npm · next-auth
Auth.js: getToken() throws an uncaught exception on malformed Bearer authorization headers
The exported getToken() helper (next-auth/jwt and @auth/core/jwt) can throw an uncaught exception when it reads a malformed Authorization: Bearer … header. When no session cookie is present, getToken() URL-decodes the bearer value before validating it, and malformed percent-encoding causes the decode step to throw rather than being treated as an invalid token. Because getToken() is commonly called in API routes, middleware, and other request handlers, a single unauthenticated request can trigger an unhandled exception in code paths that authenticate requests.
You are affected if all of the following hold:
next-auth <= 5.0.0-beta.25 (or @auth/core exposing the same getToken() implementation).getToken() directly — for example in a Route Handler, middleware, or server-side request handler.getToken() call in your own try/catch.You are not affected if you only use the framework's auth() helper and never call getToken() yourself, or if every getToken() call site already has its own exception handling.
getToken().CWE-20: Improper Input Validation.
The fix makes getToken() treat a malformed Bearer value as an invalid token and return null, matching how other undecodable tokens are already handled. Upgrade to the first release containing this fix (to be published; this advisory will be updated with the exact patched version before publication) and no code changes are required.
If you cannot upgrade immediately, either:
Config/code-level: wrap your getToken() calls so a thrown error is treated as "no token", e.g.
let token = null
try {
token = await getToken({ req, secret })
} catch {
token = null
}
Or strip/normalize the incoming Authorization header at the edge (proxy, middleware) before it reaches getToken(), rejecting values whose Bearer portion is not valid percent-encoding.
Reported by @deprrous. Thank you for the responsible disclosure.
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Check my repoSources: CISA KEV (public domain), OSV.dev & GitHub Advisory Database (CC-BY-4.0), FIRST EPSS, NVD/CWE (public domain). Served live from the Stateward advisory database.