# CVE-2026-15309: CourseCure Courses privilege escalation via missing capability check

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-15309-the-coursecure-courses-plugin-for-wordpress-is-vulnerable-to  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-11-12. Updated: 2026-11-12  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-15309 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.8 · Published 2026-11-12

The CourseCure Courses plugin for WordPress allows authenticated subscribers to become administrators by exploiting a missing authorization check in the settings update function. An attacker with a basic subscriber account can modify WordPress options to auto-grant administrator privileges to newly registered accounts, gaining full control of the website.

Vendors: [WishList Member](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/wishlist-member).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-15309 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-15309 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-15309?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.8, published 12 November 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** WishList Member CourseCure Courses up to and including 1.5.1.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-15309?** Yes: fixed in 1.5.3. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-15309 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a web application.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-15309?** Check whether you run WishList Member CourseCure Courses at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- Fixed in 1.5.3

## Technical details

The ajax_save_settings() function accepts arbitrary POST parameters and passes them directly to update_option() without verifying user capabilities, allowing privilege escalation from subscriber to administrator. An authenticated attacker can set default_role to 'administrator' and enable user registration, then create an account with full admin access. This requires authentication but no additional user interaction.

## Affected products

- WishList Member CourseCure Courses up to and including 1.5.1

## Timeline

- 2026-11-12: disclosed
- 2026-09-29: patched

## References

- [https://my.wishlistmember.com/changelog/coursecure-courses-1-5-3/](https://my.wishlistmember.com/changelog/coursecure-courses-1-5-3/)
- [https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2d754689-0d64-4cb8-9c73-7dd6d4fb0c72?source=cve](https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/2d754689-0d64-4cb8-9c73-7dd6d4fb0c72?source=cve)