Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XSummary
CVE-2026-31840 is a critical-severity SQL Injection (CWE-89) vulnerability in Parseplatform Parse-Server. Its CVSS base score is 9.3 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190); ranked at the 34th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-31840 is a SQL injection vulnerability in Parse Server, an open-source backend deployable on Node.js infrastructure. Affecting versions prior to 9.6.0-alpha.2 and 8.6.28, the flaw stems from improper escaping of sub-field values in dot-notation queries, allowing attackers to inject SQL into PostgreSQL databases. This issue arises specifically when using dot-notation field names with the sort query parameter and may also impact queries involving the distinct and where parameters. Deployments using databases other than PostgreSQL are unaffected. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) and is associated with CWE-89 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command).
Any unauthenticated attacker with network access to a vulnerable Parse Server instance can exploit this flaw remotely with low complexity and no user interaction required. By crafting a malicious request using dot-notation field names combined with the sort parameter (or potentially distinct/where), the attacker injects arbitrary SQL into PostgreSQL queries, potentially achieving high confidentiality, integrity, and availability impacts such as data exfiltration, modification, or deletion.
Parse Server advisories recommend upgrading to version 9.6.0-alpha.2 or 8.6.28, where the improper escaping issue has been fixed. Details are available in the project's security advisory (GHSA-qpr4-jrj4-6f27) and release notes for the patched versions.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-11241
Vulnerability Data
Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Prior to 9.6.0-alpha.2 and 8.6.28, an attacker can use a dot-notation field name in combination with the sort query parameter to inject…
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SQL into the PostgreSQL database through an improper escaping of sub-field values in dot-notation queries. The vulnerability may also affect queries that use dot-notation field names with the distinct and where query parameters. This vulnerability only affects deployments using a PostgreSQL database. This vulnerability is fixed in 9.6.0-alpha.2 and 8.6.28.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V6.2.5
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation can discover SQLi flaws before deployment but does not stop their introduction.
Input validation directly stops untrusted data from reaching SQL query construction without neutralization.
Secure engineering principles require parameterized queries and input sanitization that structurally eliminate SQLi.
System monitoring can identify attempted SQLi exploitation via anomalous queries after the weakness exists.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly target injection flaws during coding and review so largely prevent CWE-89 introduction, yet the single broad outcome leaves residual risk from incomplete neutralization techniques or missed edge cases.
Training raises developer awareness of SQLi risks and can reduce introduction likelihood (partial) but removes none of the actual coding flaw's risk by itself since technical neutralization is still required.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
The same secure-coding and static-analysis activities surface missing neutralization of SQL metacharacters before the system is accepted.
Early warnings and shared best-practice information help organizations apply the latest remediation techniques against SQL-injection vulnerabilities.
Threat-intelligence feeds that surface new SQL-injection campaigns enable rapid updates to query-construction defenses and detection signatures before exploitation occurs.
Secure-coding rules and security testing phases mandate the use of parameterized queries or equivalent escaping, preventing the construction of dynamic SQL statements from untrusted input.
Language-specific secure coding rules, peer review and SAST together prevent the construction of SQL statements from untrusted data without proper parameterization or escaping.