Parse Server Vulnerable to Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) in File Upload via URI FormatGHSA-x4qj-2f4q-r4rx
HIGHFix: parse-community/parse-server#9903GHSA-x4qj-2f4q-r4rx is a high-severity (CVSS 7.5) Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) 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 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-x4qj-2f4q-r4rx.
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
A Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF) vulnerability in the file upload functionality when trying to upload a Parse.File with uri parameter allows to execute an arbitrary URI. The vulnerability stems from a file upload feature in which Parse Server retrieves the file data from a URI that is provided in the request. A request to the provided URI is executed, but the response is not stored in Parse Server's file storage as the server crashes upon receiving the response.
Patches
The feature has been implemented in Parse Server 4.2.0 but never worked and reliably crashes the server when trying to use it due to a bug in its implementation. Since the feature is not currently working, and due to its risky nature, it has been removed to address the vulnerability.
Workarounds
None.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 4.2.0&&< 7.5.4 | 7.5.4npm install parse-server@7.5.4 |
| 📦npm | parse-server | ≥ 8.0.0&&< 8.4.0-alpha.2 | 8.4.0-alpha.2npm install parse-server@8.4.0-alpha.2 |
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 7.5.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-x4qj-2f4q-r4rx is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Restrict outbound requests from the affected component to an allowlist of hosts, block access to link-local and internal address ranges at the network layer, and require authentication on internal services so a forged request cannot reach them unauthenticated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-x4qj-2f4q-r4rx in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.