GHSA-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g
GHSA-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g is a CWE-284 vulnerability in parse-server. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Parse Server has a protected fields bypass via dot-notation in query and sort
Real-World Exposure
parse-server📦parse-serverReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
The protectedFields class-level permission (CLP) can be bypassed using dot-notation in query WHERE clauses and sort parameters. An attacker can use dot-notation to query or sort by sub-fields of a protected field, enabling a binary oracle attack to enumerate protected field values.
This affects both MongoDB and PostgreSQL deployments.
Patches
The fix ensures that query WHERE clause keys and sort keys are checked against protected fields by extracting the root field from dot-notation paths. For example, a query on secretObj.apiKey is now correctly blocked when secretObj is a protected field.
Workarounds
None.
References
- GitHub security advisory: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/security/advisories/GHSA-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g
- Fix Parse Server 9: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/releases/tag/9.6.0-alpha.6
- Fix Parse Server 8: https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/releases/tag/8.6.32
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 9.0.0-alpha.1&&< 9.6.0-alpha.6 | 9.6.0-alpha.6 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 8.6.32 |
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 9.6.0-alpha.6 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g 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-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g 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-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g. 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-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-r2m8-pxm9-9c4g across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.