CVE-2026-14184 in Academy LMS Plugin
Summary
by MITRE • 07/21/2026
The Academy LMS WordPress plugin before 3.8.1 does not verify ownership of a user-supplied user identifier in several of its lesson AJAX handlers, allowing authenticated users with subscriber-level access to read and modify other users' lesson notes and mark other users' lesson content as completed.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 07/21/2026
The vulnerability exists within the Academy LMS WordPress plugin version 3.8.1 and earlier, where insufficient input validation and authorization checks create a critical access control flaw that undermines user privacy and data integrity. This issue stems from the plugin's failure to properly verify ownership of user identifiers in its lesson AJAX handlers, specifically affecting authenticated users with subscriber-level privileges who should normally be restricted to their own content access. The vulnerability operates through the plugin's AJAX endpoints that handle lesson-related operations, where user-supplied identifiers are accepted without proper validation against the current user's authorization context. According to CWE-284, this represents an improper access control weakness where the system grants unauthorized privileges to legitimate users who should not have access to other users' data. The flaw allows attackers to manipulate lesson notes and completion status for arbitrary users by simply passing different user identifiers in the AJAX requests, effectively bypassing the intended user scope restrictions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs when authenticated subscribers leverage the plugin's AJAX handlers to perform operations on lesson content that belongs to other users. Specifically, the system accepts user ID parameters without verifying whether the requesting user has legitimate authorization to access or modify the target user's lesson data. This creates a path for privilege escalation where low-privileged users can read and modify lesson notes, mark lessons as completed, or otherwise manipulate learning progress data belonging to other users. The impact extends beyond simple information disclosure to include potential data corruption and integrity violations that compromise the learning management system's core functionality. From an ATT&CK perspective, this vulnerability maps to privilege escalation techniques and credential access patterns where attackers exploit legitimate user accounts to gain unauthorized access to additional resources. The flaw is particularly concerning because it operates within a learning management system context where users trust that their progress data remains private and accurate.
The operational impact of this vulnerability creates significant risks for educational institutions and organizations using the Academy LMS plugin, as it allows unauthorized modification of user learning progress and personal notes. This breach of data integrity can lead to grade manipulation, privacy violations, and disruption of the learning environment where users cannot trust that their academic records remain accurate and secure. Organizations may face compliance issues with education regulations that require protection of student data and privacy, particularly in environments governed by standards such as FERPA or GDPR. The vulnerability also creates potential reputational damage when users discover unauthorized access to their learning progress information. From a security operations standpoint, this flaw represents an easy-to-exploit access control weakness that can be leveraged by both malicious insiders and external attackers who gain subscriber-level access to the system.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper authorization checks and input validation within the plugin's AJAX handlers. The most effective solution involves adding explicit user ownership verification before processing any lesson-related operations, ensuring that only authorized users can access or modify data belonging to other accounts. This requires implementing a robust permission checking mechanism that validates whether the requesting user has legitimate access rights to the target user's content. Organizations should also consider applying immediate patches to update to version 3.8.1 or later where this vulnerability has been addressed. Additional defensive measures include monitoring for unusual AJAX request patterns and implementing rate limiting for lesson-related operations to prevent automated exploitation attempts. Security teams should conduct regular audits of plugin permissions and access controls, particularly in learning management systems where user data privacy is paramount. The fix should align with security best practices outlined in the OWASP Top Ten and NIST cybersecurity frameworks, ensuring that all user interactions with sensitive data are properly authenticated and authorized before any modifications occur.