CVE-2026-8502
Deferred Deferred - Pending Action
Sensitive Information Exposure in LearnPress WordPress LMS Plugin

Publication date: 2026-06-06

Last updated on: 2026-06-08

Assigner: Wordfence

Description
The LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 4.3.6 via the 'return_type' parameter. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to extract sensitive data including the plaintext post_password of password-protected courses and the full post_content, post_author, and post_name of unpublished draft, private, and pending courses via the unrestricted SELECT * fallback query. Exploitation requires supplying both c_status=all (to bypass the publish-only post_status WHERE clause) and return_type=json (to prevent the safe DISTINCT(ID) AS ID field override) in a single unauthenticated request to the /wp-json/lp/v1/courses/archive-course endpoint.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-06-06
Last Modified
2026-06-08
Generated
2026-06-27
AI Q&A
2026-06-06
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-25
NVD
CVE-2026-8502
EUVD
EUVD-2026-34952
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
thimpress learnpress to 4.3.6 (inc)
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-862 The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
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Executive Summary

The LearnPress WordPress LMS Plugin is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to and including 4.3.6. This vulnerability arises from improper handling of the 'return_type' parameter, allowing unauthenticated attackers to extract sensitive data.

Attackers can exploit this by sending a specially crafted request to the /wp-json/lp/v1/courses/archive-course endpoint with parameters c_status=all and return_type=json. This bypasses restrictions and allows access to sensitive information such as plaintext passwords of password-protected courses, as well as full content, author, and name details of unpublished or private courses.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information including plaintext passwords and unpublished course content. Such exposure can compromise the confidentiality of course materials and user data.

An attacker could use this information to gain unauthorized access to protected courses or misuse unpublished content, potentially damaging the reputation of the course provider and leading to loss of trust.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by monitoring for unauthenticated HTTP requests to the endpoint /wp-json/lp/v1/courses/archive-course that include the parameters c_status=all and return_type=json.

A possible command to detect such attempts using curl could be:

  • curl -I "http://yourwordpresssite.com/wp-json/lp/v1/courses/archive-course?c_status=all&return_type=json"

Network monitoring tools or intrusion detection systems can be configured to alert on requests containing these specific parameters targeting the mentioned endpoint.

Mitigation Strategies

The immediate step to mitigate this vulnerability is to update the LearnPress WordPress LMS Plugin to a version later than 4.3.6 where this issue is fixed.

Until an update is applied, restrict access to the /wp-json/lp/v1/courses/archive-course endpoint by implementing firewall rules or access controls to block unauthenticated requests containing the parameters c_status=all and return_type=json.

Additionally, monitor logs for suspicious requests to this endpoint and consider temporarily disabling the plugin if an update is not immediately available.

Compliance Impact

The vulnerability allows unauthenticated attackers to extract sensitive data such as plaintext passwords and unpublished course content. This exposure of sensitive information could potentially lead to non-compliance with data protection regulations like GDPR and HIPAA, which mandate the protection of personal and sensitive data from unauthorized access.

Specifically, the leakage of plaintext post_passwords and unpublished content may violate confidentiality requirements and data minimization principles under these regulations.

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