A security incident caused a number of incorrect version tags to be pushed to the Parse Server repository. These version tags linked to a personal fork of a contributor who had write access to the repository. The code to which these tags linked has not been reviewed or approved by Parse Platform. Even though no releases were published with these incorrect versions, it was possible to define a Parse Server dependency that pointed to these version tags, for example if you defined this dependency:
"parse-server": "git@github.com:parse-community/parse-server.git#4.9.3"
We have since deleted the incorrect version tags, but they may still show up in your personal fork on GitHub or locally. We do not know when these tags have been pushed to the Parse Server repository, but we first became aware of this issue on July 21, 2021. We are not aware of any malicious code or concerns related to privacy, security or legality (e.g. proprietary code). However, it has been reported that some functionality does not work as expected and the introduction of security vulnerabilities cannot be ruled out.
You may be also affected if you used the Bitnami image for Parse Server. Bitnami picked up the incorrect version tag 4.9.3 and published a new Bitnami image for Parse Server.
If you are using any of the affected versions, we urgently recommend to upgrade to version 4.10.0.
These are the incorrect tags:
4.0.0-beta1
4.0.0-beta2
4.0.0-beta3
4.0.0-beta4
4.0.0-beta5
4.0.0-beta6
4.0.10
4.0.11
4.0.12
4.0.13
4.0.14
4.0.3
4.0.4
4.0.6
4.0.7
4.0.8
4.0.9
4.6.0
4.6.0-beta
4.7.0
4.8.0
4.8.1
4.8.2
4.8.3
4.8.4
4.8.5
4.9.0
4.9.1
4.9.2
4.9.3
Upgrade to version 4.10.0.
Downgrade to version 4.5.2.
n/a
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
parse-server
|
4.0.0 | 4.5.2 |
parse-server
|
4.6.0 | 4.10.0 |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.