learnnearclub Login with NEAR Plugin up to 0.3.3 on WordPress Challenge-Response ajaxLoginWithNear improper authentication

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in learnnearclub Login with NEAR Plugin up to 0.3.3 on WordPress. Affected by this vulnerability is the function ajaxLoginWithNear of the component Challenge-Response Handler. The manipulation results in improper authentication. This vulnerability is cataloged as CVE-2026-8994. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in learnnearclub Login with NEAR Plugin up to 0.3.3 on WordPress. Affected is the function ajaxLoginWithNear of the component Challenge-Response Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a improper authentication vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-287. When an actor claims to have a given identity, the product does not prove or insufficiently proves that the claim is correct. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

The Login with NEAR plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass in all versions up to, and including, 0.3.3. The `ajaxLoginWithNear()` function — registered as a `wp_ajax_nopriv` action and therefore reachable by unauthenticated users — accepts an attacker-supplied `account` POST parameter and issues a valid WordPress authentication cookie based solely on a substring check for `.near`, with no nonce verification, cryptographic signature validation, challenge-response exchange, or any proof that the requester controls the corresponding NEAR wallet. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to log in as any existing WordPress user, including administrators, whose email address matches the deterministic `@near.org` pattern derived from the supplied `account` value. If no matching user exists, the handler automatically creates and authenticates a new WordPress account for the attacker-controlled identifier, providing a further avenue for unauthorized account creation.

The weakness was shared by Joy Gilbert. The advisory is shared for download at wordfence.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-8994 since 05/19/2026. The exploitability is told to be difficult. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 05/27/2026).

There is no information about possible countermeasures known. It may be suggested to replace the affected object with an alternative product.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-32094). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

• WordPress Plugin

Vendor

• learnnearclub

Name

• Login with NEAR Plugin

Version

• 0.3.0
• 0.3.1
• 0.3.2
• 0.3.3

CPE 2.3info

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CPE 2.2info

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Entryinfo

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

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