# CVE-2026-16759: Tutor LMS <= 4.0.5 - Unauthenticated Remote Code Execution via 'template' and 'data' POST Parameters

> Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary zero-argument PHP functions and create subscriber accounts via unsanitized parameters in Tutor LMS.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-hj5q-894h-jcm9

## What is CVE-2026-16759?

CVE-2026-16759 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in themeum Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution, published on 28 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

The Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution limited to zero-argument function invocation in all versions up to, and including, 4.0.5 via the tutor_course_filter_ajax AJAX action. This is due to missing authorization on the handler combined with unsanitized array keys being passed to extract() inside tutor_load_template(), allowing attacker-controlled POST data to overwrite the local $template variable and, in the resulting templates/single-content-loader.php template, the $method_map and $context variables invoked at $method_map[$context](). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to call an arbitrary zero-argument PHP function server-side and, via WordPress core edit_user(), to create a persistent subscriber-level account from request parameters.

Weakness: CWE-74 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16759?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-16759?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-16759 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-16759 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16759 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-16759 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-16759 is a medium-severity code injection vulnerability in themeum Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution, published on 28 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-16759 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: themeum Tutor LMS – eLearning and online course solution. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16759/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16759/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-16759
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-16759
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-16759

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-16759/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.