GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P

The HTTP /rpc endpoint has a time-of-check/time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition on internal session state. When authenticated and unauthenticated requests are processed concurrently, the unauthenticated request can inherit the authenticated user's session and privileges. The /rpc endpoint is the primary interface used by all official SurrealDB SDKs.

The HTTP /rpc handler does not bind each incoming request to an isolated session context. Instead, concurrent requests share mutable authentication state. When an authenticated request sets the session context and an unauthenticated request races in before it is cleared, the unauthenticated request executes with the authenticated user's privileges.

The impact depends on the privilege level of the session that is hijacked. If a root or namespace-level user session is inherited, the attacker can read and modify any data, delete records, and create persistent namespace-level users. If a scoped record user session is inherited, the attacker is limited to that user's permissions.

The attack requires no credentials, tokens, or session knowledge, only the ability to send concurrent HTTP requests to the /rpc endpoint while legitimate authenticated traffic is active.

Workarounds

There is no configuration-level mitigation that fully addresses this vulnerability. Network-level controls restricting access to the /rpc endpoint to trusted clients can reduce exposure.

An unauthenticated attacker who can reach the /rpc endpoint can escalate privileges by racing against any active authenticated session. The severity of the impact depends on the permissions of the user whose session was hijacked. This could include escalation to root user of SurrealDB instance

Multiple concurrent operations access a shared resource without proper synchronization, producing unpredictable results depending on timing. Typical impact: TOCTOU exploits, data corruption, or privilege escalation.

GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P has a CVSS score of 8.1 (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 (3.1.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

Versions prior to SurrealDB v3.1.0 are vulnerable.

A patch has been introduced that replaces the shared default session with per-request session isolation. Every POST /rpc request now allocates a fresh, server-side UUID and runs entirely within that session's scope for the duration of the request. The session-map signatures across the RPC protocol have been changed from Option<Uuid> to Uuid so the "default session" can no longer be represented at the type level, preventing future regressions of the same shape.

1. What is GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P? GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P is a high-severity race condition vulnerability in surrealdb (rust), affecting versions < 3.1.0. It is fixed in 3.1.0. Multiple concurrent operations access a shared resource without proper synchronization, producing unpredictable results depending on timing.
2. How severe is GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P? GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P has a CVSS score of 8.1 (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 surrealdb are affected by GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P? surrealdb (rust) versions < 3.1.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P? Yes. GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P is fixed in 3.1.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P 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 GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P 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 GHSA-4VGR-H27G-CF9P? Upgrade surrealdb to 3.1.0 or later.