How severe is CVE-2026-23897?

CVE-2026-23897 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-23897?

CVE-2026-23897 affects the following packages: apollo-server (npm), @apollo/server (npm), @apollo/server (npm). Ecosystems affected: npm.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23897?

No patched version of apollo-server has shipped for CVE-2026-23897 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.

How do I detect CVE-2026-23897 in my npm dependencies?

Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apollo-server. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-23897 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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 does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-23897?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-23897 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2026-23897 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-23897 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2026-23897?

CVE-2026-23897 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 0.6%, placing it in the 45th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score indicates relatively lower exploitation probability, though the CVSS severity should still guide your patching priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-23897?

CVE-2026-23897 is classified as CWE-1333 (CWE-1333). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

When was CVE-2026-23897 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-23897 was published on February 4, 2026 and was last updated on April 10, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CVE-2026-23897: apollo-server Denial of Service (High 7.5)

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

0.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Lower Risk45th percentile+0.60%

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.

Blast Radius

3 pkgs affected

📦apollo-server📦@apollo/server📦@apollo/server

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

Apollo Server is an open-source, spec-compliant GraphQL server that's compatible with any GraphQL client, including Apollo Client. In versions from 2.0.0 to 3.13.0, 4.2.0 to before 4.13.0, and 5.0.0 to before 5.4.0, the default configuration of startStandaloneServer from @apollo/server/standalone is vulnerable to denial of service (DoS) attacks through specially crafted request bodies with exotic character set encodings. This issue does not affect users that use @apollo/server as a dependency for integration packages, like @as-integrations/express5 or @as-integrations/next, only direct usage of startStandaloneServer.

Affected Packages

3 total 2 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
📦npm	`apollo-server`	≥ 2.0.0	No fix
📦npm	`@apollo/server`	≥ 4.2.0&&< 4.13.0	4.13.0
📦npm	`@apollo/server`	≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.4.0	5.4.0

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

Detect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for apollo-server. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
No patched version of apollo-server has shipped for CVE-2026-23897 yet. Where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range, and apply any maintainer-recommended mitigation.
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 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-23897 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2026-23897. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Apollo Server is an open-source, spec-compliant GraphQL server that's compatible with any GraphQL client, including Apollo Client. In versions from 2.0.0 to 3.13.0, 4.2.0 to before 4.13.0, and 5.0.0 to before 5.4.0, the default configuration of startStandaloneServer from @apollo/server/standalone is vulnerable to denial of service (DoS) attacks through specially crafted request bodies with exotic character set encodings. This issue does not affect users that use @apollo/server as a dependency for integration packages, like @as-integrations/express5 or @as-integrations/next, only direct usage o

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-23897 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-23897 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works

CVE-2026-23897