CVE-2026-30966
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedParse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Prior to 9.5.2-alpha.7 and 8.6.20, Parse Server's internal tables, which store Relation field mappings such as role memberships, can be directly accessed via the REST API or GraphQL API by any client using only the application key. No master key is required. An attacker can create, read, update, or delete records in any internal relationship table. Exploiting this allows the attacker to inject themselves into any Parse Role, gaining all permissions associated with that role, including full read, write, and delete access to classes protected by role-based Class-Level Permissions (CLP). Similarly, writing to any such table that backs a Relation field used in a pointerFields CLP bypasses that access control. This vulnerability is fixed in 9.5.2-alpha.7 and 8.6.20.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceParse Server before 9.5.2-alpha.7 and 8.6.20 allows direct access to internal relation tables (storing role memberships and relation field mappings) via REST or GraphQL API using only the application key, without requiring the master key. This enables unauthenticated attackers to create, read, update, or delete records in internal relationship tables, allowing them to inject themselves into any Parse Role and bypass role-based Class-Level Permissions (CLP) for full read/write/delete access to protected classes.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data< 8.6.20>= 9.0.0, < 9.5.2= 9.5.2CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:L
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Determine installed Parse Server versionCheck the running Parse Server version by querying the server's health/version endpoint, or inspect package.json in the deployment, or run `npm list parse-server` in the project directoryAffected if Version is less than 8.6.20, or between 9.0.0 and 9.5.2 inclusive, or exactly 9.5.2
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Verify master key requirement for internal relationsReview Parse Server configuration (usually in index.js, server.js, or environment variables) for the requireMasterKey setting and confirm it is set to true for _Relation class operations, or check if the master key must be provided for any request to _RelationAffected if requireMasterKey is not enforced or can be bypassed for _Relation class access
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Confirm REST API is accessible with only application keySend a REST API request to the Parse Server endpoint (usually /parse/classes/_Relation) using only the application ID/key in the headers, without including the master key, and observe if the request succeedsAffected if The API accepts requests to _Relation endpoints with only the application key and returns successful responses without requiring the master key
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Check Class-Level Permissions configurationQuery the _CLP class or inspect CLP settings via Parse Dashboard for any protected classes to understand what roles and permissions are configuredAffected if Protected classes rely on Parse Roles for access control and the _Relation class is accessible without master key
You are affected if your Parse Server version falls within the vulnerable range and the _Relation class can be accessed via REST or GraphQL API without providing the master key.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped8.6.209.5.2
Upgrade Parse Server to version 9.5.2-alpha.7, 8.6.20, or later to patch the access control vulnerability on internal relation tables.
8.6.20 for version 8.x branch; 9.5.2 or later for version 9.x branch
- Identify current Parse Server version by checking package.json or running `npm list parse-server`
- If running version 8.x (< 8.6.20): upgrade to version 8.6.20 or later by running `npm install parse-server@^8.6.20`
- If running version 9.x (>= 9.0.0 and < 9.5.2, or exactly 9.5.2): upgrade to version 9.5.2 or later by running `npm install parse-server@^9.5.2`
- After upgrading, restart the Parse Server instance
- Verify the fix is applied by testing that internal relation tables (e.g., _Join:roles) cannot be accessed via REST API or GraphQL API using only the application key without proper master key authentication
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-30966 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-30966 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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