Summary
ApostropheCMS: :_id/locales REST route omits the public-API authorization gate its sibling read routes enforce (unauthenticated doc-existence + locale metadata disclosure)
The REST route GET /api/v1/<piece-type>/:_id/locales (and the equivalent page route) does not apply the publicApiCheckAsync gate that ApostropheCMS's other read routes enforce. An unauthenticated caller can therefore query this route for any document _id and learn whether the document exists and which locales it is published in, a document-existence and locale-metadata disclosure that the read-API is otherwise supposed to gate.
Affected
- Repository:
apostrophecms/apostrophe(monorepo packageapostrophe). - Confirmed at 4.32.2 (commit
d3ff8c9== the shipped 4.32.2; unchanged at current HEAD). No fix at time of report. - Stack: Node.js / Express + MongoDB.
- Endpoints:
GET /api/v1/<piece-type>/:_id/localesandGET /api/v1/@apostrophecms/page/:_id/locales.
Technical detail
- Unsafe:
modules/@apostrophecms/piece-type/index.js:397registers the:_id/localesroute with nopublicApiCheckAsync. The page module has the same omission atmodules/@apostrophecms/page/index.js:925. - Gated siblings: the read routes in the same module (e.g.
getAllatpiece-type/index.js:256-263) callpublicApiCheckAsync(:263) to enforce the public-API access policy. - So the
localeshandler (which callsgetLocales()for the document) runs for any caller regardless of the public-API gate the other read routes apply, returning the document's locale/publication metadata without authorization.
How it was verified (local only)
Reproduced against [email protected] (== commit d3ff8c9) locally with synthetic content:
- Source review confirmed the
:_id/localesroute lackspublicApiCheckAsyncwhile the sibling read routes have it. - An unauthenticated
GET /api/v1/<piece-type>/<_id>/localesreturned the document's locale metadata (existence + locales), while the gated read routes (e.g.getAll) correctly required the public-API policy. - Control: the same route with the
publicApiCheckAsyncgate added (matching the siblings) denies the unauthenticated request, isolating the missing gate as the cause.
Synthetic content only; nothing hosted was touched.
Credit
Please credit Santosh Kumar Puppala (https://github.com/Santoshkumarpuppala).
Impact
An unauthenticated caller can confirm the existence of a document by _id and enumerate its locales/publication state, information the read-API is meant to gate. Defensibly 4.3 (AC:H) given the opaque _id precondition (the caller needs a document id).
The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation. Typical impact: unauthorized access to restricted functionality or data.
CVE-2026-113668 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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 (4.33.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Add the publicApiCheckAsync (or equivalent) authorization gate to the :_id/locales route in both the piece-type and page modules, matching the sibling read routes, so the locale/existence metadata is only returned to callers permitted by the public-API policy.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-113668? CVE-2026-113668 is a medium-severity missing authorization vulnerability in apostrophe (npm), affecting versions < 4.33.0. It is fixed in 4.33.0. The application does not perform an authorization check before performing a sensitive operation.
- How severe is CVE-2026-113668? CVE-2026-113668 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). 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.
- Which versions of apostrophe are affected by CVE-2026-113668? apostrophe (npm) versions < 4.33.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-113668? Yes. CVE-2026-113668 is fixed in 4.33.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-113668 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-113668 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-113668 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-113668? Upgrade
apostropheto 4.33.0 or later.