# CVE-2026-44648: SillyTavern: Existing sessions are not invalidated after password change, allowing session reuse and account takeover

> Attackers can reuse existing session cookies after a password change to maintain access and take over accounts in SillyTavern.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 29 May 2026
- **Updated:** 29 May 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-wmm3-h9qj-p5v6

## What is CVE-2026-44648?

CVE-2026-44648 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in SillyTavern, published on 29 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

SillyTavern is a locally installed user interface that allows users to interact with text generation large language models, image generation engines, and text-to-speech voice models. Prior to 1.18.0, SillyTavern relies on cookie-session for authentication, storing all session data (user handle, permissions) in a signed cookie. The endpoints POST /api/users/change-password and POST /api/users/recover-step2 only update the password hash in the database but do not expire current sessions. Because the session is stateless and stored entirely in the client cookie, there is no server-side mechanism to revoke a token once issued. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.18.0.

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

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44648?

2 open source packages ship an affected version, including sillytavern.


| Package | Ecosystem | Affected | Fixed in |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| `sillytavern` | npm | All versions | 1.18.0 |
| `sillytavern` | npm | All versions | 1.18.0 |

## How do I fix CVE-2026-44648?

Upgrade sillytavern to 1.18.0 or later.

## Is CVE-2026-44648 being exploited?

It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44648 exists.

Public exploit code:

- PoC and advisory for CVE-2026-44648 (github_poc): https://github.com/zzzm0919/CVE-2026-44648

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-44648 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-44648 is a high-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in SillyTavern, published on 29 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44648 exists.

Affected packages and fixed versions:
- sillytavern (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.18.0
- sillytavern (npm): affected all versions; fixed in 1.18.0

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-2026-44648/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44648/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-44648
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-44648
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-44648

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-44648/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.