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Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 04:58 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-113655

ApostropheCMS: Same-parent page reorder in @apostrophecms/page move() re-ranks a restricted parent's children without create authorization

ApostropheCMS enforces per-type authorization on pages: a page type may declare `editRole` / `publishRole` (the core `@apostrophecms/archive-page` does), so a project can define restricted subtrees that only higher-privileged roles may create or edit within.

Published Updated

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
4.3 Medium (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.3% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

GitHub lists first patched versions: apostrophe: 4.33.0. Confirm the affected range and upgrade guidance in the exact advisory.

Read GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8 (opens a new tab)

What happened

## Summary

ApostropheCMS enforces per-type authorization on pages: a page type may declare `editRole` / `publishRole` (the core `@apostrophecms/archive-page` does), so a project can define restricted subtrees that only higher-privileged roles may create or edit within.

The `move()` operation in the `@apostrophecms/page` module is supposed to enforce that a page may only be moved into a parent the actor has `create` rights over, the same boundary the page-insert route enforces. The destination-parent authorization check in `move()` is gated on the move being a cross-parent move (`oldParent._id !== parent._id`).

A same-parent reorder (repositioning a page among its existing siblings under the same parent) short-circuits that check entirely, so an authenticated low-privileged editor who holds edit rights on one ordinary page nested under a restricted parent can reposition it and, in doing so, trigger an unguarded bulk database write that re-ranks the restricted parent's other children, documents the editor has no authorization to modify.

Continue reading

## Root Cause

The security invariant is that mutating the sibling ordering of a restricted parent's children requires `create` authority on that parent, which is exactly what the page-insert path enforces (`insert()` throws `forbidden` when `!parent._create` before it nudges peers). The destination authorization guard in `move()` restores this boundary only for cross-parent moves: its leading conjunct is `(oldParent._id !

== parent._id)`. For a same-parent reorder both `oldParent` and `parent` are the identical restricted parent, so the conjunct is `false`, the whole conditional short-circuits, and the `parent._create` requirement is never evaluated. The only surviving gate on the path is `moved._edit`, which the editor legitimately holds for the ordinary page being moved.

The subsequent sibling re-rank is issued as a raw MongoDB `updateMany` that never passes through the per-document `beforeUpdate` edit check, so the restricted siblings are modified with no authorization at all.

```text Affected function: @apostrophecms/page move() (inner body) packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/page/index.js:1684-1691 if ( (oldParent._id !== parent._id) && // false for a same-parent reorder -> whole check skipped (parent.type !== '@apostrophecms/archive-page') && (!parent._create) && !(oldParent.type === '@apostrophecms/archive-page' && parent._edit) ) { throw self.apos.error('forbidden'); }

Unguarded sink: nudgeNewPeers() packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/page/index.js:1781-1803 await self.apos.doc.db.updateMany( { path: matchDescendants(parent), level: parent.level + 1, aposLocale: { $in: [ draft, published ] }, rank: { $gte: rank } }, { $inc: { rank: 1 } }); // no permission clause; bypasses beforeUpdate

Contrasting correct boundary: insert() packages/apostrophe/modules/@apostrophecms/page/index.js:1436-1439 if (!parent._create) { throw self.apos.error('forbidden'); } // enforced for every position ```

## Impact

The attacker is an authenticated low-privileged user, an editor (or a contributor operating in draft mode), who holds edit rights on at least one ordinary page that is nested as a direct child of a restricted-type parent. No admin rights and no special tokens are required.

Authorization in this CMS is resolved per page type, not per subtree: a page's editability is judged by its own type's `editRole`, so an ordinary `public-page` child can be editable by an editor even though its restricted `secret-page`-type parent (declaring `editRole: admin`) is not.

Exploiting the gap, the editor can persistently alter the `rank` (sibling ordering, which drives navigation and menu order) of the restricted parent's other children, documents on which the editor holds no edit, create, publish, or delete authority. Repeating the reposition monotonically inflates those siblings' ranks.

This is an integrity and authorization-boundary violation (CWE-862 / CWE-639) confined to sibling ordering; it does not disclose restricted field contents (confidentiality is unaffected) and it does not affect availability.

The precondition (an editor-editable page already nested under a restricted parent) is a non-default tree state that an administrator establishes, or that arises from configuration drift when a page type gains a restricting `editRole` after editable children were already placed beneath it.

## Proof of Concept

`Dependencies: Node.js and a local MongoDB instance. The reproduction uses ApostropheCMS's own test harness to drive the real apos.page.move() code path with a non-admin editor request. No fresh end-to-end run was performed in the review environment (no MongoDB available); the chain was verified against source, and the sink behavior is independently corroborated by the CVE-2026-63669 advisory's own description and its cross-parent-only regression test.`

1. Configure a restricted page type `secret-page` with `editRole: 'admin'` and `publishRole: 'admin'`, and an ordinary type `public-page` with no role restriction. 2.

As an admin, create a `secret-page` section under home, then create two `secret-page` children beneath it (the pre-existing restricted siblings), and place one editor-editable `public-page` as a further child of the secret section (the non-default nesting precondition). 3.

As a non-admin editor, confirm the editor lacks `_create`/`_edit` on the secret section, then reposition the editable `public-page` among its siblings under the same secret parent.

```javascript // Same-parent reorder under a restricted parent, driven as a non-admin editor. // The move must be forbidden but is not; the restricted siblings are re-ranked. const editorReq = apos.task.getReq({ role: 'editor', user: { _id: 'editor-user', title: 'Editor', role: 'editor' } });

// `mine` is an editor-editable public-page already nested under the admin-only `secret` section. // `secretChild` is a pre-existing admin-only sibling under the same `secret` pa

Affected package ranges reported by GitHub: apostrophe: < 4.33.0

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

4.3

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.3%

Scored Percentile 25.1%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8 (opens a new tab)

    The public advisory supplies the description, affected package/version ranges, and any listed CVSS metric. GitHub review is not local review.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    GitHub public advisory API page (opens a new tab)

    The API page supplied GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8, its actual identifiers, source dates, and structured metrics.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-113655, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 20). ApostropheCMS: Same-parent page reorder in @apostrophecms/page move() re-ranks a restricted parent's children without create authorization (CVE-2026-113655). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-113655

MLA

"ApostropheCMS: Same-parent page reorder in @apostrophecms/page move() re-ranks a restricted parent's children without create authorization (CVE-2026-113655)." KEVWire, 20 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-113655.

Chicago

KEVWire. "ApostropheCMS: Same-parent page reorder in @apostrophecms/page move() re-ranks a restricted parent's children without create authorization (CVE-2026-113655)." Last modified October 20, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-113655.

Evidence summary (plain text)

ApostropheCMS: Same-parent page reorder in @apostrophecms/page move() re-ranks a restricted parent's children without create authorization (Oct 20, 2026).
ApostropheCMS enforces per-type authorization on pages: a page type may declare `editRole` / `publishRole` (the core `@apostrophecms/archive-page` does), so a project can define restricted subtrees that only higher-privileged roles may create or edit within. The `move()` operation in the `@apostrophecms/page` module is supposed to enforce that a page may only be moved into a parent the actor has `create` rights over, the same boundary the page-insert route enforces. The destination-parent authorization check in `move()` is gated on the move being a cross-parent move (`oldParent._id !== parent._id`). A same-parent reorder (repositioning a page among its existing siblings under the same parent) short-circuits that check entirely, so an authenticated low-privileged editor who holds edit rights on one ordinary page nested under a restricted parent can reposition it and, in doing so, trigger an unguarded bulk database write that re-ranks the restricted parent's other children, documents the editor has no authorization to modify.

The security invariant is that mutating the sibling ordering of a restricted parent's children requires `create` authority on that parent, which is exactly what the page-insert path enforces (`insert()` throws `forbidden` when `!parent._create` before it nudges peers). The destination authorization guard in `move()` restores this boundary only for cross-parent moves: its leading conjunct is `(oldParent._id !== parent._id)`. For a same-parent reorder both `oldParent` and `parent` are the identical restricted parent, so the conjunct is `false`, the whole conditional short-circuits, and the `parent._create` requirement is never evaluated. The only surviving gate on the path is `moved._edit`, which the editor legitimately holds for the ordinary page being moved. The subsequent sibling re-rank is issued as a raw MongoDB `updateMany` that never passes through the per-document `beforeUpdate` edit check, so the restricted siblings are modified with no authorization at all.
CVSS 4.3 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 20, 2026; https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8).
EPSS 0.3% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-113655&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2jrp-qc93-h2j8
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMDo0NTowN1rOAAfvzQ%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMDozMDoyNlrOAAfvxw%3D%3D
GitHub public advisory API page: https://api.github.com/advisories?type=reviewed&per_page=100&sort=updated&direction=desc&after=Y3Vyc29yOnYyOpK0MjAyNi0xMC0yMVQyMDowMzo1N1rOAAfvxQ%3D%3D
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-113655&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-113655.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 27, 2026, 01:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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