GHSA-7v7m-pcw5-h3cg is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.5) vulnerability in pusher/pusher-php-server. A fix is available for pusher/pusher-php-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Pusher Service Channel Authentication Bypass
Real-World Exposure
pusher/pusher-php-serverReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Packagist packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
The service offered by Pusher provides "private" channels with an authentication mechanism that restricts subscription access. The decision on allowing subscriptions to private channels is delegated to customers, who implement an authentication endpoint. End-users request a token from this endpoint to join a specific channel. The token is an HMAC signature of the end-user's connection ID (socket_id) and the desired channel.
The issue arises from a lack of validation in the libraries provided to customers. This vulnerability allows a malicious end-user to submit a malformed socket_id field, leading the customer to unknowingly sign a string. This signed string grants access to a different private channel than the one the end-user is ostensibly requesting. Consequently, a malicious end-user, with permission to subscribe to one private channel, can forge permission for any private channel owned by the same customer.
Additionally, the HTTP API is secured by requiring a signature with each request, generated by the customer's secret key. In specific cases, a malicious end-user may deceive a customer into signing a value for socket_id, effectively authenticating an API request to Pusher.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐘Packagist | pusher/pusher-php-server | all versions | 2.2.1composer require pusher/pusher-php-server:^2.2.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for pusher/pusher-php-server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update pusher/pusher-php-server to 2.2.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-7v7m-pcw5-h3cg 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-7v7m-pcw5-h3cg can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-7v7m-pcw5-h3cg. 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-7v7m-pcw5-h3cg in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-7v7m-pcw5-h3cg across Packagist dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.