GHSA-238x-w2j9-gwwr CVE-2026-105849
Payload vulnerable to API key disclosure through ordinary document reads
High
npm
- Severity
- 0.0 / 10
- High · CVSS 4.0
- Exploit chance (EPSS)
- 0.30%
- Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 22.79% of scored vulnerabilities.
- Known exploited
- No
- Not in CISA's catalog
- Fix
3.90.0- Upgrade payload to this version or later
Description
Impact
Users with read access to other user documents could access their active API keys. An exposed key grants the target account’s permissions until rotated or disabled.
You are affected if:
- An authentication collection enables
useAPIKey. - Users have read access to other user documents containing active API keys.
Patches
Users should upgrade payload packages to >= 3.90.0 or >= 4.0.0-canary.34.
Workarounds
Disable useAPIKey or restrict users to reading only their own authentication document. Rotate any API key that may have been exposed.
Affected versions
npm
| Package | Vulnerable | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| payload | >= 3.0.0, < 3.90.0 |
3.90.0 |
| payload | >= 4.0.0-canary.0, < 4.0.0-canary.34 |
4.0.0-canary.34 |
How to fix
Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.
payload npm → 3.90.0
- npm
npm install payload@3.90.0- yarn
yarn add payload@3.90.0- pnpm
pnpm add payload@3.90.0
Severity breakdown
CVSS 4.0 0.0
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- High
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- High
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- High
- Confidentiality (subsequent systems)
- None
- Integrity (subsequent systems)
- None
- Availability (subsequent systems)
- None
CVSS 3.1 8.3
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- Low
Weakness
CWE-201: Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data
The code transmits data to another actor, but a portion of the data includes sensitive information that should not be accessible to that actor.
How to prevent it
- Requirements: Specify which data in the software should be regarded as sensitive. Consider which types of users should have access to which types of data.
- Implementation: Ensure that any possibly sensitive data specified in the requirements is verified with designers to ensure that it is either a calculated risk or mitigated elsewhere. Any information that is not necessary to the functionality should be removed in order to lower both the overhead and the possibility of security sensitive data being sent.
- System Configuration: Setup default error messages so that unexpected errors do not disclose sensitive information.
- Architecture and Design: Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
CWE-862: Missing Authorization
The product does not perform an authorization check when an actor attempts to access a resource or perform an action.
How to prevent it
- Architecture and Design: Divide the product into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully mapping roles with data and functionality. Use role-based access control (RBAC) [REF-229] to enforce the roles at the appropriate boundaries. Note that this approach may not protect against horizontal authorization, i.e., it will not protect a user from attacking others with the same role.
- Architecture and Design: Ensure that access control checks are performed related to the business logic. These checks may be different than the access control checks that are applied to more generic resources such as files, connections, processes, memory, and database records. For example, a database may restrict access for medical records to a specific database user, but each record might only be intended to be accessible to the patient and the patient's doctor [REF-7].
- Architecture and Design: Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using authorization frameworks such as the JAAS Authorization Framework [REF-233] and the OWASP ESAPI Access Control feature [REF-45].
- Architecture and Design: For web applications, make sure that the access control mechanism is enforced correctly at the server side on every page. Users should not be able to access any unauthorized functionality or information by simply requesting direct access to that page. One way to do this is to ensure that all pages containing sensitive information are not cached, and that all such pages restrict access to requests that are accompanied by an active and authenticated session token associated with a user who has the required permissions to access that page.
- System Configuration, Installation: Use the access control capabilities of your operating system and server environment and define your access control lists accordingly. Use a "default deny" policy when defining these ACLs.
References
Packages
Other links
Timeline
- Published
- Last updated by the source
- Latest EPSS score
Related advisories
| Advisory | Severity | Why it's related |
|---|---|---|
| GHSA-9qpg-3cf8-w33x Payload: Uploaded XML files could execute same-origin JavaScript | High | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-v5gf-vpjc-pc7w Payload: Unauthenticated account-lockout denial of service | High | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-p223-2wr2-j562 Payload: Incomplete validation during the upload file lifecycle | High | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-66wr-7vmr-p5jq Payload authentication token field handling issue | Critical | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-2pwp-2369-8fg3 Payload: Bypassed sanitization of user uploaded SVGs | High | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-pj5h-5q6c-3pfx Payload external upload trust validation issue | High | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-f7hx-52q9-hcrf Payload: Unauthorized update to collection documents | Critical | Also affects payload |
| GHSA-97rh-rhh2-7vjv Payload: Remote Code Execution through first-register | High | Also affects payload |
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