diff --git a/.changeset/fix-admin-extension-cors-preflight.md b/.changeset/fix-admin-extension-cors-preflight.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..1f03a5caa9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/fix-admin-extension-cors-preflight.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+"@shopify/shopify-app-express": patch
+---
+
+Respond to CORS preflight (`OPTIONS`) requests in `validateAuthenticatedSession` instead of trying to authenticate them. Admin UI extension `fetch` calls to an app's backend send a preflight request that carries no `Authorization` header, so the middleware would redirect/403 and the browser would block the real request on CORS. The middleware now short-circuits `OPTIONS` requests, responding `204` with the CORS headers for `https://extensions.shopifycdn.com`.
diff --git a/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/__tests__/validate-authenticated-session.test.ts b/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/__tests__/validate-authenticated-session.test.ts
index 49c25d1ba5..bd01ebbf56 100644
--- a/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/__tests__/validate-authenticated-session.test.ts
+++ b/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/__tests__/validate-authenticated-session.test.ts
@@ -225,6 +225,43 @@ describe('validateAuthenticatedSession', () => {
 
       expect((response.error as any).text).toBe('Storage error');
     });
+
+    it('responds to a CORS preflight OPTIONS request without authenticating', async () => {
+      const getCurrentIdSpy = jest.spyOn(shopify.api.session, 'getCurrentId');
+
+      const response = await request(app)
+        .options('/test/shop')
+        .set('Origin', 'https://extensions.shopifycdn.com')
+        .expect(204);
+
+      expect(response.headers['access-control-allow-origin']).toBe(
+        'https://extensions.shopifycdn.com',
+      );
+      expect(getCurrentIdSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalled();
+    });
+
+    it('allows the Authorization header on the preflight response', async () => {
+      const response = await request(app)
+        .options('/test/shop')
+        .set('Origin', 'https://extensions.shopifycdn.com')
+        .expect(204);
+
+      expect(response.headers['access-control-allow-headers']).toContain(
+        'Authorization',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('allows the request methods on the preflight response', async () => {
+      const response = await request(app)
+        .options('/test/shop')
+        .set('Origin', 'https://extensions.shopifycdn.com')
+        .expect(204);
+
+      expect(response.headers['access-control-allow-methods']).toContain('GET');
+      expect(response.headers['access-control-allow-methods']).toContain(
+        'POST',
+      );
+    });
   });
 
   describe('for non-embedded apps', () => {
diff --git a/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/validate-authenticated-session.ts b/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/validate-authenticated-session.ts
index 2b97cd5baf..ab2d42b8bf 100644
--- a/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/validate-authenticated-session.ts
+++ b/packages/apps/shopify-app-express/src/middlewares/validate-authenticated-session.ts
@@ -18,6 +18,17 @@ export function validateAuthenticatedSession({
     return async (req: Request, res: Response, next: NextFunction) => {
       config.logger.debug('Running validateAuthenticatedSession');
 
+      if (req.method === 'OPTIONS') {
+        res.set({
+          'Access-Control-Allow-Origin': 'https://extensions.shopifycdn.com',
+          'Access-Control-Allow-Methods':
+            'GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, OPTIONS',
+          'Access-Control-Allow-Headers': 'Authorization, Content-Type',
+        });
+        res.status(204).end();
+        return undefined;
+      }
+
       let sessionId: string | undefined;
       try {
         sessionId = await api.session.getCurrentId({