CVE-2025-53642 Overview
CVE-2025-53642 affects haxcms-nodejs and haxcms-php, the backend components for the HAXcms content management system. The logout function fails to terminate the user's session or clear authentication cookies. The application also issues a new refresh token during logout, extending the lifetime of credentials that should be revoked. An attacker who obtains a session token, whether through interception, log exposure, or shared device access, can continue to authenticate as the victim after logout. The maintainers addressed the flaw in version 11.0.6. This weakness is classified under CWE-613: Insufficient Session Expiration.
Critical Impact
Session tokens remain valid after logout, allowing attackers with stolen credentials to impersonate authenticated users on HAXcms instances running versions prior to 11.0.6.
Affected Products
- psu haxcms-nodejs versions prior to 11.0.6
- psu haxcms-php versions prior to 11.0.6
- HAXcms deployments using either backend
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-07-11 - CVE-2025-53642 published to NVD
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2025-53642
Vulnerability Analysis
The vulnerability resides in the session management logic of the HAXcms backend. When a user invokes the logout endpoint, the server does not invalidate the active session record. Authentication cookies remain intact in the client browser and continue to be accepted by the server on subsequent requests.
The logout handler also issues a fresh refresh token to the client. This behavior inverts the expected logout contract, effectively extending the credential lifetime instead of revoking it. An attacker who captures a session cookie or refresh token can replay those credentials indefinitely until the natural token expiry, even after the legitimate user believes the session has ended.
Root Cause
The root cause is a missing server-side session teardown routine. The logout function does not call the session invalidation logic and does not clear the cookie via a Set-Cookie response with an expired timestamp. The additional issuance of a refresh token during logout compounds the flaw by generating new long-lived credentials at the exact moment credentials should be destroyed.
Attack Vector
An attacker requires access to a valid session cookie or refresh token to exploit CVE-2025-53642. Access can be gained through cross-site scripting on the same origin, shared browser sessions, network interception on unencrypted paths, or exposure through logs and proxies. Once obtained, the attacker replays the token against the HAXcms backend and gains authenticated access under the victim's identity. See the GitHub Security Advisory for maintainer commentary.
Detection Methods for CVE-2025-53642
Indicators of Compromise
- Authenticated API requests to HAXcms endpoints originating from a client after that client called the /logout route
- Refresh token issuance events tied to logout requests in application logs
- Reuse of the same session cookie from multiple source IP addresses within a short window
Detection Strategies
- Correlate logout events with subsequent authenticated requests bearing the same session identifier to identify replay activity
- Inspect HTTP response headers on logout for missing Set-Cookie expiry directives
- Compare issued refresh tokens against logout timestamps to flag tokens generated during logout flows
Monitoring Recommendations
- Enable verbose authentication logging on the HAXcms backend, including session identifiers and cookie lifecycles
- Forward web server access logs to a centralized log platform and alert on session reuse patterns
- Track version strings of deployed HAXcms instances to confirm patched builds are in production
How to Mitigate CVE-2025-53642
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade haxcms-nodejs and haxcms-php to version 11.0.6 or later on all HAXcms deployments
- Force session invalidation on the server by rotating session signing secrets after upgrade
- Require all active users to reauthenticate after applying the patch
Patch Information
The maintainers released the fix in HAXcms version 11.0.6. The patched logout handler terminates the server-side session, clears authentication cookies on the client, and no longer issues a refresh token during logout. Review the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-g4f5-5w5j-p5jg for release notes and commit references.
Workarounds
- Reduce session and refresh token lifetimes in HAXcms configuration to shrink the exploitation window until patching is possible
- Deploy a reverse proxy rule that strips authentication cookies on responses to /logout requests
- Restrict administrative HAXcms endpoints to trusted network ranges to limit token replay opportunities
# Upgrade HAXcms backend to the patched release
npm install @haxtheweb/haxcms-nodejs@11.0.6
# or, for PHP deployments
composer require elmsln/haxcms-php:^11.0.6
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
