dbcve.org
VulnerabilityAwaiting classification

CVE-2026-12271

MEDIUM · 5.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-07-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click 6 weeks old

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 · unedited
The Tutor LMS WordPress plugin before 3.9.13 does not verify ownership of the targeted quiz attempt before writing to it, allowing authenticated users with subscriber-level access and above to modify and force-complete other students' quiz attempts, overwriting their recorded marks and pass/fail result.

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 confidence

The Tutor LMS WordPress plugin before version 3.9.13 lacks proper authorization verification on quiz attempt modification endpoints, allowing any authenticated user with subscriber-level access to identify and manipulate other users' quiz attempts by directly referencing attempt IDs, thereby overwriting their scores and pass/fail status.

MitigationUpgrade to Tutor LMS version 3.9.13 or later, which implements ownership verification before allowing quiz attempt modifications. Alternatively, implement custom authorization checks on all quiz attempt write operations.

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
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Confirm Tutor LMS plugin installation and version
    In WordPress admin, go to Plugins > Installed Plugins and locate Tutor LMS. Note the version number displayed, or query the WordPress database: SELECT option_value FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE '%tutor%version%';
    Affected if The installed version is lower than 3.9.13 or the version cannot be determined (plugin is present but version info is unavailable)
  2. Verify quiz functionality is active
    Check if any quiz has been created and published. In WordPress admin, go to Tutor LMS > Quizzes, or query: SELECT COUNT(*) FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = 'tutor_quiz' AND post_status = 'publish';
    Affected if Any quiz exists in the system - the vulnerable endpoints become relevant only when quiz functionality is in use
  3. Test endpoint accessibility with low-privilege account
    Create a test subscriber-level user account. Log in and attempt a direct POST request to a quiz attempt modification endpoint (commonly /wp-json/tutor/v1/quiz-attempt/ or similar endpoints handling attempt updates). Use a tool like curl or Burp Suite to send a request with an attempt ID belonging to another user.
    Affected if The request succeeds and modifies or returns data for a quiz attempt not owned by the subscriber-level user, indicating missing authorization controls
  4. Review server access logs for quiz attempt endpoint activity
    Examine web server logs (Apache/Nginx) for requests to tutor quiz attempt endpoints. Look for POST/PUT/DELETE requests to paths containing 'attempt' or 'quiz-attempt' from multiple different user IDs. Check if any user ID is modifying attempts belonging to different user IDs.
    Affected if Logs show low-privilege users (subscriber role) accessing or modifying quiz attempt data that does not belong to them

A system is affected if Tutor LMS version is below 3.9.13 AND quiz functionality is enabled AND any authenticated subscriber can modify another user's quiz attempt data.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade to Tutor LMS version 3.9.13 or later, which implements ownership verification before allowing quiz attempt modifications. Alternatively, implement custom authorization checks on all quiz attempt write operations.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Tutor LMS version 3.9.13 or later

  1. 1. Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard
  2. 2. Navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins
  3. 3. Locate Tutor LMS in the plugin list
  4. 4. If an update is available, click 'Update Now' to update to the latest version (3.9.13 or later)
  5. 5. Alternatively, download the latest version from wordpress.org or the Tutor LMS official website
  6. 6. Deactivate the existing plugin before uploading the new version if using manual installation
  7. 7. After update, verify the version number matches 3.9.13 or newer in the plugins list
  8. 8. Test quiz functionality to ensure the fix works correctly

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Have this fixed Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-12271 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data