Payload authentication token field handling issueGHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq
Fix: payloadcms/payload@56cd5cdGHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq is a CWE-290 vulnerability in payload. A fix is available for payload — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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 GHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq.
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.
payloadnpmDescription
Impact
Under certain field configurations, Payload could include unintended values in the authentication token issued at login.
You are affected if:
- You use an affected Payload version and have configured a custom field option that maps a field to a reserved authentication claim name.
Patches
Payload now restricts which field configuration options can influence the contents of the authentication token.
Users should upgrade payload packages to >= 3.90.0 or >= 4.0.0-canary.34.
Workarounds
There is no complete workaround. Users should upgrade payload packages to >= 3.90.0 or >= 4.0.0-canary.34.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | payload | ≥ 3.0.0&&< 3.90.0 | 3.90.0npm install payload@3.90.0 |
| 📦npm | payload | ≥ 4.0.0-canary.0&&< 4.0.0-canary.34 | 4.0.0-canary.34npm install payload@4.0.0-canary.34 |
Affected Products
payloadpayloadcmsDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for payload, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update payload to 3.90.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.