Academy LMS <= 4.0.3 - Authenticated (Custom+) Privilege Escalation to add_child REST endpoint
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-104022 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Wordfence |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-10-10 03:17:03 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-10-11 17:16:58 UTC |
| Description | The Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.3. This is due to the `add_child()` function calling `add_role('academy_student')` on any existing account resolved from the attacker-supplied `email` parameter before `Store::link()` validates the guardian-ward relationship, and failing to roll back that role write when `Store::link()` returns a `WP_Error`. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers with the `academy_guardian` role or higher to elevate any existing WordPress account — including their own — to the `academy_student` role, gaining `edit_posts` (Contributor-equivalent) capabilities and, when the student file-upload setting is enabled, `upload_files` (Author-equivalent) capabilities not granted to the guardian role. When a guardian supplies their own email address, `email_exists()` resolves to their own user ID, causing `Store::link()` to reject the self-link, but because the `add_role()` call has already executed and is never reversed, the academy_student role grant on their own account persists permanently. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 5.4 MEDIUM from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
EPSS: 0.001250000 probability, percentile 0.019530000 (date 2026-10-11)
Problem Types: CWE-269 | CWE-269 CWE-269 Improper Privilege Management
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 5.4 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 5.4 | MEDIUM | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
LowIntegrity
LowAvailability
NoneCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Kodezen | Academy LMS AI Course Builder Quizzes Certificates ELearning | affected 4.0.3 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/academy/tags/4.0.2/includes/guardian/store.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/a54dd9e5-59e7-4655-9f64-e198d... | [email protected] | www.wordfence.com | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/academy/tags/4.0.2/includes/guardian/rest-api.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/academy/tags/4.0.2/includes/guardian/rest-api.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/academy/tags/4.0.2/includes/guardian/rest-api.php | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Wordfence PRISM (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-10-01T17:07:56.000Z | Vendor Notified |
| CNA | 2026-10-09T00:00:00.000Z | Disclosed |
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.