Optima Express IDX <= 8.7.5 - Unauthenticated Privilege Escalation to 'ihf_clear_cache' AJAX Action to Author Role Assignment

The Optima Express IDX plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Privilege Escalation in all versions up to, and including, 8.7.5. This is due to the `provisionBlogCredentials()` function in `iHomefinderAdmin.php` being reachable via the `wp_ajax_nopriv_ihf_clear_cache` AJAX action — through the call chain `iHomefinderAjaxHandler::clearCache()` → `activateAuthenticationToken()` → `getAuthenticationInfo()` → `provisionBlogCredentials()` — with no capability check, nonce verification, or ownership validation, and the function unconditionally calling `$user->set_role('author')` on whichever WordPress account matches the hard-coded login `optima-express` via `get_user_by('login', 'optima-express')`. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to escalate a pre-registered `optima-express` account to the Author role, gaining `publish_posts`, `upload_files`, and `edit_published_posts` capabilities, including access to the plugin's own `/wp-json/optima-express/v1/blog-post` REST endpoint. Exploitation requires open user registration to be enabled on the target site, and the attacker must register the `optima-express` username before the plugin has had the opportunity to provision that login for its own integration account.

This one needs no account at all, which puts it outside what login hardening can reach; WordSec's login security narrows the account-level paths around it, and the firewall is what inspects the request itself. None of that substitutes for the fix: Optima Express IDX 8.7.6 closes this, and updating the plugin is the step that ends it.

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