Academy LMS <= 4.0.3 - Authenticated (Custom+) Privilege Escalation to add_child REST endpoint
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.
CVE-2026-104022
Primary source · Revision 1
Imported from structured advisory data. Source references identify upstream records or fields; verify affected versions and your deployed configuration.
Security context
Source reference: cve:CVE-2026-104022
Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning
Source reference: /containers/cna/affected/0/product
- Affected versions
- Not stated in this record
- Fixed versions
- Not stated in this record
- Prerequisites
- Not stated in this record
Structured affected-version data
Original package identities and version rules from this source.
[
{
"vendor": "kodezen",
"product": "Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning",
"versions": [
{
"status": "affected",
"version": "0",
"versionType": "semver",
"lessThanOrEqual": "4.0.3"
}
],
"defaultStatus": "unaffected"
}
]- Related CVEs
- CVE-2026-104022
Source reference:
/cveMetadata/cveId
Publisher severity
medium
Source reference: /containers/cna/metrics
- Event
- #16954 · Revision 1
- Added to Heist Feed
- Publisher date