CVE-2022-41878 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.2) CWE-74 vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Parse Server Prototype pollution and Injection via Cloud Code Webhooks or Cloud Code Triggers
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-41878.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2022-41878 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,333 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
parse-servernpmDescription
Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. In versions prior to 5.3.2 or 4.10.19, keywords that are specified in the Parse Server option requestKeywordDenylist can be injected via Cloud Code Webhooks or Triggers. This will result in the keyword being saved to the database, bypassing the requestKeywordDenylist option. This issue is fixed in versions 4.10.19, and 5.3.2. If upgrade is not possible, the following Workarounds may be applied: Configure your firewall to only allow trusted servers to make request to the Parse Server Cloud Code Webhooks API, or block the API completely if you are not using the feature.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 4.10.19npm install parse-server@4.10.19 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.3.2 | 5.3.2npm install parse-server@5.3.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for parse-server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update parse-server to 4.10.19 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-41878 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2022-41878 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2022-41878. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-41878 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2022-41878 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.