CVE-2025-11923
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation. This is due to the plugin not properly validating a user's identity prior to allowing them to modify their own role via the REST API. The permission check in the update_item_permissions_check() function returns true when a user updates their own account without verifying the role changes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with student-level access and above, to escalate their privileges to administrator by updating their own roles array via a crafted REST API request. Another endpoint intended for instructors also provides an attack vector. Affected version ranges are 3.5.3-3.41.2, 4.0.0-4.21.3, 5.0.0-5.10.0, 6.0.0-6.11.0, 7.0.0-7.8.7, 8.0.0-8.0.7, 9.0.0-9.0.7, 9.1.0.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe LifterLMS plugin has a privilege escalation vulnerability in its REST API where the update_item_permissions_check() function returns true when users update their own account without properly validating role changes. This allows authenticated attackers with student-level access to escalate their privileges to administrator by modifying their role array via crafted REST API requests.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm LifterLMS is installedCheck your WordPress plugins directory or admin panel for the LifterLMS plugin and note its version numberAffected if LifterLMS is installed and the version matches the affected range (prior to patch)
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Verify REST API is enabledTest access to the LifterLMS REST API endpoint (typically /wp-json/lifterlms/v1/) using a GET request without authentication or with low-privilege credentialsAffected if The REST API endpoint responds and accepts requests (vulnerability requires REST API to be accessible)
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Confirm authenticated users can update their own accountSend an authenticated REST API request (as a student-level user) to the user endpoint (such as /wp-json/lifterlms/v1/user) with a modified role parameter in the request bodyAffected if The API allows authenticated users to submit requests to modify their own user profile without proper role validation
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Check for unauthorized role modificationsReview user role assignments in WordPress admin under Users > All Users, or query the wp_usermeta table for role changes, especially for users who should only have student-level accessAffected if Users with student-level accounts have administrator or elevated roles they were not intentionally assigned
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Inspect REST API permission callbackExamine the LifterLMS plugin files for the update_item_permissions_check() function in the REST API controller to verify it returns true without validating role changesAffected if The function allows role modification without proper authorization checks
If the LifterLMS REST API is enabled and allows authenticated student users to modify their own role via API requests, the environment is vulnerable to privilege escalation.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scopedUpdate to the latest patched version of LifterLMS. Until the patch is applied, consider restricting or disabling the REST API endpoint and monitoring for unauthorized role modifications.
Upgrade to LifterLMS version 9.1.1 or later (the next available release after 9.1.0)
- 1. Identify the current LifterLMS plugin version installed on the WordPress site
- 2. Confirm the installed version falls within one of the affected ranges: 3.5.3-3.41.2, 4.0.0-4.21.3, 5.0.0-5.10.0, 6.0.0-6.11.0, 7.0.0-7.8.7, 8.0.0-8.0.7, 9.0.0-9.0.7, or 9.1.0
- 3. Navigate to WordPress admin dashboard > Plugins > LifterLMS
- 4. Check for available plugin updates and update to the latest version (9.1.1 or later)
- 5. After updating, verify the new version is installed correctly
- 6. As a precautionary measure, audit user accounts to ensure no unauthorized privilege escalation has occurred
- 7. Consider implementing additional access controls on REST API endpoints if not already configured
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-11923 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2025-11923 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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