VulnerabilityPublished 10 Mar 2026

CVE-2026-30946: parse-server · Unthrottled Resource Allocation

Affects parse-serverSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.7 High : upgrade to 9.5.2-alpha.2 or 8.6.15 soon.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 06:59 UTC

CVSS 4.0 base score

8.7High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 47% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 9.5.2-alpha.2, 8.6.15

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Attack Requirements: None
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None
Vulnerable system integrity: None
Vulnerable system availability: High
Subsequent system confidentiality: None
Subsequent system integrity: None
Subsequent system availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable system is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed below, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed “remotely exploitable” and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: The attacker must take no measurable action to exploit the vulnerability. The attack requires no target-specific circumvention to exploit the vulnerability. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable system.
Attack Requirements: None: The successful attack does not depend on the deployment and execution conditions of the vulnerable system. The attacker can expect to be able to reach the vulnerability and execute the exploit under all or most instances of the vulnerability.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files of the vulnerable system to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without interaction from any human user, other than the attacker.
Vulnerable system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Vulnerable System.
Vulnerable system availability: High: There is a total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the Vulnerable System; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the Vulnerable System (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).
Subsequent system confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the Subsequent System or all confidentiality impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the Subsequent System or all integrity impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.
Subsequent system availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the Subsequent System or all availability impact is constrained to the Vulnerable System.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v4.0 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 10 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 29 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade parse-server to 9.5.2-alpha.2 or 8.6.15; parse-server to 8.6.15.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
parse-communityparse-server	Affected >=9.0.0 <9.5.2-alpha.2	Fixed in 9.5.2-alpha.2
parse-communityparse-server	Affected <8.6.15	Fixed in 8.6.15
npmparse-server`pkg:npm/parse-server`Other threats	Affected <8.6.15	Fixed in 8.6.15

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2026-30946, organizations should immediately upgrade parse-server to version 8.6.15 or 9.5.2-alpha.2 or later, where the vulnerability is fixed. In addition, implement the following practical measures: 1) Deploy API rate limiting and throttling at the network or application layer to restrict the number and complexity of incoming queries. 2) Use Web Application Firewalls (WAFs) with custom rules to detect and block suspicious query patterns targeting REST and GraphQL endpoints. 3) Monitor resource utilization metrics (CPU, memory, database connections) closely to identify anomalous spikes indicative of abuse. 4) Restrict public exposure of parse-server APIs where possible, using network segmentation, VPNs, or IP whitelisting to limit access to trusted clients. 5) Employ query complexity analysis tools or middleware that can reject overly complex or nested queries before processing. 6) Maintain an incident response plan to quickly isolate and remediate affected systems in case of an attack. These steps complement upgrading and help reduce the attack surface and impact of potential exploitation.

Description

Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Prior 9.5.2-alpha.2 and 8.6.15, an unauthenticated attacker can exhaust Parse Server resources (CPU, memory, database connections) through crafted queries that exploit the lack of complexity limits in the REST and GraphQL APIs. All Parse Server deployments using the REST or GraphQL API are affected. This vulnerability is fixed in 9.5.2-alpha.2 and 8.6.15.

Impact

The primary impact of CVE-2026-30946 is denial of service through resource exhaustion. Attackers can overwhelm parse-server instances by sending complex or voluminous queries that consume CPU cycles, memory, and database connections, potentially causing server crashes, degraded performance, or unavailability of backend services. This can disrupt applications relying on parse-server for data storage and business logic, affecting user experience and operational continuity. Organizations may face service outages, increased operational costs, and reputational damage. Since the vulnerability requires no authentication and can be exploited remotely, it poses a significant risk to publicly accessible parse-server deployments. The impact extends to any organization using vulnerable versions, including startups, enterprises, and cloud service providers leveraging parse-server for mobile and web backends. The lack of known exploits currently limits immediate widespread damage, but the ease of exploitation and high severity score suggest a strong incentive for attackers to develop exploits, especially targeting high-value or critical infrastructure applications.

CWE-770Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #25
The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated.
Requirements
Clearly specify the minimum and maximum expectations for capabilities, and dictate which behaviors are acceptable when resource allocation reaches limits.
Architecture and Design
Limit the amount of resources that are accessible to unprivileged users. Set per-user limits for resources. Allow the system administrator to define these limits. Be careful to avoid CWE-410.
Architecture and Design
Design throttling mechanisms into the system architecture. The best protection is to limit the amount of resources that an unauthorized user can cause to be expended.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Abuse Case (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V8.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V13.4.1 (opens in a new tab)
V11.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
XML Ping of the Death (opens in a new tab)
Exponential Data Expansion (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data Parameter Blowup (opens in a new tab)
Serialized Data with Nested Payloads (opens in a new tab)
Oversized Serialized Data Payloads (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 10 Mar 2026, 20:45 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-770

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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