# CVE-2026-21622: Password Reset Tokens Do Not Expire

> Attackers can take over accounts by using non-expiring password reset tokens found in leaked email archives.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.5 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:H/SI:H/SA:L`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 5 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Apr 2026
- **Also known as:** EEF-CVE-2026-21622, GHSA-6r94-pvwf-mxqm

## What is CVE-2026-21622?

CVE-2026-21622 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in hexpm hex.pm, published on 5 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Insufficient Session Expiration vulnerability in hexpm hexpm/hexpm ('Elixir.Hexpm.Accounts.PasswordReset' module) allows Account Takeover.

Password reset tokens generated via the "Reset your password" flow do not expire. When a user requests a password reset, Hex sends an email containing a reset link with a token. This token remains valid indefinitely until used. There is no time-based expiration enforced.

If a user's historical emails are exposed through a data breach (e.g., a leaked mailbox archive), any unused password reset email contained in that dataset could be used by an attacker to reset the victim's password. The attacker does not need current access to the victim's email account, only access to a previously leaked copy of the reset email.

This vulnerability is associated with program files lib/hexpm/accounts/password_reset.ex and program routines 'Elixir.Hexpm.Accounts.PasswordReset':can_reset?/3.

This issue affects hexpm: from 617e44c71f1dd9043870205f371d375c5c4d886d before bb0e42091995945deef10556f58d046a52eb7884.

Weakness: CWE-613 (DEPRECATED: Insufficient Session Expiration)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-21622?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Hex Hexpm.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-21622?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-21622 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-21622 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-21622 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in hexpm hex.pm

- [CVE-2026-21618](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21618/): Cross-site scripting (XSS) in OAuth Device Authorization screen (high 8.5)
- [CVE-2026-23940](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23940/): Denial of Service via Oversized Package Upload (high 7.1)
- [CVE-2026-21621](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21621/): Improper Scope Enforcement in OAuth client_credentials Flow Allows Read-Only API Key to Escalate to Full Access (high 7.0)
- [CVE-2026-23939](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23939/): Path Traversal in Local File Store Backend (medium 6.9)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-21622 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-21622 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in hexpm hex.pm, published on 5 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-21622 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: hexpm hex.pm. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21622/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21622/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-21622
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-21622
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-21622

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-21622/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.