CVE-2026-78159 Code injection in The Events Calendar
Unauthenticated attackers can execute arbitrary code on WordPress sites using The Events Calendar plugin if comments are enabled on event posts.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-78159?
CVE-2026-78159 is a critical code injection vulnerability in stellarwp The Events Calendar, published on 12 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The The Events Calendar plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in all versions up to, and including, 6.17.3 via the parse_array function. This is due to insufficient validation of the widget 'classes' map, allowing a plain-array payload to bypass the is_safe_widget_instance() object check and reach the callable-invocation sink in Element_Classes::parse_array(). This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the server. Exploitation requires that the targeted site has comments enabled on tribe_events posts and that at least one comment containing a crafted wp:legacy-widget block has been submitted, as the attack chain is triggered when do_blocks() processes the single-event HTML including the comment area.
Weakness: CWE-94
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-78159?
How do I fix CVE-2026-78159?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-78159 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.
Is CVE-2026-78159 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-78159 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 1 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-9c57-9fxg-8x9j.