CVE-2021-41109: Parse server LiveQuery Publishes User Session Tokens Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-7pr3-p5fm-8r9x
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CVSS 7.5
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2021-41109 is a HIGH (CVSS 7.5) livequery publishes user session tokens vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Parse server libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves livequery publishes user session tokens in parse-server. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 4.10.4.

CVE-2021-41109 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2021-41109
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7pr3-p5fm-8r9x
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 7.5
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Parse server
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 7.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2021-41109

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Parse server dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

parse-server fixed: 4.10.4 
npm install parse-server@4.10.4
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls parse-server

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by CVE-2021-41109, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls parse-server

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Parse server in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 4.10.4), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls parse-server command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Parse server, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact For regular (non-LiveQuery) queries, the session token is removed from the response, but for LiveQuery payloads it is currently not. If a user has a LiveQuery subscription on the `Parse.User` class, all session tokens created during user sign-ups will be broadcast as part of the LiveQuery payload. ### Patches Remove session token from LiveQuery payload. ### Workaround Set `user.acl(new Parse.ACL())` in a beforeSave trigger to make the user private already on sign-up.

CVE-2021-41109 Affected Parse server Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
4.10.4
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
parse-server
npm/parse-server
npm
< 4.10.4
4.10.4

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/security/advisories/GHSA-7pr3-p5fm-8r9x
NVD — CVE-2021-41109 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41109
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/commit/4ac4b7f71002ed4fbedbb901db1f6ed1e9ac5559
Parse server Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server
Parse server Release RELEASE
https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/releases/tag/4.10.4

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2021-41109?
CVE-2021-41109 is a security vulnerability in Parse server involving LiveQuery publishes user session tokens in parse-server under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Parse server versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 4.10.4 across affected packages: parse-server.
What version fixes CVE-2021-41109?
Upgrading to 4.10.4 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is parse-server affected?
Yes, parse-server is affected in releases prior to 4.10.4. Upgrade your dependency to 4.10.4 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2021-41109?
CVE-2021-41109 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2021-41109?
CVE-2021-41109 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2021-41109?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls parse-server'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-7pr3-p5fm-8r9x",
  "modified" : "2021-09-30T16:43:12Z",
  "published" : "2021-09-30T17:09:47Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2021-41109" ],
  "summary" : "LiveQuery publishes user session tokens in parse-server",
  "details" : "### Impact\nFor regular (non-LiveQuery) queries, the session token is removed from the response, but for LiveQuery payloads it is currently not. If a user has a LiveQuery subscription on the `Parse.User` class, all session tokens created during user sign-ups will be broadcast as part of the LiveQuery payload.\n\n### Patches\nRemove session token from LiveQuery payload.\n\n### Workaround\nSet `user.acl(new Parse.ACL())` in a beforeSave trigger to make the user private already on sign-up.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "parse-server"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "4.10.4"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/security/advisories/GHSA-7pr3-p5fm-8r9x"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-41109"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/commit/4ac4b7f71002ed4fbedbb901db1f6ed1e9ac5559"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/parse-community/parse-server/releases/tag/4.10.4"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-09-30T16:43:12Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2021-09-30T15:15:00Z"
  }
}