CVE-2026-55778 — parse-server
Fix: parse-community/parse-server@97c6a78CVE-2026-55778 is a Unrestricted File Upload vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Parse Server: Stored XSS via non-standard file extension bypassing file upload extension blocklist
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-2026-55778.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
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
Impact
Parse Server's default fileUpload.fileExtensions blocklist is intended to prevent uploading files that browsers render as active content (such as HTML and SVG), which can be used to perform stored cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks against other users. The blocklist could be bypassed by uploading a file whose extension is not an exact match of a blocked extension (for example a non-standard or compound extension) together with a dangerous content type. On storage adapters that persist and serve the uploaded content type (such as S3 and GCS), the file is then served with the attacker-supplied content type, enabling stored XSS against users who open the file URL.
This affects the default configuration, in which authenticated users are allowed to upload files. The default GridFS/filesystem adapter sets the X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff response header, which mitigates browser rendering on that adapter, but the upload restriction itself is still bypassed. This is an incomplete-fix follow-up of GHSA-vr5f-2r24-w5hc and GHSA-7wqv-xjf3-x35v.
Patches
The file upload extension validation now also evaluates the request content type against the configured blocklist whenever the filename's extension is not a recognized type. As a result, a dangerous content type can no longer be preserved by uploading a file with a non-standard extension, and such uploads are rejected.
Workarounds
Configure fileUpload.fileExtensions as a strict allowlist of only the file extensions your application needs (for example ["^(png|jpe?g|gif|pdf)$"]) instead of relying on the default blocklist. Additionally, serve uploaded files from a separate domain than the application, so that any executed content is isolated from the application's origin.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.9.1-alpha.11 | 9.9.1-alpha.11npm install parse-server@9.9.1-alpha.11 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 8.6.81npm install parse-server@8.6.81 |
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 9.9.1-alpha.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-55778 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Escape or sanitise the affected output on the server side rather than relying on client-side filtering, and add a Content-Security-Policy that blocks inline script execution so injected markup cannot run even if it reaches the page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-55778 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.