fees
- Fixed quote within 24 hours
“I would highly recommend EJN Labs to any organisation seeking reliable, detailed, and well-managed penetration testing services, particularly for government or enterprise-level projects.”
Imran SaghirProject Lead, SquareOne“There wasn’t another company we could find that could deliver what we needed in the timeframe we needed. The client loved it, and we got instant ROI from the engagement.”
Dan WilcocksonCo-Founder, CelloriLearning platforms have a capability model layered over roles, contexts and course categories, and it is easy to grant something at the wrong level. A capability that looks harmless in one context gives a student or an assistant access to assessment material or other learners records in another.
The risk is not defacement. It is grades, and it is student data.
Integrity is the second theme. Enrolment self-service, grade overrides, quiz timing and submission handling all decide whether a result can be trusted, and they are tested far less often than the login page.
Then the plugin estate, which is where the unauthenticated flaws usually live, and the integrations: single sign-on from the student system, LTI tools, and the reporting that exports data to somewhere with fewer controls.
ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS and Cyber Essentials Plus audits accept manual penetration test evidence. Scan-only evidence is generally insufficient.
LEARNING PLATFORM SPECIFICS
What We Actually Test in a Learning Platform
Ten areas that apply because the platform is Moodle or a similar learning system, on top of the standard application checks. Every finding is verified, reproducible and mapped to OWASP, CWE, UK GDPR and CVSS 3.1.
Roles and capabilities
Capability assignments across contexts, and what a student, assistant or course creator can actually reach.
Enrolment and course access
Self enrolment settings, guest access, hidden courses and cross-course data exposure.
Assessment integrity
Quiz configuration, timing and review settings, submission handling and grade override paths.
Student data exposure
Profiles, messaging, logs and reports that reveal more about other learners than they should.
Plugins and themes
Installed plugins, abandoned ones, known issues and anything reachable without authentication.
File handling
Uploads, assignment submissions, file serving and paths that allow execution or traversal.
Authentication and SSO
Login methods, the student information system integration, and account linking or provisioning flows.
LTI and external tools
Tool registration, launch parameter validation, and what an external tool can read back.
Web services and mobile
Enabled web service functions, token handling, and what the mobile app exposes.
Hosting and configuration
Directory exposure, backups, cron handling, and configuration left from installation.
METHODOLOGY
What a Moodle finding looks like
Written the way a finding appears in our reports. The example below is reconstructed from publicly documented research, with hosts, paths and identifiers redacted. We do not republish client findings, named or anonymised.
Authenticated SQL injection through a course availability condition
- Affected
- A Moodle instance at [redacted] running an unsupported release, reachable by any enrolled student.
- What we found
- A parameter used to build an availability check was concatenated into a query. From an ordinary student account we extracted the user table, including password hashes and email addresses for staff accounts.
- Why it matters
- Every student could reach staff credential material and personal data for the whole institution, which for a UK education provider is a reportable personal data breach.
- Fix
- Upgrade to a supported Moodle release and stay on the monthly security cycle, review third party plugins for the same concatenation pattern, and force a password reset so the extracted hashes are worthless.
Reconstructed from public research: Moodle security advisory MSA-23-0004, authenticated SQL injection via an availability check, and CVE-2023-35132 for the same class.
Learning Platform Penetration Testing: From Scope to Attestation
CREST-aligned methodology built on OWASP Web Security Testing Guide, OWASP ASVS, NIST SP 800-115, and PTES. Each finding maps to all four standards plus your specific compliance regime.
Reconnaissance
Application mapping, technology fingerprinting, content discovery, parameter enumeration, authentication-flow analysis, role-matrix construction.
Vulnerability Assessment
Authenticated and unauthenticated automated scanning across every user role, plus targeted manual checks for known weakness patterns.
Manual Exploitation
Hands-on testing by a CREST-certified pentester. Business-logic exploitation, chained vulnerabilities, privilege escalation, impact validation.
Reporting + Retest
Executive summary, technical report with CVSS scores and reproduction steps, walkthrough call, free retest after remediation, attestation letter.
CREDENTIALS
Verified Accreditations Auditors Accept
Every credential below is independently verifiable. UK procurement teams, FCA supervisors, ISO 27001 / SOC 2 auditors, and cyber insurance underwriters all recognise these standards.
GET YOUR QUOTE
Get a CREST Learning Platform assessment pen test quote in 24 hours
A fixed-price quote back in one business day, from a named CREST assessor. No sales pipeline, no chasing.
- CREST and IASME accredited. Testing your auditors and clients already recognise.
- Fast-track testing within 24 hours where required. Free retest of every fix included.
- Live findings via your client portal, not a four-week PDF.
- Fixed price from £2,290 for a small, single-scope engagement, agreed up front. Most engagements run £3,480 and up. No day-rate surprises.
Dan WilcocksonCo-Founder, CelloriUnder NDA Further named references available on a scoping call.
- We reply within one business day with a fixed-price quote from a named CREST assessor.
- You approve the scope and we book a start date, usually within 24 hours.
- Live findings land in your client portal as we test, with a free retest of every fix.
Get your fixed pen test quote in 24 hours
Quote request received
We will reply within one business day with your fixed-price quote from a named CREST assessor.
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COMPLIANCE READY
Reports Mapped to Every Framework
Findings are explicitly tagged to the relevant control reference. Your audit team submits the report directly without translation work.
ISO 27001:2022
Annex A.8.8 management of technical vulnerabilities plus A.5.15-5.18 and A.8.2-8.5 access control validation.
SOC 2 Type I & II
CC6 logical access, CC7 system operations, CC8 change management evidence.
PCI DSS
Requirement 11.4 application penetration testing across cardholder data environments, including ecommerce penetration testing for online retail platforms.
FCA SYSC
SYSC 4.1.1R, 6.1.1R, 13 mapped to each finding for FCA-regulated firms.
UK GDPR
Article 32 effectiveness testing, customer-data security controls, ICO-acceptable evidence.
Cyber Essentials Plus
Direct certification through our IASME body status, single-vendor delivery.
PRICING
Transparent Learning Platform Penetration Testing Pricing
Pricing depends on app complexity, user-role count, business-logic depth, and integration surface. The day count flexes; the included deliverables stay the same across all engagements.
2 to 3 days
Single user role, basic CRUD application, marketing website with auth. Typically 5-day engagement.
Get a fixed quote3 to 4 days
Multi-role SaaS, business application with payment integration. Typically 8-12 day engagement.
Get a fixed quote4 to 6 days
Multi-tenant platform, complex authorisation matrix, integration-heavy applications. 15-20 day engagement.
Get a fixed quotePart of Technologies We Pen Test. These are examples of the stacks we publish pages for, not a complete list. If yours is not here we still test it. Related pages:
BY SECTOR
Learning Platform Penetration Testing for Your Sector
Sector-specialist scoping for UK businesses with sector-specific compliance regimes and threat models.
Fintech & FCA-Regulated
FCA SYSC, Open Banking FAPI 1.0, PSD2 SCA, payment-flow scrutiny, KYC/AML testing.
Fintech sector pageSaaS Companies
SOC 2 Type I & II evidence, multi-tenant boundaries, role escalation, customer-tenant isolation.
SaaS sector pageLaw Firms
SRA Cyber Standard, privileged data, conveyancing fraud defence, partner-tier procurement.
Law firm sector pageHealthcare
NHS DTAC, DSP Toolkit v6, UK GDPR Article 32, EHR systems, telehealth platforms.
Healthcare sector pageInsurance
FCA / PRA Operational Resilience, cyber underwriting, claims data, broker portals.
Insurance sector pagePublic Sector
CCS / G-Cloud framework, NCSC-aligned, citizen-facing services, PSN-compliance scrutiny.
Public sector pageWHY EJN LABS
What You Get From Learning Platform Penetration Testing
Six concrete differentiators competitors don’t all match.
CREST-Certified Testers, Verifiable
Every test by a CREST-certified pen tester (CRT, CCT APP, CCT INF where applicable). Verify our company status at crest-approved.org.
24-Hour Startup, Where Required
From signed scope to active testing in a single business day for incident response, audit deadlines, or regulator-driven timelines.
Live Findings, Not 4-Week PDFs
Critical issues reported during testing through your client portal. Your team remediates while testing continues.
Audit-Ready Reports
Executive summary plus full technical report with CVSS scores and explicit framework mappings (ISO 27001, SOC 2, PCI DSS, FCA SYSC).
Free Retests, Standard
Verify remediation of every finding before close-out. Letter of attestation for audit submission included. Most competitors charge £1,500-£3,000 per retest.
UK-Based CREST Testers
Every engagement performed by vetted, UK-based CREST-certified testers, matched to your needs, security clearance, and compliance scope.
FAQ
Frequently Asked
Do you test other platforms as well as Moodle?
Yes. Canvas, Blackboard, Totara and bespoke learning systems follow the same method.
Will you test with student accounts?
Yes, with accounts you create. We never use a real learner account.
Is there anything special about minors data?
Yes. We treat exposure of it as the highest severity class and the report is written for a DPO as well as a technical reader.
Can you test during term time?
Yes, with an agreed window. Anything with a stability risk runs out of hours.
Do you cover the student information system?
Only the integration, unless you scope the system itself separately.
Does this help with DfE or funding requirements?
It provides the technical testing evidence those frameworks ask for, mapped to Cyber Essentials and ISO 27001.
What is included in the price?
Scoping, testing, the executive summary, the technical report, a walkthrough call and free retests until the finding is closed. One scope, one number, no follow-up invoices.
How fast can you start?
Scope to active testing in 24 hours once the scope is agreed, subject to tester availability in your window.
Are your testers CREST certified?
Yes. EJN Labs is a CREST member company and testing is delivered by CREST-qualified testers. The membership is verifiable on the CREST marketplace.
20+ CREST-accredited testing services in one place
Web, mobile, API, cloud, AI, infrastructure, red team. Pick the test that fits your environment.
Get your learning platform tested properly
Tell us the platform and the roles. You will have a fixed scope and a number within 24 hours.
