GHSA-2VG6-77G8-24MP

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-07-07 20:56 – Updated: 2026-07-07 20:56
VLAI
Summary
Better Auth: Stale sessions persist after user deletion across admin, anonymous, and SCIM flows
Details

Am I affected?

Users are affected if all of the following are true:

  • They configure secondaryStorage on betterAuth(...) (Redis, KV, or any external session cache).
  • session.storeSessionInDatabase is left unset or set to false (the default).
  • Their application's deployment uses one or more of:
  • The admin plugin and calls auth.api.removeUser(...) or authClient.admin.removeUser(...).
  • The anonymous plugin and exposes /delete-anonymous-user or relies on the after-link hook to clean up the anonymous user.
  • The @better-auth/scim plugin and exposes DELETE /scim/v2/Users/:userId.

If storeSessionInDatabase is true, sessions are also written to the database, and the database delete cascades; users are not affected.

Fix:

  1. Upgrade to better-auth@<patched-version> or later (and @better-auth/scim@<patched-version> if they use SCIM).
  2. If they cannot upgrade, see workarounds below.

Summary

When secondaryStorage is configured and storeSessionInDatabase is false, three user-deletion endpoints in better-auth plus one in @better-auth/scim call internalAdapter.deleteUser(userId) without first calling internalAdapter.deleteSessions(userId). The deleted user's session payload (which carries a cached user object) remains in secondary storage, and internalAdapter.findSession(token) keeps returning it as a valid session until the session TTL elapses (default 7 days).

Details

The vulnerable call sites are:

  • admin plugin's removeUser (packages/better-auth/src/plugins/admin/routes.ts:1463).
  • anonymous plugin's self-delete endpoint (packages/better-auth/src/plugins/anonymous/index.ts:222).
  • anonymous plugin's after-link hook (packages/better-auth/src/plugins/anonymous/index.ts:325).
  • @better-auth/scim's DELETE /scim/v2/Users/:userId (packages/scim/src/routes.ts:1019).

Working callers that already do the right thing: the core /delete-user self-delete and /delete-user/callback (packages/better-auth/src/api/routes/update-user.ts:551).

The fix shape extends each vulnerable caller to invoke deleteSessions(userId) before deleteUser(userId). The architectural follow-up centralizes the cleanup inside deleteUser itself or introduces a single deleteUserAndSessions orchestrator so future callers cannot regress this contract.

Patches

Fixed in better-auth@<patched-version> and @better-auth/scim@<patched-version>. All four user-deletion call sites now invoke deleteSessions(userId) before deleteUser(userId) so sessions are evicted from secondary storage at the same time the user row is removed.

Workarounds

If users cannot upgrade immediately:

  • Configuration-level: set session.storeSessionInDatabase: true. Subsequent user-delete writes reach the session table and the database cascade removes rows. Increases write volume for high-throughput sessions but eliminates the gap.
  • Code-level (admin path): when calling auth.api.removeUser, also call auth.api.revokeUserSessions({ body: { userId } }), which uses deleteSessions internally.
  • Code-level (SCIM path): wrap their SCIM provider's deprovisioning hook to call auth.api.revokeUserSessions(...) after the SCIM DELETE.
  • Code-level (anonymous path): in onLinkAccount, explicitly call internalAdapter.deleteSessions(anonymousUser.user.id) before allowing the new session to be issued.

Impact

  • Stale session validity: a deleted user's existing session cookie continues to authenticate against getSessionFromCtx until the session TTL elapses (default 7 days). Within that window, the deleted user retains their pre-existing read and write surface.
  • SCIM-driven deprovisioning gap: organizations using SCIM to revoke offboarded employees' access do not, in fact, revoke active sessions. The deleted account remains usable for up to 7 days after deprovisioning.

Credit

Reported by @iruizsalinas.

Resources

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "better-auth"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0.3.4"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.6.11"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "@better-auth/scim"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "1.6.0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "1.6.11"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-459",
      "CWE-613",
      "CWE-672"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-07-07T20:56:45Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "LOW"
  },
  "details": "### Am I affected?\n\nUsers are affected if all of the following are true:\n\n- They configure `secondaryStorage` on `betterAuth(...)` (Redis, KV, or any external session cache).\n- `session.storeSessionInDatabase` is left unset or set to `false` (the default).\n- Their application\u0027s deployment uses one or more of:\n  - The `admin` plugin and calls `auth.api.removeUser(...)` or `authClient.admin.removeUser(...)`.\n  - The `anonymous` plugin and exposes `/delete-anonymous-user` or relies on the after-link hook to clean up the anonymous user.\n  - The `@better-auth/scim` plugin and exposes `DELETE /scim/v2/Users/:userId`.\n\nIf `storeSessionInDatabase` is `true`, sessions are also written to the database, and the database delete cascades; users are not affected.\n\nFix:\n\n1. Upgrade to `better-auth@\u003cpatched-version\u003e` or later (and `@better-auth/scim@\u003cpatched-version\u003e` if they use SCIM).\n2. If they cannot upgrade, see workarounds below.\n\n### Summary\n\nWhen `secondaryStorage` is configured and `storeSessionInDatabase` is `false`, three user-deletion endpoints in `better-auth` plus one in `@better-auth/scim` call `internalAdapter.deleteUser(userId)` without first calling `internalAdapter.deleteSessions(userId)`. The deleted user\u0027s session payload (which carries a cached user object) remains in secondary storage, and `internalAdapter.findSession(token)` keeps returning it as a valid session until the session TTL elapses (default 7 days).\n\n### Details\n\nThe vulnerable call sites are:\n\n- `admin` plugin\u0027s `removeUser` (`packages/better-auth/src/plugins/admin/routes.ts:1463`).\n- `anonymous` plugin\u0027s self-delete endpoint (`packages/better-auth/src/plugins/anonymous/index.ts:222`).\n- `anonymous` plugin\u0027s after-link hook (`packages/better-auth/src/plugins/anonymous/index.ts:325`).\n- `@better-auth/scim`\u0027s `DELETE /scim/v2/Users/:userId` (`packages/scim/src/routes.ts:1019`).\n\nWorking callers that already do the right thing: the core `/delete-user` self-delete and `/delete-user/callback` (`packages/better-auth/src/api/routes/update-user.ts:551`).\n\nThe fix shape extends each vulnerable caller to invoke `deleteSessions(userId)` before `deleteUser(userId)`. The architectural follow-up centralizes the cleanup inside `deleteUser` itself or introduces a single `deleteUserAndSessions` orchestrator so future callers cannot regress this contract.\n\n### Patches\n\nFixed in `better-auth@\u003cpatched-version\u003e` and `@better-auth/scim@\u003cpatched-version\u003e`. All four user-deletion call sites now invoke `deleteSessions(userId)` before `deleteUser(userId)` so sessions are evicted from secondary storage at the same time the user row is removed.\n\n### Workarounds\n\nIf users cannot upgrade immediately:\n\n- **Configuration-level**: set `session.storeSessionInDatabase: true`. Subsequent user-delete writes reach the session table and the database cascade removes rows. Increases write volume for high-throughput sessions but eliminates the gap.\n- **Code-level (admin path)**: when calling `auth.api.removeUser`, also call `auth.api.revokeUserSessions({ body: { userId } })`, which uses `deleteSessions` internally.\n- **Code-level (SCIM path)**: wrap their SCIM provider\u0027s deprovisioning hook to call `auth.api.revokeUserSessions(...)` after the SCIM DELETE.\n- **Code-level (anonymous path)**: in `onLinkAccount`, explicitly call `internalAdapter.deleteSessions(anonymousUser.user.id)` before allowing the new session to be issued.\n\n### Impact\n\n- **Stale session validity**: a deleted user\u0027s existing session cookie continues to authenticate against `getSessionFromCtx` until the session TTL elapses (default 7 days). Within that window, the deleted user retains their pre-existing read and write surface.\n- **SCIM-driven deprovisioning gap**: organizations using SCIM to revoke offboarded employees\u0027 access do not, in fact, revoke active sessions. The deleted account remains usable for up to 7 days after deprovisioning.\n\n### Credit\n\nReported by @iruizsalinas.\n\n### Resources\n\n- [CWE-613: Insufficient Session Expiration](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/613.html)\n- [CWE-672: Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/672.html)\n- [CWE-459: Incomplete Cleanup](https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/459.html)",
  "id": "GHSA-2vg6-77g8-24mp",
  "modified": "2026-07-07T20:56:45Z",
  "published": "2026-07-07T20:56:45Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/security/advisories/GHSA-2vg6-77g8-24mp"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.11"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Better Auth: Stale sessions persist after user deletion across admin, anonymous, and SCIM flows"
}



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