Authorization Bypass (IDOR)Weakness · CWE-639

CVE-2026-6965

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-13

Mitigation only

No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.

See remediation →

62/100

Remediation priority · Elevated

Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description

NVD · unedited

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 `get_course_id_by()` function unconditionally trusting the user-supplied `course` GET parameter as the authoritative course ID for content ownership lookups, which is then consumed by `can_user_manage()`, 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or modifying lessons, topics, and announcements in victim courses, manipulating student quiz grades, and reading unpublished lesson and quiz content.

Technical summary

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The Tutor LMS plugin for WordPress contains an IDOR vulnerability where the `get_course_id_by()` function blindly trusts the user-supplied `course` GET parameter as the authoritative course ID. This value is passed to `can_user_manage()`, the plugin's sole authorization gate, causing instructor membership to be evaluated against the attacker-controlled course instead of the actual content owner's course. This allows authenticated instructors to perform unauthorized operations on any instructor's course content.

MitigationUpdate to Tutor LMS version 3.10.0 or later which contains proper authorization validation. Until patched, limit instructor-level access and monitor administrative logs for unauthorized content modifications.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

CVSS breakdown

From the vector

Attack vector: Network
Complexity: Low
Privileges: None
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

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

Am I affected?

dbcve checks

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

Confirm Tutor LMS installation and version

Locate the Tutor LMS plugin in WordPress (wp-content/plugins/tutor) and read the main plugin file header for the Version string, or query the wp_options table for the active_plugins entry

Affected if Tutor LMS is installed and the version is below 3.10.0 (e.g., 3.0.x, 3.1.x, etc.)
Identify vulnerable code pattern

Search the Tutor LMS plugin files for the get_course_id_by() function and verify it references $_GET['course'] without sanitization, or grep for 'course' GET parameter usage in course-related PHP handlers

Affected if The code reads $_GET['course'] directly and passes it to authorization checks without validating it against the authenticated user's actual course ownership
Verify instructor role exists

Check WordPress user roles via admin panel or wp_usermeta table to confirm users with 'tutor_instructor' role exist who could exploit this flaw

Affected if At least one user with instructor-level access exists in the system
Check can_user_manage authorization gate

Examine the can_user_manage() function implementation in the plugin to confirm it accepts the user-supplied course ID parameter for authorization decisions

Affected if The authorization function uses the attacker-controlled course ID parameter rather than querying the actual content owner from the database

You are affected if Tutor LMS version is below 3.10.0, the plugin handles course IDs via GET parameters, and instructor-level users exist who could manipulate the course parameter to access unauthorized content.

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

Remediation

dbcve · scoped

Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime

Mitigation

Update to Tutor LMS version 3.10.0 or later which contains proper authorization validation. Until patched, limit instructor-level access and monitor administrative logs for unauthorized content modifications.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Version greater than 3.9.9 (specific fixed version should be confirmed from vendor release notes)

1. Identify the currently installed Tutor LMS version in WordPress admin under Plugins > Installed Plugins
2. Navigate to the official WordPress plugin repository or the plugin vendor's website to check for the latest stable release
3. Since the vulnerability affects versions up to and including 3.9.9, upgrade to a version newer than 3.9.9 that includes the security fix
4. Before upgrading, backup the WordPress database and files
5. Test the upgrade in a staging environment if possible, particularly for instructor-level functionality (course creation, lesson management, quiz handling)
6. After upgrade, verify that the `can_user_manage()` function now properly validates course ownership rather than trusting user-supplied GET parameters

Caveat Review vendor release notes for any changes to instructor permissions or course management features that may affect workflow

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
Testing3.0 h
Review / QA2.0 h

11.0 hours of engineering $1,930

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References

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-6965 in production — separate from our analysis above.

Notes0 Guidelines

Know something about CVE-2026-6965?

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

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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

At a glance

A fix existsA vendor remedy is published

Severity 5.3 Medium

Exploit likelihood EPSS, next 30 days 0.3%

Remediation

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Have this fixed 11 hrs · Moderate

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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.

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.

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.

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.

Check your environment

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.

Scan for this in your stack

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Practitioner notes

No notes yet

Official description

Technical summary

CVSS breakdown

Am I affected?

Remediation

References