CVE-2025-11923

LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes - Various Versions - Authenticated (Student+) Privilege Escalation

2025-11-12 14:27
shark3y

Strategic Overview

Status
Patched in 3.41.2
Affected Version
3.5.3 – 9.1.0 · 8 branches
CVSS
8.8High
Weakness type
CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management
CVE
CVE-2025-11923
View all LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes vulnerabilities

At a glance

CVE-2025-11923 is a high-severity Improper Privilege Management vulnerability in the LifterLMS WordPress plugin, affecting versions 3.5.3 – 9.1.0 · 8 branches. It carries a CVSS score of 8.8 (reachable over the network; low attack complexity; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires an authenticated account at Student level or above. The issue is fixed in version 3.41.2; sites on affected versions should update now. Disclosed November 2025, reported by shark3y.

Vulnerability Overview

The LifterLMS – WP LMS for eLearning, Online Courses, & Quizzes plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to privilege escalation. This is due to the plugin not properly validating a user's identity prior to allowing them to modify their own role via the REST API. The permission check in the update_item_permissions_check() function returns true when a user updates their own account without verifying the role changes. This makes it possible for authenticated attackers, with student-level access and above, to escalate their privileges to administrator by updating their own roles array via a crafted REST API request. Another endpoint intended for instructors also provides an attack vector. Affected version ranges are 3.5.3 - 3.41.2, 4.0.0 - 4.21.3, 5.0.0 - 5.10.0, 6.0.0 - 6.11.0, 7.0.0 - 7.8.7, 8.0.0 - 8.0.7, 9.0.0 - 9.0.7, 9.1.0.

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. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.

CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management

LifterLMS 3.5.3 – 9.1.0 · 8 branches carries this weakness at update_item_permissions_check(), and reaching it takes an account at Student level or above. Improper privilege management means the code lets an account end up with capabilities its role should not have.

It converts a low-privileged account into an administrative one, which makes every other restriction on the site irrelevant. For LifterLMS the fix is 3.41.2: builds 3.5.3 – 9.1.0 · 8 branches are affected, anything from 3.41.2 onward is not.

Remediation

Update to one of the following versions, or a newer patched version: 3.41.2, 4.21.4, 5.10.1, 6.11.1, 7.8.8, 8.0.8, 9.0.8, 9.1.1

How does WordSec protect against this?

Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. None of that substitutes for the fix: LifterLMS 3.41.2 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

  • Login Security
  • Alerts

External References

Related records

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