CVE-2026-33042 Parse Server affected by empty authData bypassing credential requirement on signup
Attackers can create authenticated user sessions without credentials by sending empty authData, bypassing signup requirements in Parse Server.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-33042?
CVE-2026-33042 is a medium-severity authentication bypass vulnerability in Parseplatform Parse-Server, published on 18 Mar 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
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.29 and 8.6.49, a user can sign up without providing credentials by sending an empty `authData` object, bypassing the username and password requirement. This allows the creation of authenticated sessions without proper credentials, even when anonymous users are disabled. The fix in 9.6.0-alpha.29 and 8.6.49 ensures that empty or non-actionable `authData` is treated the same as absent `authData` for the purpose of credential validation on new user creation. Username and password are now required when no valid auth provider data is present. As a workaround, use a Cloud Code `beforeSave` trigger on the `_User` class to reject signups where `authData` is empty and no username/password is provided.
Weakness: CWE-287
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-33042?
5 open source packages ship an affected version, including parse-server and parse. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
parse-server npm | All versions | 8.6.49 |
parse-server npm | All versions | 8.6.49 |
parse-server npm | From 9.0.0 | 9.6.0-alpha.29 |
parse-server npm | From 9.0.0 | 9.6.0-alpha.29 |
parse Bitnami | All versions | 8.6.49, 9.6.0 |
Products include Parseplatform Parse-Server.
How do I fix CVE-2026-33042?
Upgrade parse-server to a fixed version for your release line: 8.6.49 or 9.6.0-alpha.29.
Upgrade, and rotate credentials and sessions that may have been exposed. More about Authentication bypass.
Is CVE-2026-33042 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-33042 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Parseplatform Parse-Server
- CVE-2026-30966 Parse Server role escalation and CLP bypass via direct `_Join` table write
- CVE-2024-27298 Parse Server literalizeRegexPart SQL Injection
- CVE-2022-24760 Command Injection in Parse server
- CVE-2026-30965 Parse Server session token exfiltration via `redirectClassNameForKey` query parameter
- CVE-2023-36475 Parse Server vulnerable to remote code execution via MongoDB BSON parser through prototype pollution
Sources
Also known as BIT-parse-2026-33042, GHSA-wjqw-r9x4-j59v.