Parse Server has an OAuth login vulnerabilityGHSA-837q-jhwx-cmpv
MEDIUMFix: parse-community/parse-server#9667GHSA-837q-jhwx-cmpv is a medium-severity (CVSS 6.9) Improper Authentication vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-837q-jhwx-cmpv.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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
The 3rd party authentication handling of Parse Server allows the authentication credentials of some specific authentication providers to be used across multiple Parse Server apps. For example, if a user signed up using the same authentication provider in two unrelated Parse Server apps, the credentials stored by one app can be used to authenticate the same user in the other app. Note that this only affects Parse Server apps that specifically use an affected 3rd party authentication provider for user authentication, for example by setting the Parse Server option auth to configure a Parse Server authentication adapter. See the 3rd party authentication docs for more information on which authentication providers are affected.
Patches
The fix of this vulnerability requires to upgrade Parse Server to a version that includes the bug fix, as well as upgrade the client app to send a secure payload, which is different from the previous insecure payload. To accommodate a gradual rollout of the client app update, affected Parse Server authentication adapters now offer an enableInsecureAuth option to accept both insecure and secure payloads from clients apps. See the 3rd party authentication docs for how to migrate from insecure to secure authentication.
Workarounds
None.
References
- GitHub security advisory: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/security/advisories/GHSA-837q-jhwx-cmpv
- Parse Server documentation for 3rd party authentication providers: https://docs.parseplatform.org/parse-server/guide/#oauth-and-3rd-party-authentication
- Bug fix in Parse Server 7: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/pull/9668
- Bug fix in Parse Server 8: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/pull/9667
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 7.5.2npm install parse-server@7.5.2 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.0.2 | 8.0.2npm install parse-server@8.0.2 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for parse-server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update parse-server to 7.5.2 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-837q-jhwx-cmpv is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-837q-jhwx-cmpv in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.