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CVE-2026-78159: The Events Calendar

Severity

9.8 (CRITICAL)

Vendor

STELLARWP

Affected versions

0 through 6.17.3

Patch status

Unknown

Published

2026-09-12T08:16:24.377

Modified

2026-09-12T08:16:24.377

Why it matters

This matters because the affected product may be exposed on public websites. A vulnerable plugin can create a direct path to site compromise, malicious code deployment, or data theft.

Recommended admin actions

• Prioritize validation immediately due to critical CVSS severity.
• Check whether the affected WordPress plugin or theme is installed.
• Update, disable, or remove the affected component if present.
• Treat internet-facing systems as higher priority.
• Review logs for suspicious activity related to the affected application or component.

Technical summary

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.

View the official NVD record for CVE-2026-78159

CVE data is sourced from NVD/CNA records and optional enrichment. Validate against the vendor advisory before taking production action.