CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2020-26876 — Wpcoursesplugin Wp-Courses security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.5

The wp-courses plugin through 2.0.27 for WordPress allows remote attackers to bypass the intended payment step (for course videos and materials) by using the /wp-json REST API, as exploited in the wild in September 2020. This occurs because show_in_rest is enabled for custom post types (e.g., /wp-json/wp/v2/course and /wp-json/wp/v2/lesson exist).

Severity
High
CVSS
7.5 (3.1)
Published
2020-10-07
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
php/wordpress
Weaknesses
CWE-306

Affected products

  • wpcoursesplugin / wp-courses

Matched remediation archetype

Authentication bypass and missing authentication

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Check exposure

  • Map every affected endpoint and protocol path, including alternate ports, legacy routes, recovery flows, service accounts, and machine-to-machine access.
  • Confirm which deployments enable the affected authentication mode and whether the interface is reachable from untrusted networks.
  • Review session, token, credential, and proxy trust configuration without attempting account takeover.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the supported fix and centralize fail-closed authentication before protected request handling.
  • Remove default or embedded credentials, rotate affected secrets and sessions, and bind authentication decisions to the intended audience and channel.
  • Add negative tests for alternate routes, malformed or absent credentials, recovery flows, and proxy-derived identity.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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