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CVE-2026-55493— HotCRP: comment-author search exposes anonymous commenter identities

Quick assessment

Affected
kohler hotcrp
Exploitation
No confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; assess based on exposure
Recommended action
Check the vendor advisory and references for a fixed version. If immediate upgrade is impossible, restrict exposure and increase monitoring.

HotCRP 是一款会议评审软件。从 2.101 版本开始， 搜索项会检查评论是否对当前搜索用户可见，但未能检查评论者的身份是否应当可见。因此， 搜索可能会匹配到由 USER 撰写、内容可见但本应匿名的评论，从而允许拥有搜索权限的已认证用户推断出匿名评论的作者身份，破坏评审者的匿名性。用户无法查看的评论仍会被排除在搜索结果之外。该安全公告的正文部分指出 3.3 版本已修复此问题，但其受影响版本元数据却排除了 3.3；而经验证的仓库标签 3.3 实际上已包含身份检查修复，然而其已修复版本元数据却错误地列出了 3.3.

CVSS 6.5 · Medium

Possible ATT&CK Techniques 1 AI

T1083 · File and Directory Discovery

Affected Version Matrix 1

VendorProduct Version RangeStatus
kohler hotcrp >= 2.101, < 3.3 affected
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I. Basic Information for CVE-2026-55493

Vulnerability Information
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Vulnerability Title
HotCRP: comment-author search exposes anonymous commenter identities
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Description
HotCRP is conference review software. Starting with 2.101, the `cmt:` search term checks whether a comment is visible to the searching user but fails to check whether the commenter's identity should be visible. A `cmt:USER` search can therefore match a paper with a visible comment authored by USER even when the comment is supposed to be anonymous. An authenticated user with access to the search can infer the author of an anonymous comment, compromising reviewer anonymity. Comments that the user cannot see remain excluded from search results. The advisory prose identifies 3.3 as fixed, its affected-version metadata excludes 3.3, and the verified repository tag 3.3 already contains the identity-check fix; however, its patched-version metadata instead lists 3.3.1. This fixed-version source conflict remains unresolved.
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
CVSS Information
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5
Vulnerability Type
授权机制不正确
Source: CVE Program / CVE List V5

Affected Products

Vendor Product Affected Versions CPE Subscribe
kohler hotcrp >= 2.101, < 3.3 -

II. Public POCs for CVE-2026-55493

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III. Intelligence Information for CVE-2026-55493

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Other References for CVE-2026-55493 (3)

IV. Related Vulnerabilities

Same product: hotcrp
Same vendor: kohler
Same weakness: CWE-863