GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm
Fix: parse-community/parse-server#10463GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm is a CWE-1333 vulnerability in parse-server. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Parse Server: Pre-authentication denial of service via client version header regex backtracking
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.
- 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 GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm.
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
Impact
An unauthenticated attacker who knows a publicly-known Parse Application ID can submit a single HTTP request whose client SDK version field contains adversarial input that triggers polynomial backtracking in a request-header parser. The parsing runs before session authentication and before rate limiting on every /parse/* request, so the request consumes seconds to minutes of synchronous CPU on a Node.js worker before any access control evaluates it. A small number of concurrent requests can saturate a worker; a single large request via the body-field variant can pin a worker for minutes. Production deployments running the default configuration are affected.
Patches
The client SDK version capture and parsing have been removed entirely. The Parse JS SDK compatibility table defines a strict version-pinned contract between Parse Server and the Parse JS SDK; server-side adaptation to client SDK version is an obsolete pattern that contradicts that contract. The vulnerable parser, the clientSDK parameter that threaded its output through routers, and the legacy code path it gated are all removed. The X-Parse-Client-Version header and _ClientVersion JSON body field are now silently ignored on every request; supported Parse SDKs are unaffected.
Workarounds
Deploy a reverse proxy or WAF in front of Parse Server that strips or strictly size-limits the X-Parse-Client-Version header AND the _ClientVersion field in JSON request bodies on every /parse/* route before forwarding to the server. A header-size cap alone is insufficient: the body-field variant requires inspection of JSON content. Upgrading to the patched version is the recommended remediation.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.9.1-alpha.1 | 9.9.1-alpha.1 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 8.6.77 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for parse-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
Update parse-server to 9.9.1-alpha.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm 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 GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-38m6-82c8-4xfm across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.