CVE-2025-32033

A vulnerability in Apollo Router allowed certain queries to bypass configured operation limits, specifically due to integer overflow.

Details

The operation limits plugin uses unsigned 32-bit integers to track limit counters (e.g. for a query's height). If a counter exceeded the maximum value for this data type (4,294,967,295), it wrapped around to 0, unintentionally allowing queries to bypass configured thresholds. This could occur for large queries if the payload limit were sufficiently increased, but could also occur for small queries with deeply nested and reused named fragments.

Fix/Mitigation

Logic was updated to ensure counter overflow is handled correctly and does not wrap around to 0.

Workarounds

The only known workaround is "Safelisting" or "Safelisting with IDs only" per Safelisting with Persisted Queries - Apollo GraphQL Docs.

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the efforts of the security community in identifying and improving the performance and security of operation limiting mechanisms.

An arithmetic operation produces a value that exceeds the integer type's maximum, causing it to wrap to an unexpected small value. Typical impact: incorrect size calculations leading to heap overflows or logic errors.

CVE-2025-32033 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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 (1.61.2, 2.1.1); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

This has been remediated in apollo-router versions 1.61.2 and 2.1.1.

1. What is CVE-2025-32033? CVE-2025-32033 is a high-severity integer overflow or wraparound vulnerability in apollo-router (rust), affecting versions < 1.61.2. It is fixed in 1.61.2, 2.1.1. An arithmetic operation produces a value that exceeds the integer type's maximum, causing it to wrap to an unexpected small value.
2. How severe is CVE-2025-32033? CVE-2025-32033 has a CVSS score of 7.5 (High). 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 apollo-router are affected by CVE-2025-32033? apollo-router (rust) versions < 1.61.2 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2025-32033? Yes. CVE-2025-32033 is fixed in 1.61.2, 2.1.1. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2025-32033 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2025-32033 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-2025-32033 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-2025-32033?
   • Upgrade apollo-router to 1.61.2 or later
   • Upgrade apollo-router to 2.1.1 or later