GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg — parse-server
GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg is a CWE-770 vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Parse Server affected by denial-of-service via unbounded query complexity in REST and GraphQL API
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.
- 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-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg.
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.
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
An unauthenticated attacker can exhaust Parse Server resources (CPU, memory, database connections) through crafted queries that exploit the lack of complexity limits in the REST and GraphQL APIs.
All Parse Server deployments using the REST or GraphQL API are affected.
Patches
The vulnerability is fixed by introducing configurable request complexity limits via the requestComplexity server option with the following keys:
subqueryDepth: Maximum nesting depth for$inQuery,$notInQuery,$select,$dontSelectincludeDepth: Maximum depth of dot-separatedincludepathsincludeCount: Maximum number ofincludefields per querygraphQLDepth: Maximum depth of GraphQL field selectionsgraphQLFields: Maximum number of field selections in a GraphQL query
Requests using master key or maintenance key bypass these limits. Set any property to -1 to disable that specific limit.
In versions 8.6.15 and 9.5.2-alpha.2, these limits were enabled by default. This unintentionally introduced a breaking change for some applications with legitimate complex queries. In versions 8.6.46 and 9.6.0-alpha.22, the defaults were changed to -1 (disabled) to restore backwards compatibility.
The limits remain available as configuration options. To mitigate the vulnerability, upgrade to a patched version and set each requestComplexity property to a value appropriate for your application.
Workarounds
There is no known workaround.
References
- GitHub security advisory: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/security/advisories/GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg
- Fix Parse Server 9: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/releases/tag/9.5.2-alpha.2
- Fix Parse Server 8: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/releases/tag/8.6.15
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 8.6.15npm install parse-server@8.6.15 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.5.2-alpha.2 | 9.5.2-alpha.2npm install parse-server@9.5.2-alpha.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 8.6.15 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg 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-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg. 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-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.