CVE-2026-31840 — parse-server
CVE-2026-31840 is a SQL Injection vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Parse Server has a SQL injection via dot-notation field name in PostgreSQL
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- 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-2026-31840.
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.
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. Prior to 9.6.0-alpha.2 and 8.6.28, an attacker can use a dot-notation field name in combination with the sort query parameter to inject SQL into the PostgreSQL database through an improper escaping of sub-field values in dot-notation queries. The vulnerability may also affect queries that use dot-notation field names with the distinct and where query parameters. This vulnerability only affects deployments using a PostgreSQL database. This vulnerability is fixed in 9.6.0-alpha.2 and 8.6.28.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.6.0-alpha.2 | 9.6.0-alpha.2npm install parse-server@9.6.0-alpha.2 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 8.6.28npm install parse-server@8.6.28 |
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 9.6.0-alpha.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-31840 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-2026-31840 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-31840. 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-2026-31840 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-31840 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.