CVE-2023-42446Network attack vector

Session hijacking via namespace-blind cache invalidation

Published Sep 18, 2023 · Updated Sep 24, 2024

Session expiration failure in Pow 1.0.14 through 1.0.33 allows remote authenticated users to hijack sessions through stale cache keys. The startup table fold strips each stored key's namespace through unwrap(), then schedules expiration under the default namespace instead of its stored namespace. Exploitation requires the Mnesia backend, possession of a previously issued session, and shutdown of every cache instance for longer than that session's remaining lifetime.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.45%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Session expiration failure in Pow 1.0.14 through 1.0.33 allows remote authenticated users to hijack sessions through stale cache keys. The startup table fold strips each stored key's namespace through unwrap(), then schedules expiration under the default namespace instead of its stored namespace. Exploitation requires the Mnesia backend, possession of a previously issued session, and shutdown of every cache instance for longer than that session's remaining lifetime.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-42446
Published
Sep 18, 2023
Updated
Sep 24, 2024
Vendor
Pow Auth
Product
Pow
Classifications
CWE-298, CWE-672, T1550.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 18, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 24, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 1.0.14, < 1.0.34

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Pow Auth · Powversion=>= 1.0.14, < 1.0.34

Published CVSS scores

6.5NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
6.5GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-298Improper Validation of Certificate Expiration
CWE-672Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release
T1550.004Use Alternate Authentication Material: Web Session Cookie

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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