CVE-2022-24760

Workarounds

Although the fix is more broad and includes several aspects of the vulnerability, a quick and targeted fix can be achieved by patching the MongoDB Node.js driver and disable BSON code execution. To apply the patch, add the following code to be executed before starting Parse Server, for example in index.js.

const BSON = require('bson');
 const internalDeserialize = BSON.prototype.deserialize;
 BSON.prototype.deserialize = (buffer, options = Object.create(null), ...others) => {
   if (options.constructor) {
     options = Object.assign(Object.create(null), options);
   }
   return internalDeserialize(buffer, options, ...others);
 };
 const internalDeserializeStream = BSON.prototype.deserializeStream;
 BSON.prototype.deserializeStream = (
   data,
   startIndex,
   numberOfDocuments,
   documents,
   docStartIndex,
   options = Object.create(null),
   ...others
 ) => {
   if (options.constructor) {
     options = Object.assign(Object.create(null), options);
   }
   return internalDeserializeStream(
     data,
     startIndex,
     numberOfDocuments,
     documents,
     docStartIndex,
     options,
     ...others
   );
 };

References

• Original report on huntr.dev

This is a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in Parse Server. This vulnerability affects Parse Server in the default configuration with MongoDB. The main weakness that leads to RCE is the Prototype Pollution vulnerable code in the file DatabaseController.js, so it is likely to affect Postgres and any other database backend as well. This vulnerability has been confirmed on Linux (Ubuntu) and Windows.

CVE-2022-24760 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (4.10.7); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Upgrade to Parse Server >=4.10.7. If you are using a prerelease version of Parse Server 5.0 (alpha, beta) we will publish a timely fix for these. However, as a general reminder we do not consider prerelease versions to be suitable for production deployment.

Note that as part of the fix a new security feature scans for sensitive keywords in request data to prevent JavaScript prototype pollution. If such a keyword is found, the request is rejected with HTTP response code 400 and Parse Error 105 (INVALID_KEY_NAME). By default these keywords are: {_bsontype: "Code"}, constructor, __proto__. If you are using any of these keywords in your request data, you can override the default keywords by setting the new Parse Server option requestKeywordDenylist to [] and specify your own keywords as needed.

1. What is CVE-2022-24760? CVE-2022-24760 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in parse-server (npm), affecting versions < 4.10.7. It is fixed in 4.10.7.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-24760? CVE-2022-24760 has a CVSS score of 10.0 (Critical). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of parse-server are affected by CVE-2022-24760? parse-server (npm) versions < 4.10.7 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-24760? Yes. CVE-2022-24760 is fixed in 4.10.7. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-24760 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-24760 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2022-24760 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2022-24760? Upgrade parse-server to 4.10.7 or later.

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