Unauthenticated session creation via empty authData
Published Mar 18, 2026 · Updated Mar 18, 2026
Authentication bypass in Parse Server before 8.6.49 and 9.0.0 through 9.6.0-alpha.28 allows remote attackers to create credentialless sessions. RestWrite treated the presence of authData as provider credentials, so an empty object bypassed username and password enforcement and reached session issuance. Any client able to reach signup can create an authenticated user and session without a valid identity, even when anonymous users are disabled.
Summary
What happened
Authentication bypass in Parse Server before 8.6.49 and 9.0.0 through 9.6.0-alpha.28 allows remote attackers to create credentialless sessions. RestWrite treated the presence of authData as provider credentials, so an empty object bypassed username and password enforcement and reached session issuance. Any client able to reach signup can create an authenticated user and session without a valid identity, even when anonymous users are disabled.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-33042
- Published
- Mar 18, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 18, 2026
- Vendor
- Parse Platform
- Product
- Parse Server
- Classifications
- CWE-287, T1136
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 18, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 8.6.49
- Affected versionversion=>= 9.0.0, < 9.6.0-alpha.29
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.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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