CVE-2026-30229
Published: 06 March 2026
Summary
CVE-2026-30229 is a high-severity Incorrect Authorization (CWE-863) vulnerability in Parseplatform Parse-Server. Its CVSS base score is 7.2 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Privilege Escalation (T1068); ranked at the 6.6th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
Threat & Defense at a Glance
Threat & Defense Details
Likely Mitigating ControlsAI
Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.
Periodic review and update of procedures reduces incorrect authorization implementations over time.
Supervision identifies cases where authorization logic incorrectly permits unauthorized actions.
Defining permitted attribute values and auditing modifications reduces the chance of incorrect authorization outcomes due to tampered or missing labels.
The authorization process and usage restrictions help prevent incorrect authorization for remote access types.
Establishing configuration and connection requirements helps ensure correct rather than incorrect authorization for wireless access.
Establishing connection authorization processes for mobile devices helps ensure authorization decisions are correctly implemented rather than incorrect.
Monitoring account use, notifying on changes, and reviewing accounts for compliance corrects incorrect authorization assignments.
Ensures authorization decisions for external system use are correctly implemented and enforced.
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Authorization bypass in public-facing Parse Server API allows readOnlyMasterKey holder to escalate privileges and impersonate any valid user via crafted /loginAs request, directly mapping to exploitation for privilege escalation and abuse of valid accounts.
NVD Description
Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Prior to versions 8.6.6 and 9.5.0-alpha.4, the readOnlyMasterKey can call POST /loginAs to obtain a valid session token for any user. This…
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allows a read-only credential to impersonate arbitrary users with full read and write access to their data. Any Parse Server deployment that uses readOnlyMasterKey is affected. This issue has been patched in versions 8.6.6 and 9.5.0-alpha.4.
Deeper analysisAI
CVE-2026-30229 is a high-severity authorization vulnerability (CWE-863) in Parse Server, an open-source backend platform deployable on any Node.js-compatible infrastructure. In versions prior to 8.6.6 and 9.5.0-alpha.4, the readOnlyMasterKey credential can invoke the POST /loginAs endpoint to generate a valid session token for any user account. This flaw enables a read-only master key to bypass intended restrictions and escalate to full user privileges, compromising confidentiality, integrity, and availability with a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.2 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Deployments explicitly using readOnlyMasterKey are vulnerable.
An attacker with access to a readOnlyMasterKey—typically a privileged administrative credential—can exploit this remotely over the network with low complexity and no user interaction. By sending a crafted POST request to /loginAs, they obtain a session token impersonating any target user, granting full read and write access to that user's data across the Parse Server instance. This could lead to data exfiltration, modification, or deletion, depending on the application's data model and user permissions.
The Parse community addressed this in Parse Server versions 8.6.6 and 9.5.0-alpha.4, as detailed in the official release notes and security advisory (GHSA-79wj-8rqv-jvp5). Security practitioners should upgrade immediately if using affected versions and review configurations to ensure readOnlyMasterKey is not exposed or misused, disabling it where possible in favor of more granular permissions.
Details
- CWE(s)