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Fencer Vulns
medium 5.3

CVE-2026-39857 json

Information Disclosure via `choices`/`counts` Query Parameters Bypassing publicApiProjection Field Restrictions

published 2026-04-15 6 mo ago modified 2026-10-26 13 d ago also EUVD-2026-23108 , GHSA-c276-fj82-f2pq

cvss
5.3
version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
0.4%
EPSS 0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 38%
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. Versions 4.28.0 and prior contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in the choices and counts query parameters of the REST API, where these query builders execute MongoDB distinct() operations that bypass the publicApiProjection restrictions intended to limit which fields are exposed publicly. The choices and counts parameters are processed via applyBuildersSafely before the projection is applied, and MongoDB's distinct operation does not respect projections, returning all distinct values directly. The results are returned in the API response without any filtering against publicApiProjection or removeForbiddenFields. An unauthenticated attacker can extract all distinct field values for any schema field type that has a registered query builder, including string, integer, float, select, boolean, date, slug, and relationship fields. Fields protected with viewPermission are similarly exposed, and the counts variant additionally reveals how many documents have each distinct value. Both the piece-type and page REST APIs are affected. This issue has been fixed in version 4.29.0.

Patch / fix

  • npm apostrophe 4.29.0
  • apostrophecms apostrophecms 4.29.0

CISA SSVC

Exploitation
Proof of concept is public
Automatable
yes
Technical impact
partial
Assessed
6 mo ago

Exploit prediction

0.43% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 38% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-08).

Exploits and checks

  • github.com https://github.com/apostrophecms/apostrophe/security/advisories/GHSA-c276-fj82-f2pq referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
CNA 3.1 5.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
GitHub 3.1 5.3 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
npm apostrophe
<4.29.0
4.29.0

Affected products

  • apostrophecms apostrophe

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-200 Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

References

Sources

Fencer Vulns keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.

CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.