GHSA-cxv7-gmmp-228p
MEDIUMNocoDB: Postgres SQL Injection in Formula `ARRAYSORT`
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.
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
nocodbnpmDescription
Summary
An authenticated user with columnAdd permission on a Postgres-backed base can inject arbitrary SQL into the formula engine via the optional direction argument of ARRAYSORT(...). The value is unrestricted by formula validation and embedded into a knex.raw ORDER BY clause, executing during column creation and on every subsequent record read of the formula column.
Details
The vulnerability is specific to the Postgres mapping for ARRAYSORT in packages/nocodb/src/db/functionMappings/pg.ts. Two factors combine:
ARRAYSORTdeclares only argument count, notvalidation.args.type, sovalidate-extract-tree.tsdoes not enforce an allowlist on the second argument.- The Postgres mapping then passes the attacker-controlled value through
sanitize(knex.raw(...))into a raw SQL fragment:
const direction = pt.arguments[1]
? sanitize(
knex.raw(pt.arguments[1]?.value ?? (await fn(pt.arguments[1])).builder),
)
: knex.raw('asc');
return {
builder: knex.raw(`ARRAY(SELECT UNNEST(??) ORDER BY 1 ??)`, [source, direction]),
};
sanitize() in sqlSanitize.ts only escapes ? placeholder characters; it does not validate SQL syntax. A payload such as "desc, (SELECT COUNT(*) FROM generate_series(1,30000000))" is accepted, persisted, and re-executed on every read of the formula column.
Impact
- Authenticated SQL injection against Postgres-backed bases.
- Requires
columnAddpermission (creator/owner-level). - Proven impact: attacker-controlled heavy SQL causing multi-second query stalls (DoS).
- Potentially extendable to broader SQL injection outcomes depending on database permissions and deployment hardening.
- Limited to Postgres backends.
Credit
This issue was reported by @leduckhuong.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | nocodb | all versions | 2026.04.1 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for nocodb. 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 nocodb to 2026.04.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-cxv7-gmmp-228p 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-cxv7-gmmp-228p 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-cxv7-gmmp-228p. 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-cxv7-gmmp-228p in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-cxv7-gmmp-228p across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.