CVE-2026-55493
HotCRP: comment-author search exposes anonymous commenter identities
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.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.5
HotCRP: comment-author search exposes anonymous commenter identities
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-55493- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
EUVDEUVD-2026-114367
6.5
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.
- Record
EUVD-2026-114367- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-05
NVD
6.5
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-55493- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
OSV
6.5
HotCRP: comment-author search exposes anonymous commenter identities
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.
- Record
CVE-2026-55493- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-863
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Affected products
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| facts | NVD, OSV | |
| first indexed | CVE List, EUVD, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2026-55493 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Kohler Hotcrp, published October 30, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.30%, the 22nd percentile. No source names a fixed version.