The Events Calendar <= 6.17.3 - Unauthenticated Code Injection to Remote Code Execution via Widget 'classes' Map Callable Invocation
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-78159 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Wordfence |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-12 08:16:24 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-12 08:16:24 UTC |
| Description | The The Events Calendar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 6.17.3 via the parse_array function. This is due to insufficient validation of the widget 'classes' map, allowing a plain-array payload to bypass the is_safe_widget_instance() object check and reach the callable-invocation sink in Element_Classes::parse_array(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server. Exploitation requires that the targeted site has comments enabled on tribe_events posts and that at least one comment containing a crafted wp:legacy-widget block has been submitted, as the attack chain is triggered when do_blocks() processes the single-event HTML including the comment area. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 9.8 CRITICAL from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Problem Types: CWE-94 | CWE-94 CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 9.8 | CRITICAL | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 9.8 | CRITICAL | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Stellarwp | The Events Calendar | affected 6.17.3 semver | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/Tribe/Views/V2/Wi... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/cc2ccfeb-6df6-4fee-96a5-94f8d... | [email protected] | www.wordfence.com | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/common/src/Tribe/Util... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/Tribe/Views/V2/Te... | [email protected] | plugins.trac.wordpress.org | |
| plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/views/v2/componen... | [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: Chloe Chamberland (en)
CNA: Wordfence Argus (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| CNA | 2026-08-23T11:54:47.000Z | Vendor Notified |
| CNA | 2026-09-11T18:40:37.000Z | Disclosed |
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.