Login with NEAR <= 0.3.3 - Authentication Bypass via 'account' Parameter
Strategic Overview
- Status
- Unpatched
- Affected Plugin
- Login with NEAR
- Affected Version
<= 0.3.3- CVSS
- 8.1High
- Weakness type
- CWE-287 · Improper Authentication
- CVE
CVE-2026-8994
At a glance
CVE-2026-8994 is a high-severity Improper Authentication vulnerability in the Login with NEAR WordPress plugin, affecting versions <= 0.3.3. It carries a CVSS score of 8.1 (reachable over the network; high confidentiality, integrity, availability impact). Exploitation requires no authentication. No fixed release has been reported yet; treat installations running this software as exposed. Disclosed May 2026, reported by g0wthr.
Vulnerability Overview
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 `<account>@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.
Technical Analysis
The vector marks this flaw as remotely reachable over the network, and no privileges on the target site, and no interaction from a victim user. A successful exploit has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability — full site compromise territory.
CWE-287: Improper Authentication
Login with NEAR <= 0.3.3 carries this weakness at ajaxLoginWithNear(), and reaching it takes a caller who can reach the endpoint. Improper authentication means the mechanism that proves who a caller is can be satisfied without the secret it was supposed to require.
An attacker authenticates as another user — administrators included — without ever knowing a password, so password policies and login rate limits never come into play. No fixed build of this plugin is recorded for Login with NEAR yet, so installs running <= 0.3.3 stay exposed until the vendor ships one.
Remediation
No known patch available. Please review the vulnerability's details in depth and employ mitigations based on your organization's risk tolerance. It may be best to uninstall the affected software and find a replacement.
How does WordSec protect against this?
Because it turns on account access, WordSec's login security is the relevant layer: role-based two-factor, captcha and brute-force limits raise the cost of getting the account this needs. No patched version is recorded yet, which is the case where a filtering layer matters most, because there is nothing to update to.
- Login Security
- Alerts
External References
Vulnerability data © Defiant, Inc., provided under the Wordfence Intelligence T&C