Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Parse Server had a supply-chain issue involving incorrect release tags that pointed to unreviewed code in a personal fork. Organizations that depended on those tags could install and run code that was not properly reviewed by the project. This is high urgency for teams using Parse Server in build or deployment pipelines.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority software supply-chain review if Parse Server is used. The main business risk is unreviewed code entering production through dependency management. Prioritize dependency inventory, version validation, and upgrade completion over emergency incident response unless internal evidence shows exposure.
Technical view
CVE-2021-47986 affects parse-community parse-server before 4.10.0. The issue is classified as CWE-494: download of code without integrity check. Malicious or affected version tags in dependency declarations could cause execution of unreviewed, potentially malicious code. CVSS v4.0 score is 7.7 high.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely in applications, CI/CD systems, or container builds that declared Parse Server using affected version tags before 4.10.0. Systems using fixed, reviewed versions at or after 4.10.0 are less likely exposed based on the advisory data.
Exploitation context
The provided sources do not show CISA KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation. Exploitation would require a build or deployment path to resolve an affected tag and execute the resulting package code. This is a supply-chain risk, not a typical remote network exploit.
Researcher notes
The bundle identifies the vulnerable condition and fixed threshold but does not include observed exploitation or detailed affected tag names. Validate exposure through dependency manifests, lockfiles, package provenance, and CI/CD logs. Avoid assuming compromise solely from Parse Server presence.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Parse Server to version 4.10.0 or later, per vendor guidance.
- Remove dependency declarations that reference affected or ambiguous Parse Server tags.
- Regenerate and review dependency lockfiles after moving to a safe version.
- Check vendor advisory updates for any additional cleanup instructions.
- Review CI/CD dependency resolution controls for untrusted or mutable tags.
Validation and detection
- Inventory applications and build pipelines using parse-server.
- Review package manifests and lockfiles for Parse Server versions below 4.10.0.
- Confirm builds resolve to official Parse Server releases, not personal forks.
- Review historical deployments built from affected tags.
- Document remediation evidence for affected repositories and pipelines.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-494: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-47986 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.7 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H1.65.9VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
7.7HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- GitHub Security Advisory (GHSA-593v-wcqx-hq2w)CVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- VulnCheck Advisory: Parse Server - Unreviewed Code Execution via Malicious Version TagsCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Download of Code Without Integrity Check
Download of Code Without Integrity Check represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.