All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-105963GHSA-ffw9-w85g-f2vh

Secret key base exposed in stack trace arguments on wrong-typed Plug.Crypto arguments

elixir-plug plug
CVSS
5.1Medium
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.71%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 53% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in1.7.0Also 2.2.1, 981887493dada0fce7003c61861c00dfbb0fc8c5CVE List
Published23 Oct 2026Updated 23 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

Externally-Generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information vulnerability in plug_crypto in elixir-plug plug_crypto allows an unauthenticated remote attacker to expose the secret key base through application logs via a wrong-typed argument. Every public function in Plug.Crypto validates argument types in a function-head guard. A failed guard makes the Erlang VM raise FunctionClauseError with the actual argument values in the top stack frame, so the secret key base, a derived key, or the value an API key is compared against lands in that frame. The library's rescue blocks and Plug.Crypto.prune_args_from_stacktrace/1 only reach exceptions raised inside a function body, so they never see a guard failure. Plug.Cowboy and Bandit write the frame to the error log and attach it as crash_reason Logger metadata, which error trackers forward.

Two entry points take request data. Plug.Crypto.verify/4 exposes the secret key base when the token is neither a binary nor nil, which Phoenix.Token.verify/4 reaches because it forwards the token unguarded. Plug.Crypto.secure_compare/2 exposes the other operand when one side is not a binary, as happens when a missing request header yields nil. Reading the leaked value needs separate access to the logs or the error tracker, so the request alone does not disclose the secret to the attacker.

This issue affects plug: from 1.6.3 before 1.7.0; plug_crypto: from 1.0.0 before 2.2.1.

Text from GitHub Advisory Database

Affected versions 6

  • plugaffected: 1.6.3 before 1.7.0CVE List
  • plugaffected: 56000c33d8a0a2fbac491f8be06b9c5112bc2276 and laterCVE List
  • plug_cryptoaffected: 1.0.0 before 2.2.1CVE List
  • plug_cryptoaffected: 2d078b7b8264c565f0ff71235c515f4f46882dcf before 981887493dada0fce7003c61861c00dfbb0fc8c5CVE List
  • plug_crypto, erlang>= 1.0.0, < 2.2.1GitHub
  • plug, erlang>= 1.6.3, < 1.7.0GitHub

References 7