GHSA-g4cf-xj29-wqqr — parse-server
Fix: parse-community/parse-server#10270GHSA-g4cf-xj29-wqqr is a Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Parse Server: Denial of Service via unindexed database query for unconfigured auth providers
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-g4cf-xj29-wqqr.
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 cause Denial of Service by sending authentication requests with arbitrary, unconfigured provider names. The server executes a database query for each unconfigured provider before rejecting the request, and since no database index exists for unconfigured providers, each request triggers a full collection scan on the user database. This can be parallelized to saturate database resources.
Patches
The fix validates that an authentication provider is configured before executing any database query. Requests with unconfigured providers are now rejected immediately without querying the database.
Workarounds
There is no known workaround other than upgrading.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0&&< 9.6.0-alpha.52 | 9.6.0-alpha.52npm install parse-server@9.6.0-alpha.52 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 8.6.58npm install parse-server@8.6.58 |
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 9.6.0-alpha.52 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-g4cf-xj29-wqqr 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-g4cf-xj29-wqqr can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-g4cf-xj29-wqqr. 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-g4cf-xj29-wqqr in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-g4cf-xj29-wqqr across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.