GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg
GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg is a CWE-770 vulnerability in parse-server. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Parse Server affected by denial-of-service via unbounded query complexity in REST and GraphQL API
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
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 | 8.6.15 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.5.2-alpha.2 | 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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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 pinpoints whether GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
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 detects GHSA-cmj3-wx7h-ffvg across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.