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CourseCure Courses - Security Vulnerability (CVE-2026-15309)

CVE-2026-15309

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.

CVE-2026-15309

HIGH CVSS 8.8 Published 2026-11-12 Updated 2026-11-12
AI Risk High (86/100) Active Exploit: No strong signal Published Exploit: No public exploit references Priority: P2 Urgent
Severity Band HIGH
CVSS Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected Components 1
Reference Links 2
AI Risk Engine High (86/100)
Exploitability High
Active Exploitation No strong signal
Published Exploit Status No public exploit references

Threat Timeline

  1. 2026-11-12 CVE published and first recorded in the threat feed.
  2. 2026-11-12 Record updated with latest vulnerability metadata.
  3. 2026-11-14 AI technical context refreshed for mitigation and impact guidance.
  4. Now Monitoring for follow-up changes, linked references, and new related CVEs.

AI Context

Machine-generated threat intelligence

AI Updated just now

AI enriched just now (2026-11-14 03:30 UTC)

Technical Summary

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…

Potential Impact

Severity is HIGH (CVSS 8.8). Depending on deployment context, affected components may be exposed to unauthorized actions or data integrity risk.

Exploitability Assessment

Exploitability is assessed as High based on remote code execution potential.

Primary risk drivers: remote code execution potential

Mitigation Recommendations

Validate affected product versions, prioritize patching, and monitor references for vendor remediation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, apply compensating controls and limit exposure of vulnerable surfaces.

Detection & Monitoring

Track authentication anomalies, unexpected file writes, and suspicious plugin API activity around affected components.

Business Impact Lens

AI risk score 86/100 (High, High) with priority P2 Urgent. Prioritize remediation where affected components process customer data, admin sessions, or Internet-exposed workflows.

Affected Products

CourseCure Courses PLUGIN · coursecure-courses Affected: <= 1.5.1 Fixed version not specified

References

What to do about this

Patch promptly The consequence is significant even where an attacker needs a foothold first.

Fix it

Update CourseCure Courses to the latest available version.

Where the vendor has not published a fix yet, disable the plugin until they do.

Cannot update today? Unauthorised administrator detection in Hack Halt ProSecure blocks this class of attack before WordPress processes the request.

Alert when a new administrator appears or a role is escalated. Creating a hidden admin is the most common persistence step after a WordPress compromise.

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Not sure if you are affected?

Scan your site to see whether it runs CourseCure Courses, and at which version.

Free, no installation, no account. It reads what your site already publishes, then tells you which plugins carry known vulnerabilities and what to do about each one.

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Am I affected by this vulnerability?

You are affected if your site runs CourseCure Courses.

How do I fix it?

Update CourseCure Courses to the latest available version. Where the vendor has not yet published a fix, remove or disable the plugin until they do. Until you can update, Unauthorised administrator detection in Hack Halt ProSecure contains this class of attack at the request layer.

What can an attacker actually do?

This is a Privilege Escalation flaw. An attacker who exploits it can raise a low-privilege account, or none at all, to administrator.