CVE-2023-32689: Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js.

Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js.

Parse Server is an open source backend that can be deployed to any infrastructure that can run Node.js. Versions prior to 5.4.4 and 6.1.1 are vulnerable to a phishing attack vulnerability that involves a user uploading malicious files. A malicious user could upload an HTML file to Parse Server via its public API. That HTML file would then be accessible at the internet domain at which Parse Server is hosted. The URL of the the uploaded HTML could be shared for phishing attacks. The HTML page may seem legitimate because it is served under the internet domain where Parse Server is hosted, which may be the same as a company's official website domain. An additional security issue arises when the Parse JavaScript SDK is used. The SDK stores sessions in the internet browser's local storage, which usually restricts data access depending on the internet domain. A malicious HTML file could contain a script that retrieves the user's session token from local storage and then share it with the attacker. The fix included in versions 5.4.4 and 6.1.1 adds a new Parse Server option `fileUpload.fileExtensions` to restrict file upload on Parse Server by file extension. It is recommended to restrict

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by GitHub

What it means for a small business

If your business uses parse-server, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.64%, higher than 50% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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