User impersonation via missing read-only key check
Published Mar 6, 2026 · Updated Mar 6, 2026
Incorrect authorization in Parse Server before 8.6.6 and 9.0.0 through 9.5.0-alpha.3 allows remote authenticated users to impersonate users. The UsersRouter loginAs handler accepts readOnlyMasterKey authentication without checking req.auth.isReadOnly before issuing a session token. A deployment must configure readOnlyMasterKey; possession of that credential and a target user ID grants full read and write access to that user's data.
Summary
What happened
Incorrect authorization in Parse Server before 8.6.6 and 9.0.0 through 9.5.0-alpha.3 allows remote authenticated users to impersonate users. The UsersRouter loginAs handler accepts readOnlyMasterKey authentication without checking req.auth.isReadOnly before issuing a session token. A deployment must configure readOnlyMasterKey; possession of that credential and a target user ID grants full read and write access to that user's data.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-30229
- Published
- Mar 6, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 6, 2026
- Vendor
- Parse Platform
- Product
- Parse Server
- Classifications
- CWE-863, T1078
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 8.6.6
- Affected versionversion=< 9.5.0-alpha.4
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo