CVE-2026-33318 Actual has Privilege Escalation via 'change-password' Endpoint on OpenID-Migrated Servers
Authenticated users can escalate to admin on servers migrated from password auth to OpenID Connect by exploiting a missing authorization check and orphaned credentials.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-33318?
CVE-2026-33318 is a high-severity vulnerability in actualbudget actual, published on 24 Apr 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
Actual is a local-first personal finance tool. Prior to version 26.4.0, any authenticated user (including `BASIC` role) can escalate to `ADMIN` on servers migrated from password authentication to OpenID Connect. Three weaknesses combine: `POST /account/change-password` has no authorization check, allowing any session to overwrite the password hash; the inactive password `auth` row is never removed on migration; and the login endpoint accepts a client-supplied `loginMethod` that bypasses the server's active auth configuration. Together these allow an attacker to set a known password and authenticate as the anonymous admin account created during the multiuser migration. The three weaknesses form a single, sequential exploit chain — none produces privilege escalation on its own. Missing authorization on POST /change-password allows overwriting a password hash, but only matters if there is an orphaned row to target. Orphaned password row persisting after migration provides the target row, but is harmless without the ability to authenticate using it. Client-controlled loginMethod: "password" allows forcing password-based auth, but is useless without a known hash established by step 1. All three must be chained in sequence to achieve the impact. No single weakness independently results in privilege escalation. The single root cause is the missing authorization check on /change-password; the other two are preconditions that make it exploitable. Version 26.4.0 contains a fix.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-33318?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including @actual-app/sync-server. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
@actual-app/sync-server npm | All versions | 26.4.0 |
@actual-app/sync-server npm | All versions | 26.4.0 |
Products include Actualbudget Actual.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33318?
Upgrade @actual-app/sync-server to 26.4.0 or later.
Is CVE-2026-33318 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-33318 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in actualbudget actual
- CVE-2026-27584 ActualBudget server is Missing Authentication for SimpleFIN and Pluggy AI bank sync endpoints
- CVE-2026-27638 ActualBudget missing authorization in sync endpoints allows cross-user budget file access in multi-user mode
- CVE-2026-3089 Actual Sync Server 26.2.1 - Authenticated Path Traversal
Sources
Also known as GHSA-prp4-2f49-fcgp.