GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH

The GraphQL specification permits a single query to repeat the same field multiple times using aliases, with each alias resolved independently by default. Directus did not deduplicate resolver invocations within a single request, meaning each alias triggered a full, independent execution of the underlying resolver.

The health check resolver ran all backend checks (database connectivity, cache, storage writes, and SMTP verification) on every invocation. Combined with unauthenticated access to the system GraphQL endpoint, this allowed an attacker to amplify resource consumption significantly from a single HTTP request, exhausting the database connection pool, storage I/O, and SMTP connections.

Credit

This vulnerability was discovered and reported by bugbunny.ai.

• Service degradation or outage: Database connection pool exhaustion prevents all Directus operations for all users
• Storage I/O saturation: Concurrent file writes can overwhelm disk I/O
• SMTP resource exhaustion: Concurrent SMTP verification calls may overwhelm the mail server
• No authentication required: Any network-accessible attacker can trigger this condition
• Single-request impact: A single request is sufficient to cause significant resource consumption

Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service. Typical impact: denial of service.

GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH 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 (11.17.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

A request-scoped resolver deduplication mechanism was introduced and applied broadly across all GraphQL read resolvers, both system and items endpoints. When multiple aliases in a single request invoke the same resolver with identical arguments, only the first call executes; all subsequent aliases share its result. This eliminates the amplification factor regardless of how many aliases an attacker includes in a query.

1. What is GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH? GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in directus (npm), affecting versions < 11.17.0. It is fixed in 11.17.0. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.
2. How severe is GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH? GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH 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 directus are affected by GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH? directus (npm) versions < 11.17.0 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH? Yes. GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH is fixed in 11.17.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-6Q22-G298-GRJH 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-6Q22-G298-GRJH 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-6Q22-G298-GRJH? Upgrade directus to 11.17.0 or later.