CVE-2026-6965: Tutor LMS <= 3.9.9 - Insecure Direct Object Reference to Authenticated (Instructor+) Arbitrary Post Deletion via 'course' GET Parameter
The Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in versions up to and including 3.9.9. This is due to the getcourseidby() function unconditionally trusting the user-supplied course GET parameter as the authoritative course ID for content ownership lookups, which is then consumed by canusermanage(), the plugin's sole authorization gate for instructor-level operations, causing it to evaluate instructor membership against the attacker-controlled course rather than the course that actually owns the target content object. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with instructor-level access and above, to perform unauthorized operations on any other instructor's course content, including permanently deleting lessons, assignments, quizzes (with cascading deletion of all student attempt data), topics, announcements, and Q&A threads, as well as creating or modifying lessons, topics, and announcements in victim courses, manipulating student quiz grades, and reading unpublished lesson and quiz content.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution (WordPress plugin)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 3.9.9 - Compensating control
Restrict instructor-level access to the minimum required accounts (only trusted instructors) until the vulnerable Tutor LMS version is upgraded, to reduce the impact of authenticated Instructor+ abuse of the 'course' GET parameter authorization gate.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-6965?
CVE-2026-6965 has been classified as a high severity vulnerability due to the potential for unauthorized access and deletion of posts.
How do I fix CVE-2026-6965?
To resolve CVE-2026-6965, upgrade the Tutor LMS plugin to version 4.0 or later.
What is CVE-2026-6965 about?
CVE-2026-6965 describes an insecure direct object reference vulnerability in Tutor LMS allowing authenticated users to delete arbitrary posts.
Who is affected by CVE-2026-6965?
Users of Tutor LMS versions 3.9.9 and earlier on WordPress are affected by CVE-2026-6965.
What are the implications of CVE-2026-6965?
The implications of CVE-2026-6965 include the potential for malicious instructors to delete courses, resulting in data loss.