parse-server auth adapter app ID validation can be circumventedGHSA-r657-33vp-gp22
LOWFix: parse-community/parse-server@8c8ec71GHSA-r657-33vp-gp22 is a low-severity (CVSS 3.7) Improper Authentication vulnerability in parse-server. A fix is available for parse-server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- 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-r657-33vp-gp22.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
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
Validation of the authentication adapter app ID for Facebook and Spotify may be circumvented.
This fixes a vulnerability that affects configurations which allow users to authenticate using the Parse Server authentication adapter for Facebook or Spotify and where the server-side authentication adapter configuration appIds is set as a string (e.g. abc) instead of an array of strings (e.g. ["abc"]). The vulnerability makes it possible to authenticate requests which are coming from a Facebook or Spotify app with a different app ID than the one specified in the appIds configuration.
Both adapters still validate the access token with the respective authentication provider. An app ID is automatically assigned by the authentication provider. For this vulnerability to be exploited, an attacker would have to be assigned an app ID by the authentication provider which is a sub-set of the server-side configured app ID.
The documentation did not explicitly specify that the parameter appIds must be set as an array of strings and setting a string also worked. Therefore, there is a possibility that there are deployments where appIds is set as a string, making them vulnerable.
Patches
The fix makes Parse Server check the type of the value set for appIds and throws an error if the value is not an array.
Workarounds
No known workarounds.
References
- GitHub advisory GHSA-r657-33vp-gp22
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | all versions | 4.10.16npm install parse-server@4.10.16 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 5.0.0&&< 5.2.7 | 5.2.7npm install parse-server@5.2.7 |
Affected Products
parse-serverparseplatformDetection & 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 4.10.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-r657-33vp-gp22 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Put an independent control in front of the weakness: restrict the affected endpoint or interface to trusted networks, require an additional authentication factor or proxy-level check, and invalidate existing sessions and credentials in case the flaw has already been used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-r657-33vp-gp22 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.