GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97
CRITICALGHSA-w52v-v783-gw97 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.4) SQL Injection vulnerability in ghost. 3 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Ghost has a SQL injection in Content API
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
ghostnpmDescription
Impact
A SQL injection vulnerability existed in Ghost's Content API that allowed unauthenticated attackers to read arbitrary data from the database.
Vulnerable Versions
This vulnerability is present in Ghost v3.24.0 to v6.19.0.
Patches
v6.19.1 contains a fix for this issue.
Note: as this vulnerability lets an attacker gain access to a site's API keys, we recommend reviewing staff users and rotating keys. We generally recommend always updating Ghost to its most current version.
Workarounds
There is no application-level workaround. The Content API key is public by design, so restricting key access does not mitigate this vulnerability.
As a temporary mitigation, a reverse proxy or WAF rule can be used to block Content API requests containing slug%3A%5B or slug:[ in the query string filter parameter. Note that this may break legitimate slug filter functionality.
References
We thank Nicholas Carlini using Claude, Anthropic for disclosing this vulnerability responsibly.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory, email us at [email protected].
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | ghost | ≥ 3.24.0&&< 6.19.1 | 6.19.1 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Ghost CMS 6.19.0 - SQLi
by Maksim Rogov · May 7, 2026
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for ghost. 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 ghost to 6.19.1 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97 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-w52v-v783-gw97 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-w52v-v783-gw97. 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-w52v-v783-gw97 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-w52v-v783-gw97 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.