Academy LMS <= 4.0.1 - Authenticated (Contributor+) Arbitrary HTML File Read via 'id' Parameter in /wp/v2/templates REST Route

2026-10-02 16:31
Wordfence PRISM

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 4.0.2
Affected Plugin
Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning
Affected Version
<= 4.0.1
CVSS
4.3Medium
Weakness type
CWE-22 · Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')
CVE
CVE pending
View all Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning vulnerabilities

At a glance

This record tracks a medium-severity Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal') vulnerability in the Academy LMS WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 4.0.1. It carries a CVSS score of 4.3 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Contributor level or above. The issue is fixed in version 4.0.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed October 2026, reported by Wordfence PRISM.

Vulnerability Overview

The Academy LMS – AI Course Builder, Quizzes, Certificates & eLearning plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Directory Traversal in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.1 via the 'id' parameter. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with contributor-level access and above, to read the contents of arbitrary .html files on the server. The plugin appends a '.html' extension to the attacker-supplied path before reading it, so files with any other extension — including wp-config.php — are out of reach. The file's contents are returned in full in the REST JSON response's content field.

Technical Analysis

The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, with low attack complexity — no special timing or configuration is needed, and no interaction from a victim user.

CWE-22: Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

Reaching this weakness in Academy LMS <= 4.0.1 takes an account at Contributor level or above. Path traversal happens when user-controlled text is used to build a filesystem path without being constrained to an intended directory, so sequences like ../ walk the resolved path somewhere else.

Depending on the operation, it means reading files outside the intended folder — wp-config.php being the usual target — or writing to and deleting paths the web server can touch. For Academy LMS the fix is 4.0.2: builds <= 4.0.1 are affected, anything from 4.0.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to version 4.0.2, or a newer patched version

How does WordSec protect against this?

An attacker needs Contributor access first, so the firewall sees the attempt as traffic from a logged-in account: WordSec's web application firewall inspects request payloads before WordPress loads them. None of that substitutes for the fix: Academy LMS 4.0.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Firewall
  • Alerts

External References

https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/1f0a1439-d10c-4dfc-9a40-7319debe3c51

Related records

Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C