Authentication Bypass in parse-server (CVE-2021-39138)
Summary
Authentication bypass in parse-server (CVE-2021-39138). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. Exploitable via authProvider. Mitigation: upgrade to 4.5.2 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Developers can use the REST API to signup users and also allow users to login anonymously. Prior to version 4.5.1, when an anonymous user is first signed up using REST, the server creates session incorrectly. Particularly, the authProvider field in _Session class under createdWith shows the user logged in creating a password. If a developer later depends on the createdWith field to provide a different level of access between a password user and anonymous user, the server incorrectly classified the session type as being created with a password. The server does not currently use createdWith to make decisions about internal functions, so if a developer is not using createdWith directly, they are not affected. The vulnerability only affects users who depend on createdWith by using it directly. The issue is patched in Parse Server version 4.5.1. As a workaround, do not use the createdWith Session field to make decisions if one allows anonymous login.
Source: OSV.dev (Open Source Vulnerabilities) NVD GitHub Advisory OSV
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2021-39138 has been found in parse-server.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like authProvider over the network to misuse the product.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
What to do: upgrade parse-server to 4.5.2 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "parse-server CVE-2021-39138" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2021-39138 (parse-server) — CWE-287
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Attack surface: authProvider / _Session / createdWith / password
Patched: 4.5.2 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Authentication bypass (CWE-287) exists in parse-server. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via authProvider without authentication.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of parse-server. Attack surface: authProvider / _Session / createdWith / password.
Severity: ?. Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to 4.5.2.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'parse-server' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
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1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'parse-server' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
parse-serverを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade parse-server to 4.5.2ステージング環境で 4.5.2 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。
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3Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
References
- advisory github.com
- advisory github.com
- advisory github.com
- package github.com
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com