LearnCTEM.com, Best CTEM Learning Platform
CVE Intelligence Hub

CVE-2026-15309: WordPress CourseCure Courses Improper Privilege Management Vulnerability

CVE-2026-15309 explained: high Improper Privilege Management in WordPress CourseCure Courses. CVSS 8.8. Affected versions, detection, fixes and CTEM priority.

Last updated: Nov 12, 2026

CVSS
8.8 HIGH
EPSS
n/a
CISA KEV
Not listed
CWE
CWE-269

Sources: National Vulnerability Database, CVE.org, CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS

CVE-2026-15309 Overview

The CourseCure Courses plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in versions up to, and including, 1.5.1. This is due to a missing capability check in the ajax_save_settings() function, which accepts arbitrary POST parameters and calls update_option() with attacker-controlled keys and values without any authorization verification. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to administrator by setting the default_role WordPress option to 'administrator' and users_can_register to '1', then registering a new account that is automatically granted full administrator access.

Critical Impact

Remote, authenticated attackers can exploit this Improper Privilege Management in WordPress CourseCure Courses. The CVSS base score is 8.8 (High).

Affected Products

  • WordPress CourseCure Courses: see the vendor advisory for the exact affected versions

Discovery Timeline

  • 2026-11-12: CVE-2026-15309 published to the National Vulnerability Database by security@wordfence.com
  • 2026-11-12: last updated in the NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-15309

Vulnerability Analysis

CVE-2026-15309 is a Improper Privilege Management weakness (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) in WordPress CourseCure Courses. Based on its CVSS vector, the flaw can be reached over the network, needs some level of access, and needs no user interaction. Privileges are assigned or checked incorrectly.

With a CVSS base score of 8.8, apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Root Cause

The weakness is classified as CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management. Privileges are assigned or checked incorrectly.

Attack Vector

Based on the CVSS vector, the flaw can be reached over the network, needs some level of access, and needs no user interaction. Attack complexity is low complexity.

No exploitation in the wild is confirmed by CISA at the time of the last update. Check the references below for any vendor or researcher proof of concept.

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-15309

Detection Strategies

  • Inventory every instance of WordPress CourseCure Courses and compare the running version with the affected range above.
  • Check external attack surface scans for internet facing instances of the component.
  • Run an authenticated vulnerability scan once your scanner ships a check for this CVE.

Monitoring Recommendations

  • Forward WordPress CourseCure Courses application, access and audit logs to your SIEM for retrospective hunting.
  • Alert on new processes, configuration changes or outbound connections from the affected service.
  • Track the vendor advisory and the CISA KEV catalog for changes in exploitation status.

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-15309

Immediate Actions Required

  • Apply the fixed version of WordPress CourseCure Courses named in the vendor advisory.
  • Prioritize internet facing and business critical instances first.
  • Rescan after the change to confirm the exposure is closed.

Patch Information

Use the fixed version listed in the vendor advisory for WordPress CourseCure Courses.

Workarounds

  • If patching must wait, restrict network access to the affected service and place it behind authentication or a web application firewall rule.

CWE References

Technical References

This entry is built directly from NVD, CISA KEV and EPSS data. Verify fixed versions in the vendor advisory before you deploy.

Frequently asked questions

CVE-2026-15309 is a high severity Improper Privilege Management in WordPress CourseCure Courses with a CVSS score of 8.8. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Related CVEs

HIGH8.8
CVE-2026-16135
WordPress VibeBP

The VibeBP plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.9.8.1. This is due to the plugin allowing arbitrary user meta updates through the set_email_notification_settings() function. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to grant themselves administrator privileges by updating their own 'wp_capabilities' user meta value.

Nov 12, 2026
HIGH8.8
CVE-2026-13764
WordPress Masterstudy - Education WordPress Theme theme for WordPress

The Masterstudy - Education WordPress Theme theme for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.8.151. This is due to missing authorization and nonce validation on the `masterstudy_ms_stm_set_discard_transient` AJAX action. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to elevate their privileges to Administrator by setting the `stm_developer_access_token` transient and using the developer access auto-login flow to obtain administrator session cookies.

Nov 12, 2026
CRITICAL9.1
CVE-2026-126537
WordPress Ninja Forms - File Uploads add-on for WordPress

The Ninja Forms - File Uploads add-on for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary File Deletion (and arbitrary file read via S3/Dropbox/Google Drive exfiltration) in versions up to, and including, 3.3.36. The flaw spans NF_FU_Fields_Upload::process() in includes/fields/upload.php — which returns early (leaving the client-supplied files[] intact) whenever a public submission carries a nonempty extra.saveProgress — and NF_FU_External_Abstracts_Service::process_upload() in includes/external/abstracts/service.php, whose authoritative-path reload only fires when the client sends upload_id. By omitting upload_id, an attacker's data[file_path] survives into the Background Upload queue and is used by both upload_file_to_s3() (as SourceFile) and the maybe_delete_server_file() unlink() call in includes/external/abstracts/backgroundupload.php, with no canonicalization or upload-directory containment check (the plugin's own is_path_within_upload_dir() helper is only applied on admin paths). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to delete arbitrary files on the affected site's server which may make remote code execution possible — specifically, deleting wp-config.php forces WordPress into its setup screen, enabling full site takeover.

Nov 11, 2026
HIGH8.8
CVE-2026-119615
WordPress Reset Database

The Reset Database plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation in versions up to, and including, 1.1.3. This is due to the process_reset() function being registered on admin_init with no capability check, a computed-but-unused nonce, a gating condition that passes whenever no WordPress administrator literally named 'admin' exists (the default on modern installs), and an identity test that verifies the ATTACKER'S OWN password rather than an administrator's. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with subscriber-level access and above, to drop every prefixed database table, re-run wp_install() with their own credentials — making the attacker the sole site administrator — authenticate as that administrator via wp_set_auth_cookie(), and delete the uploads directory.

Nov 11, 2026
HIGH8.8
CVE-2026-103883
WordPress 6Storage Rentals

The 6Storage Rentals plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass leading to Administrator Account Takeover in all versions up to, and including, 2.31.0. The vulnerability exists because the `six_storage_portal_registration()` AJAX handler — registered on `wp_ajax_six_storage_portal_plugin_registration` — performs no capability check and no nonce verification before writing the caller-supplied `six_storage_online_api_url` POST parameter to the site-wide option of the same name; the unauthenticated `six_storage_create_wp_user()` handler then redeems a transient seeded from that attacker-controlled URL's response and unconditionally calls `wp_set_current_user()` and `wp_set_auth_cookie()` with no ownership or credential verification. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with Subscriber-level access and above, to authenticate as any existing WordPress user — including any administrator whose email address is known or guessable — resulting in full site compromise. This issue represents an incomplete fix for a prior vulnerability: the 2.29.0 remediation moved the target email out of POST data into a server-side transient, but because any Subscriber can still overwrite the outbound API URL that populates that transient, the full authentication bypass chain remains exploitable in three AJAX requests.

Nov 11, 2026
HIGH7.2
CVE-2026-12427
WordPress ARforms

The ARforms plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Stored Cross-Site Scripting via the 'description' parameter in all versions up to, and including, 7.2.4 due to insufficient input sanitization and output escaping. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary web scripts in pages that will execute whenever a user accesses an injected page. The injected payload is deserialized via maybe_unserialize() when an administrator views the affected entry; if the attacker's array contains a 'referrer' key, the attacker-controlled page_url and http_referrer values are used as-is and rendered unescaped into the admin entry detail view.

Nov 11, 2026
All WordPress CVEs in 2026
Your next credential

Earn your free CTEM certification.

Learn to scope, prioritize, validate and mobilize fixes for CVEs like CVE-2026-15309 with a free CTEM certification.

Free to takePublicly verifiable

Beginner / Practitioner / Program Leader

Explore certifications