CVE-2026-93901 Privilege escalation in Optima Express IDX
Unauthenticated attackers can escalate a pre-registered account to Author role via an unprotected AJAX action if user registration is enabled.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-93901?
CVE-2026-93901 is a high-severity vulnerability in ihomefinder Optima Express IDX, published on 25 Sep 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The Optima Express IDX plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 8.7.5. This is due to the `provisionBlogCredentials()` function in `iHomefinderAdmin.php` being reachable via the `wp_ajax_nopriv_ihf_clear_cache` AJAX action — through the call chain `iHomefinderAjaxHandler::clearCache()` → `activateAuthenticationToken()` → `getAuthenticationInfo()` → `provisionBlogCredentials()` — with no capability check, nonce verification, or ownership validation, and the function unconditionally calling `$user->set_role('author')` on whichever WordPress account matches the hard-coded login `optima-express` via `get_user_by('login', 'optima-express')`. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to escalate a pre-registered `optima-express` account to the Author role, gaining `publish_posts`, `upload_files`, and `edit_published_posts` capabilities, including access to the plugin's own `/wp-json/optima-express/v1/blog-post` REST endpoint. Exploitation requires open user registration to be enabled on the target site, and the attacker must register the `optima-express` username before the plugin has had the opportunity to provision that login for its own integration account.
Weakness: CWE-269
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-93901?
How do I fix CVE-2026-93901?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-93901 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-93901 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-93901 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-6j3j-m6gr-8hmg.