harden secure storage against stale mirrors and post-clear writes

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

src/analytics/metrics/types.ts

@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ export type Events = {
     divergence: 'none' | 'legacy-lost' | 'secure-behind'
     secureAccountsWithCreds: number
     legacyAccountsWithCreds: number
+    adoptTokensFromLegacy: number
   }
   'notifications:openApp': {
     reason: NotificationReason

src/state/session/storage/__tests__/boot-test.ts

@@ -76,6 +76,28 @@ const expiredAlice: SessionAccount = {
   refreshJwt: undefined,
   accessJwt: undefined,
 }
+const bob: SessionAccount = {
+  service: 'https://bsky.social',
+  did: 'did:plc:bob',
+  handle: 'bob.test',
+  refreshJwt: 'bob-refresh',
+  accessJwt: 'bob-access',
+}
+
+/**
+ * A minimal unsigned JWT carrying an `iat`. `jwt-decode` reads the payload
+ * without verifying anything, so the signature can be junk. `jti` is there to
+ * make two tokens of the same age differ as strings.
+ */
+function jwtWithIat(iat: number, jti = 'a'): string {
+  const encode = (value: object) =>
+    Buffer.from(JSON.stringify(value)).toString('base64url')
+  return [
+    encode({alg: 'HS256', typ: 'JWT'}),
+    encode({iat, jti}),
+    'not-a-signature',
+  ].join('.')
+}
 
 /** An account with usable credentials. */
 const withCreds: SessionSnapshot = {accounts: [alice], currentDid: alice.did}
@@ -88,6 +110,12 @@ const withoutCreds: SessionSnapshot = {
 type ExpectedDecision = Omit<BootDecision, 'adopt' | 'report'> & {
   adopts: boolean
   divergence: SessionStorageBootReport['divergence']
+  /**
+   * The adopted snapshot, when the per-account merge makes it something other
+   * than the secure snapshot as read.
+   */
+  adopt?: SessionSnapshot
+  adoptTokensFromLegacy?: number
 }
 
 const rows: {
@@ -248,6 +276,8 @@ const rows: {
     expected: {
       source: 'secure',
       adopts: true,
+      // The merge keeps the credential-less account the blob still lists.
+      adopt: withoutCreds,
       backfill: 'none',
       forceIndex: false,
       divergence: 'none',
@@ -296,6 +326,11 @@ const rows: {
 
 describe('decideBootSource', () => {
   it.each(rows)('$name', ({gateEnabled, secure: read, legacy, expected}) => {
+    const {
+      adopt: expectedAdopt,
+      adoptTokensFromLegacy = 0,
+      ...expectedCore
+    } = expected
     const decision = decideBootSource({gateEnabled, secure: read, legacy})
 
     expect({
@@ -304,10 +339,13 @@ describe('decideBootSource', () => {
       backfill: decision.backfill,
       forceIndex: decision.forceIndex,
       divergence: decision.report.divergence,
-    }).toEqual(expected)
+    }).toEqual(expectedCore)
     expect(decision.adopt).toEqual(
-      expected.adopts && read.status === 'ok' ? read.snapshot : undefined,
+      expected.adopts
+        ? (expectedAdopt ?? (read.status === 'ok' ? read.snapshot : undefined))
+        : undefined,
     )
+    expect(decision.report.adoptTokensFromLegacy).toBe(adoptTokensFromLegacy)
     expect(decision.report.gateEnabled).toBe(gateEnabled)
     expect(decision.report.secureStatus).toBe(read.status)
     expect(decision.report.source).toBe(expected.source)
@@ -331,6 +369,80 @@ describe('decideBootSource', () => {
   })
 })
 
+/**
+ * Adopting the secure store wholesale would lose whatever only the blob holds,
+ * which is what a single failed mirror write looks like: the store as a whole
+ * still has credentials, so the whole-store guard sees nothing wrong.
+ */
+describe('decideBootSource credential merge', () => {
+  function adoptedBy(secureSnapshot: SessionSnapshot, legacy: SessionSnapshot) {
+    return decideBootSource({
+      gateEnabled: true,
+      secure: {status: 'ok', snapshot: secureSnapshot},
+      legacy,
+    })
+  }
+
+  it('keeps an account the secure store never received', () => {
+    const legacy: SessionSnapshot = {
+      accounts: [alice, bob],
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+    }
+
+    const decision = adoptedBy(withCreds, legacy)
+
+    expect(decision.source).toBe('secure')
+    expect(decision.adopt).toEqual(legacy)
+    expect(decision.report.adoptTokensFromLegacy).toBe(1)
+  })
+
+  it('keeps an account only the secure store still holds', () => {
+    const secureSnapshot: SessionSnapshot = {
+      accounts: [alice, bob],
+      currentDid: bob.did,
+    }
+
+    const decision = adoptedBy(secureSnapshot, withCreds)
+
+    expect(decision.adopt).toEqual(secureSnapshot)
+    expect(decision.report.adoptTokensFromLegacy).toBe(0)
+  })
+
+  it('takes whichever refresh token was issued last', () => {
+    const older = {...alice, refreshJwt: jwtWithIat(1_000), accessJwt: 'older'}
+    const newer = {...alice, refreshJwt: jwtWithIat(2_000), accessJwt: 'newer'}
+    const snapshotOf = (account: SessionAccount): SessionSnapshot => ({
+      accounts: [account],
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+    })
+
+    const legacyIsNewer = adoptedBy(snapshotOf(older), snapshotOf(newer))
+    expect(legacyIsNewer.adopt).toEqual(snapshotOf(newer))
+    expect(legacyIsNewer.report.adoptTokensFromLegacy).toBe(1)
+
+    const secureIsNewer = adoptedBy(snapshotOf(newer), snapshotOf(older))
+    expect(secureIsNewer.adopt).toEqual(snapshotOf(newer))
+    expect(secureIsNewer.report.adoptTokensFromLegacy).toBe(0)
+  })
+
+  it('falls back to the blob when the comparison cannot be made', () => {
+    const snapshotOf = (account: SessionAccount): SessionSnapshot => ({
+      accounts: [account],
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+    })
+    const undecodable = {...alice, refreshJwt: 'not-a-jwt'}
+    const decodable = {...alice, refreshJwt: jwtWithIat(1_000)}
+    const sameAge = {...alice, refreshJwt: jwtWithIat(1_000, 'b')}
+
+    const unreadable = adoptedBy(snapshotOf(undecodable), snapshotOf(decodable))
+    expect(unreadable.adopt).toEqual(snapshotOf(decodable))
+    expect(unreadable.report.adoptTokensFromLegacy).toBe(1)
+
+    const tied = adoptedBy(snapshotOf(decodable), snapshotOf(sameAge))
+    expect(tied.adopt).toEqual(snapshotOf(sameAge))
+  })
+})
+
 describe('initSessionStorage', () => {
   beforeEach(() => {
     secure.values.clear()
@@ -361,6 +473,47 @@ describe('initSessionStorage', () => {
       divergence: 'legacy-lost',
       secureAccountsWithCreds: 1,
       legacyAccountsWithCreds: 0,
+      adoptTokensFromLegacy: 0,
+    })
+  })
+
+  it('adopts the newer blob credential and converges the store on it', () => {
+    device.set(['sessionSecureStorageReadEnabled'], true)
+    const stored = {
+      ...alice,
+      refreshJwt: jwtWithIat(1_000),
+      accessJwt: 'stored-access',
+    }
+    const refreshed = {
+      ...alice,
+      refreshJwt: jwtWithIat(2_000),
+      accessJwt: 'refreshed-access',
+    }
+    writeSessions(
+      EMPTY_SNAPSHOT,
+      {accounts: [stored], currentDid: alice.did},
+      {forceIndex: true},
+    )
+    persistedState.session = {
+      accounts: [refreshed],
+      currentAccount: refreshed,
+    }
+
+    initSessionStorage()
+
+    expect(persistedState.session).toEqual({
+      accounts: [refreshed],
+      currentAccount: refreshed,
+    })
+    // The mirror write lands the adopted credential back in the keychain.
+    expect(readSessions()).toEqual({
+      accounts: [refreshed],
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+    })
+    expect(consumeSessionStorageBootReport()).toMatchObject({
+      source: 'secure',
+      divergence: 'none',
+      adoptTokensFromLegacy: 1,
     })
   })
 

src/state/session/storage/__tests__/store-test.ts

@@ -3,12 +3,23 @@ import {afterEach, beforeEach, describe, expect, it, jest} from '@jest/globals'
 jest.mock('expo-secure-store', () => {
   const values = new Map<string, string>()
   const writes: [key: string, value: string][] = []
-  const control: {failKey?: string} = {}
+  /*
+   * `failAfter` lets a key succeed that many times before it starts failing,
+   * which is how a write is made to fail on its second index write - the one
+   * that cleans up a journal it already published.
+   */
+  const control: {failKey?: string; failAfter?: number} = {}
   return {
     AFTER_FIRST_UNLOCK: 0,
     getItem: (key: string) => values.get(key) ?? null,
     setItem: (key: string, value: string) => {
-      if (key === control.failKey) throw new Error('disk full')
+      if (key === control.failKey) {
+        if (control.failAfter) {
+          control.failAfter -= 1
+        } else {
+          throw new Error('disk full')
+        }
+      }
       writes.push([key, value])
       values.set(key, value)
     },
@@ -49,13 +60,14 @@ jest.mock('#/logger', () => {
 import {type SessionAccount} from '#/state/session/types'
 import {accountKeys, SESSION_INDEX_KEY} from '../keys'
 import {EMPTY_SNAPSHOT, type SessionSnapshot} from '../schema'
+import {readSessions} from '../secureStore'
 import {createSessionStorageStore} from '../store'
 
 const {__mock: secure} = jest.requireMock('expo-secure-store') as {
   __mock: {
     values: Map<string, string>
     writes: [key: string, value: string][]
-    control: {failKey?: string}
+    control: {failKey?: string; failAfter?: number}
   }
 }
 const {__listeners: appStateListeners} = jest.requireMock('#/lib/appState') as {
@@ -82,6 +94,7 @@ beforeEach(() => {
   secure.values.clear()
   secure.writes.length = 0
   secure.control.failKey = undefined
+  secure.control.failAfter = undefined
   appStateListeners.length = 0
   loggedErrors.length = 0
 })
@@ -192,6 +205,101 @@ describe('createSessionStorageStore', () => {
     expect(storedIndex()).toEqual({version: 1, dids: []})
   })
 
+  it('drops writes for the rest of the process once a clear succeeds', () => {
+    const store = createSessionStorageStore()
+    store.write(active)
+
+    store.clear()
+    const writesAfterClear = secure.writes.length
+
+    /*
+     * Clearing storage does not end the session, so a token refresh already in
+     * flight will still ask for a mirror write.
+     */
+    store.write(active)
+
+    expect(secure.writes.length).toBe(writesAfterClear)
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.refresh)).toBe('')
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.access)).toBe('')
+    expect(readSessions()).toEqual(EMPTY_SNAPSHOT)
+  })
+
+  it('force-publishes a clean index over a journal left by a failed write', () => {
+    const store = createSessionStorageStore()
+    store.write(active)
+
+    /*
+     * Removing alice fails on the final index write: the journaled index that
+     * names her as retired is already published and her keys are tombstoned.
+     */
+    secure.control.failKey = SESSION_INDEX_KEY
+    secure.control.failAfter = 1
+    store.write(EMPTY_SNAPSHOT)
+    expect(storedIndex()).toMatchObject({dids: [], retiredDids: [alice.did]})
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.refresh)).toBe('')
+
+    // alice is back, byte-identical to the snapshot still believed durable.
+    secure.control.failKey = undefined
+    secure.control.failAfter = undefined
+    store.write(active)
+
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.refresh)).toBe(alice.refreshJwt)
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.access)).toBe(alice.accessJwt)
+    expect(storedIndex()).toEqual({
+      version: 1,
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+      dids: [alice.did],
+    })
+    expect(readSessions()).toEqual(active)
+    expect(store.getDurable()).toEqual(active)
+  })
+
+  it('rewrites credentials after a failure even when the snapshot is unchanged', () => {
+    const store = createSessionStorageStore()
+    store.write(active)
+
+    secure.control.failKey = SESSION_INDEX_KEY
+    store.write({
+      accounts: [{...alice, refreshJwt: 'rotated-refresh'}],
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+    })
+    secure.control.failKey = undefined
+
+    /*
+     * A throw can land anywhere in the write ordering, so the keychain may hold
+     * something the baseline does not describe.
+     */
+    secure.values.set(aliceKeys.refresh, 'partially-applied')
+    store.write(active)
+
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.refresh)).toBe(alice.refreshJwt)
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.access)).toBe(alice.accessJwt)
+    expect(readSessions()).toEqual(active)
+  })
+
+  it('tombstones absent credentials when rewriting from an unknown baseline', () => {
+    const store = createSessionStorageStore()
+    store.write(active)
+
+    secure.control.failKey = SESSION_INDEX_KEY
+    store.write({
+      accounts: [{...alice, accessJwt: 'rotated-access'}],
+      currentDid: alice.did,
+    })
+    secure.control.failKey = undefined
+
+    // The user logs out: the account is kept, its credentials are not.
+    const loggedOut: SessionSnapshot = {
+      accounts: [{...alice, refreshJwt: undefined, accessJwt: undefined}],
+      currentDid: undefined,
+    }
+    store.write(loggedOut)
+
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.refresh)).toBe('')
+    expect(secure.values.get(aliceKeys.access)).toBe('')
+    expect(readSessions()).toEqual(loggedOut)
+  })
+
   it('retries when the app returns to the foreground', () => {
     const store = createSessionStorageStore()
     secure.control.failKey = aliceKeys.access

src/state/session/storage/boot.ts

@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+import {jwtDecode} from 'jwt-decode'
+
+import {type SessionAccount} from '#/state/session/types'
 import {type SessionSnapshot} from './schema'
 
 /** Which store the app boots its session state from. */
@@ -22,11 +25,22 @@ export type SessionStorageBootReport = {
   divergence: 'none' | 'legacy-lost' | 'secure-behind'
   secureAccountsWithCreds: number
   legacyAccountsWithCreds: number
+  /**
+   * How many accounts in the adopted snapshot took their credentials from the
+   * legacy blob, i.e. how often the secure store held a stale or missing token
+   * that would have been adopted as-is. Always 0 when not booting from the
+   * secure store.
+   */
+  adoptTokensFromLegacy: number
 }
 
 export type BootDecision = {
   source: BootSource
-  /** The snapshot to adopt, set only when booting from the secure store. */
+  /**
+   * The snapshot to adopt, set only when booting from the secure store. It is
+   * the secure snapshot merged with the legacy blob, not the secure snapshot
+   * itself - see {@link mergeFreshestCredentials}.
+   */
   adopt: SessionSnapshot | undefined
   backfill: 'none' | 'secure-from-legacy'
   /** Publish an index even if the backfill changes nothing. */
@@ -44,6 +58,11 @@ export type BootDecision = {
  * mirror writes look like - booting from the secure store there would log the
  * user out. A real logout clears the credentials in both stores, so it does
  * not trip the guard.
+ *
+ * That guard is whole-store, so winning the boot does not mean the secure
+ * snapshot is adopted verbatim: it is merged per account against the blob by
+ * {@link mergeFreshestCredentials}, which is what keeps a single failed mirror
+ * write from dropping an account or reinstating a spent refresh token.
  */
 export function decideBootSource({
   gateEnabled,
@@ -62,6 +81,10 @@ export function decideBootSource({
     gateEnabled &&
     secureSnapshot !== undefined &&
     (secureHasCreds || !legacyHasCreds)
+  const merged =
+    bootSecure && secureSnapshot
+      ? mergeFreshestCredentials(secureSnapshot, legacy)
+      : undefined
 
   let backfill: BootDecision['backfill'] = 'none'
   let forceIndex = false
@@ -90,7 +113,7 @@ export function decideBootSource({
 
   return {
     source: bootSecure ? 'secure' : 'legacy',
-    adopt: bootSecure ? secureSnapshot : undefined,
+    adopt: merged?.snapshot,
     backfill,
     forceIndex,
     report: {
@@ -107,10 +130,97 @@ export function decideBootSource({
               : 'none',
       secureAccountsWithCreds: secureSnapshot ? countCreds(secureSnapshot) : 0,
       legacyAccountsWithCreds: countCreds(legacy),
+      adoptTokensFromLegacy: merged?.tokensFromLegacy ?? 0,
     },
   }
 }
 
+/**
+ * Merge the two stores account by account, taking the freshest credentials for
+ * each did, so that adopting the secure store cannot lose what only the blob
+ * holds. A mirror write can fail for one account - a login whose write failed
+ * and whose in-memory retry died with the process, or a token rotation that
+ * never landed - while the rest of the store looks perfectly healthy, which is
+ * exactly what the whole-store guard cannot see.
+ *
+ * Ties and unprovable comparisons go to the blob: it is the historical write of
+ * record, and the secure store is the mirror on trial.
+ *
+ * Deliberate asymmetry: this can resurrect a credential the other store
+ * recorded as revoked, e.g. a logout only one of the two writes captured. That
+ * is accepted. A token the server has already revoked self-corrects on first
+ * use with a re-login prompt, while a valid token dropped here logs the user
+ * out of an account with no way back - the failure this module exists to
+ * prevent.
+ */
+function mergeFreshestCredentials(
+  secure: SessionSnapshot,
+  legacy: SessionSnapshot,
+): {snapshot: SessionSnapshot; tokensFromLegacy: number} {
+  const legacyByDid = new Map(legacy.accounts.map(a => [a.did, a]))
+  const secureDids = new Set(secure.accounts.map(a => a.did))
+  let tokensFromLegacy = 0
+
+  const accounts = [
+    ...secure.accounts.map(account => {
+      const other = legacyByDid.get(account.did)
+      if (!other) return account
+      if (freshest(account, other) === 'secure') return account
+      if (other.refreshJwt) tokensFromLegacy += 1
+      return other
+    }),
+    /*
+     * Accounts the secure store never received. The blob is the only copy, so
+     * dropping them here is the multi-account logout this merge exists to stop.
+     */
+    ...legacy.accounts.filter(account => {
+      if (secureDids.has(account.did)) return false
+      if (account.refreshJwt) tokensFromLegacy += 1
+      return true
+    }),
+  ]
+
+  const dids = new Set<string>(accounts.map(account => account.did))
+  const currentDid = secure.currentDid ?? legacy.currentDid
+  return {
+    snapshot: {
+      accounts,
+      currentDid: currentDid && dids.has(currentDid) ? currentDid : undefined,
+    },
+    tokensFromLegacy,
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Which store holds the newer refresh token for one account. The caller takes
+ * the winner's account object whole, so its tokens and descriptor fields stay
+ * coherent with each other.
+ */
+function freshest(
+  secure: SessionAccount,
+  legacy: SessionAccount,
+): 'secure' | 'legacy' {
+  if (secure.refreshJwt === legacy.refreshJwt) return 'secure'
+  if (!legacy.refreshJwt) return 'secure'
+  if (!secure.refreshJwt) return 'legacy'
+  const secureIssuedAt = issuedAt(secure.refreshJwt)
+  const legacyIssuedAt = issuedAt(legacy.refreshJwt)
+  if (secureIssuedAt === undefined || legacyIssuedAt === undefined) {
+    return 'legacy'
+  }
+  return secureIssuedAt > legacyIssuedAt ? 'secure' : 'legacy'
+}
+
+/** A token's `iat` claim, or undefined if it cannot be read. */
+function issuedAt(token: string): number | undefined {
+  try {
+    const {iat} = jwtDecode(token)
+    return typeof iat === 'number' ? iat : undefined
+  } catch {
+    return undefined
+  }
+}
+
 function hasCreds(snapshot: SessionSnapshot): boolean {
   return snapshot.accounts.some(account => Boolean(account.refreshJwt))
 }

src/state/session/storage/index.ts

@@ -46,8 +46,9 @@ let bootReport: SessionStorageBootReport | undefined
  * Call once during bootstrap, after `persisted.init()` has resolved and before
  * anything reads the session.
  *
- * When the secure store wins, its snapshot is adopted by writing it back into
- * the persisted state. `persisted.write` updates its in-memory copy
+ * When the secure store wins, its snapshot - merged per account with the blob,
+ * see `decideBootSource` - is adopted by writing it back into the persisted
+ * state. `persisted.write` updates its in-memory copy
  * synchronously before awaiting storage, so every existing reader - the
  * session store constructor, the last-active-account lookup, the expiry rescue
  * path - sees the adopted data with no seam of its own. It also means the
@@ -90,10 +91,17 @@ export function initSessionStorage(): void {
       legacy,
     })
 
+    store.setDurable(secure.status === 'ok' ? secure.snapshot : EMPTY_SNAPSHOT)
     if (decision.adopt) {
       adopt(decision.adopt)
+      /*
+       * The adopted snapshot is a merge, so it can hold credentials the
+       * keychain does not. The write diffs against the durable snapshot set
+       * just above - the secure store as it was read - so it no-ops when the
+       * merge took nothing from the blob, and retries if it fails.
+       */
+      store.write(decision.adopt)
     }
-    store.setDurable(secure.status === 'ok' ? secure.snapshot : EMPTY_SNAPSHOT)
     if (decision.backfill === 'secure-from-legacy') {
       backfill(legacy, decision, installId)
     }

src/state/session/storage/secureStore.ts

@@ -207,10 +207,17 @@ export function writeSessions(
   for (const account of next.accounts) {
     const prior = previousByDid.get(account.did)
     const keys = accountKeys(account.did)
-    if (prior?.refreshJwt !== account.refreshJwt) {
+    /*
+     * The absent-prior case must write, not skip. A caller that distrusts its
+     * baseline passes an empty `previous` to force a full rewrite, and there
+     * `undefined !== undefined` would skip an account whose token is absent -
+     * leaving whatever the keychain still holds under that key to be read back
+     * as a live credential under an index that names the did.
+     */
+    if (!prior || prior.refreshJwt !== account.refreshJwt) {
       SecureStore.setItem(keys.refresh, account.refreshJwt ?? '', WRITE_OPTIONS)
     }
-    if (prior?.accessJwt !== account.accessJwt) {
+    if (!prior || prior.accessJwt !== account.accessJwt) {
       SecureStore.setItem(keys.access, account.accessJwt ?? '', WRITE_OPTIONS)
     }
     const descriptor = canonicalJson(toDescriptor(account))

src/state/session/storage/store.ts

@@ -10,9 +10,8 @@ import {eraseSessions, writeSessions} from './secureStore'
 const RETRY_DELAY = 5_000
 
 /**
- * Pending work is a union so the sticky-clear rule reads as one guard: while a
- * clear is pending, a write is dropped rather than risk resurrecting a session
- * after a requested wipe.
+ * Pending work is a union: a failed write and a failed clear retry the same
+ * way, and only the newest of them is ever outstanding.
  */
 type PendingWork =
   {type: 'write'; snapshot: SessionSnapshot} | {type: 'clear'; dids: string[]}
@@ -45,6 +44,14 @@ export type SessionStorageStore = {
 export function createSessionStorageStore(): SessionStorageStore {
   let durableSnapshot: SessionSnapshot = EMPTY_SNAPSHOT
   let pending: PendingWork | undefined
+  /**
+   * Sticky: once a clear is requested, every later write is dropped for the
+   * rest of the process, including after the erase succeeds. Clearing storage
+   * does not stop the session, so an in-flight token refresh would otherwise
+   * mirror the credentials straight back into the keychain. The user is told to
+   * restart the app, and the next boot lifts the latch via `setDurable`.
+   */
+  let clearRequested = false
   let retryTimer: ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | undefined
   let retryTriggersAttached = false
   const maybeOrphanedDids = new Set<string>()
@@ -57,15 +64,17 @@ export function createSessionStorageStore(): SessionStorageStore {
     durableSnapshot = snapshot
     maybeOrphanedDids.clear()
     pending = undefined
+    clearRequested = false
     cancelRetry()
   }
 
   function write(next: SessionSnapshot) {
-    if (pending?.type === 'clear') return
+    if (clearRequested) return
     persist(next, 'write')
   }
 
   function clear() {
+    clearRequested = true
     const dids = [
       ...new Set([
         ...durableSnapshot.accounts.map(account => account.did),
@@ -93,9 +102,26 @@ export function createSessionStorageStore(): SessionStorageStore {
     operation: SessionStorageErrorOperation,
   ) {
     trackMaybeOrphaned(next)
+    /*
+     * A pending write means the last attempt threw, and a throw can land
+     * anywhere in the write ordering - including after a journaled index was
+     * published. The baseline is then a guess, so it is thrown away: diffing
+     * from empty rewrites every account in `next` in full, retires everything
+     * else the store might still name, and force-publishes a clean index over
+     * any journal the failure left behind.
+     */
+    const rebaseline = pending !== undefined
+    const previous = rebaseline ? EMPTY_SNAPSHOT : durableSnapshot
+    const alsoRetire = rebaseline
+      ? [
+          ...durableSnapshot.accounts.map(account => account.did),
+          ...maybeOrphanedDids,
+        ]
+      : [...maybeOrphanedDids]
     try {
-      writeSessions(durableSnapshot, next, {
-        alsoRetire: [...maybeOrphanedDids],
+      writeSessions(previous, next, {
+        alsoRetire,
+        forceIndex: rebaseline,
       })
       durableSnapshot = next
       maybeOrphanedDids.clear()