CVE-2026-78159

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.

CVSS v3 9.8 CRITICAL

9.8^/10

CVSS v3 : CRITICAL

Vector :

Exploitability : 3.9 / Impact : 5.9

Attack Vector NETWORK

Attack Complexity LOW

Privileges Required NONE

User Interaction NONE

Confidentiality Impact HIGH

Integrity Impact HIGH

Availability Impact HIGH

Scope UNCHANGED

References

Link	Resource
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/common/src/Tribe/Utils/Element_Classes.php#L211
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/Tribe/Views/V2/Template_Bootstrap.php#L214
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/Tribe/Views/V2/Widgets/Service_Provider.php#L279
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/views/v2/components/messages.php#L30
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3667866%40the-events-calendar&new=3667866%40the-events-calendar
https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3667867%40the-events-calendar&new=3667867%40the-events-calendar
https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/cc2ccfeb-6df6-4fee-96a5-94f8dd131f7c?source=cve

Configurations

No configuration.

History

No history.

Information

Published : 2026-09-12 08:16

Updated : 2026-09-14 17:17

NVD link : CVE-2026-78159

Mitre link : CVE-2026-78159

CVE.ORG link : CVE-2026-78159

JSON object : View

Products Affected

No product.

CWE

CWE-94

Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

{"id": "CVE-2026-78159", "cveTags": [], "metrics": {"ssvcV203": [{"source": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0", "ssvcData": {"id": "CVE-2026-78159", "role": "CISA Coordinator", "options": [{"exploitation": "none"}, {"automatable": "yes"}, {"technicalImpact": "total"}], "version": "2.0.3", "timestamp": "2026-09-14T16:10:22.569007Z"}}], "cvssMetricV31": [{"type": "Secondary", "source": "security@wordfence.com", "cvssData": {"scope": "UNCHANGED", "version": "3.1", "baseScore": 9.8, "attackVector": "NETWORK", "baseSeverity": "CRITICAL", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "integrityImpact": "HIGH", "userInteraction": "NONE", "attackComplexity": "LOW", "availabilityImpact": "HIGH", "privilegesRequired": "NONE", "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH"}, "impactScore": 5.9, "exploitabilityScore": 3.9}]}, "affected": [{"source": "security@wordfence.com", "affectedData": [{"vendor": "stellarwp", "product": "The Events Calendar", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "0", "versionType": "semver", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.17.3"}], "defaultStatus": "unaffected"}]}], "published": "2026-09-12T08:16:24.377", "references": [{"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/common/src/Tribe/Utils/Element_Classes.php#L211", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}, {"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/Tribe/Views/V2/Template_Bootstrap.php#L214", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}, {"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/Tribe/Views/V2/Widgets/Service_Provider.php#L279", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}, {"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/browser/the-events-calendar/tags/6.17.3/src/views/v2/components/messages.php#L30", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}, {"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3667866%40the-events-calendar&new=3667866%40the-events-calendar", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}, {"url": "https://plugins.trac.wordpress.org/changeset?reponame=&old=3667867%40the-events-calendar&new=3667867%40the-events-calendar", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}, {"url": "https://www.wordfence.com/threat-intel/vulnerabilities/id/cc2ccfeb-6df6-4fee-96a5-94f8dd131f7c?source=cve", "source": "security@wordfence.com"}], "vulnStatus": "Deferred", "weaknesses": [{"type": "Secondary", "source": "security@wordfence.com", "description": [{"lang": "en", "value": "CWE-94"}]}], "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "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."}], "lastModified": "2026-09-14T17:17:51.410", "sourceIdentifier": "security@wordfence.com"}