CVE-2026-86688: Session id is not renewed on authentication in ash_authentication, allowing session fixation

Severity: high (CVSS 7.4 v4.0)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.7% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-17 · updated 2026-09-18
Weakness: CWE-384

Description

Session Fixation vulnerability in team-alembic ash_authentication allows an attacker who can plant a session identifier in a victim's browser to hold an authenticated session once that victim signs in. AshAuthentication.Plug.Helpers.store_in_session/2 writes the authenticated subject into the existing session with Plug.Conn.put_session/3 and never calls Plug.Conn.configure_session(renew: true), so the identifier the visitor arrived with carries into their authenticated session. Every authentication event reaches this one function: the default success/4 injected by AshAuthentication.Phoenix.Controller.__using__/1, the AuthController emitted by mix ash_authentication_phoenix.install, and remember-me auto-login. AshAuthentication.Phoenix.Plug.store_in_session/2 is a defdelegate to it. Logout does not close the window either, because clear_session/2 ends with Plug.Conn.clear_session/1, which clears session contents but leaves the identifier intact, so a planted identifier survives a logout-then-login cycle. This issue affects ash_authentication: from 0.2.0 before 4.15.0 and from 5.0.0-rc.0 before 5.0.0-rc.14.

Affected products

team-alembic ash_authentication: from 0.2.0 before 4.15.0; from 5.0.0-rc.0 before 5.0.0-rc.14 — fixed in 4.15.0, 5.0.0-rc.14

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: team-alembic ash_authentication 4.15.0, 5.0.0-rc.14. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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