Vulnerability-Lookup

CVE-2026-35441 (GCVE-0-2026-35441)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-04-06 21:36 – Updated: 2026-04-07 15:08

Title

Directus Affected by GraphQL Alias Amplification Denial-of-Service Due to Missing Query Cost/Complexity Limits

Summary

Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Prior to 11.17.0, Directus' GraphQL endpoints (/graphql and /graphql/system) did not deduplicate resolver invocations within a single request. An authenticated user could exploit GraphQL aliasing to repeat an expensive relational query many times in a single request, forcing the server to execute a large number of independent complex database queries concurrently, multiplying database load linearly with the number of aliases. The existing token limit on GraphQL queries still permitted enough aliases for significant resource exhaustion, while the relational depth limit applied per alias without reducing the total number executed. Rate limiting is disabled by default, meaning no built-in throttle prevented this from causing CPU, memory, and I/O exhaustion that could degrade or crash the service. Any authenticated user, including those with minimal read-only permissions, could trigger this condition. This vulnerability is fixed in 11.17.0.

Severity ?

6.5 (Medium)


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

CWE

CWE-400 - Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CWE-770 - Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

Assigner

GitHub_M

References

URL

Tags

https://github.com/directus/directus/security/adv…

x_refsource_CONFIRM

Impacted products

	Vendor	Product	Version
	directus	directus	Affected: < 11.17.0

Show details on NVD website

JSON

To clipboard

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GHSA-PH52-67FQ-75WJ

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-04-04 06:12 – Updated: 2026-04-07 14:20

Summary

Directus: GraphQL Alias Amplification Denial of Service Due to Missing Query Cost/Complexity Limits

Details

Summary

Directus' GraphQL endpoints (/graphql and /graphql/system) did not deduplicate resolver invocations within a single request. An authenticated user could exploit GraphQL aliasing to repeat an expensive relational query many times in a single request, forcing the server to execute a large number of independent complex database queries concurrently, multiplying database load linearly with the number of aliases. The existing token limit on GraphQL queries still permitted enough aliases for significant resource exhaustion, while the relational depth limit applied per alias without reducing the total number executed. Rate limiting is disabled by default, meaning no built-in throttle prevented this from causing CPU, memory, and I/O exhaustion that could degrade or crash the service. Any authenticated user, including those with minimal read-only permissions, could trigger this condition.

Fix

A request-scoped resolver deduplication mechanism was introduced and applied broadly across all GraphQL read resolvers, both system and items endpoints. When multiple aliases in a single request invoke the same resolver with identical arguments, only the first call executes; all subsequent aliases share its result. This eliminates the amplification factor regardless of how many aliases a query contains.

Impact

Service degradation or outage: Concurrent complex database queries exhaust the connection pool and server resources, affecting all users
Low privilege required: Any authenticated user, including those with read-only access to a single collection, can trigger this condition
Linear scaling: Impact scales with the number of aliases and depth of relational queries
Compounded by concurrency: Multiple simultaneous requests multiply the effect further

Severity ?

6.5 (Medium)


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

Show details on source website

JSON

To clipboard

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "directus"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "11.17.0"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-35441"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-400",
      "CWE-770"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-04-04T06:12:52Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-04-06T22:16:22Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "### Summary\n\nDirectus\u0027 GraphQL endpoints (`/graphql` and `/graphql/system`) did not deduplicate resolver invocations within a single request. An authenticated user could exploit GraphQL aliasing to repeat an expensive relational query many times in a single request, forcing the server to execute a large number of independent complex database queries concurrently, multiplying database load linearly with the number of aliases. The existing token limit on GraphQL queries still permitted enough aliases for significant resource exhaustion, while the relational depth limit applied per alias without reducing the total number executed. Rate limiting is disabled by default, meaning no built-in throttle prevented this from causing CPU, memory, and I/O exhaustion that could degrade or crash the service. Any authenticated user, including those with minimal read-only permissions, could trigger this condition.\n\n### Fix\n\nA request-scoped resolver deduplication mechanism was introduced and applied broadly across all GraphQL read resolvers, both system and items endpoints. When multiple aliases in a single request invoke the same resolver with identical arguments, only the first call executes; all subsequent aliases share its result. This eliminates the amplification factor regardless of how many aliases a query contains.\n\n### Impact\n\n- **Service degradation or outage:** Concurrent complex database queries exhaust the connection pool and server resources, affecting all users\n- **Low privilege required:** Any authenticated user, including those with read-only access to a single collection, can trigger this condition\n- **Linear scaling:** Impact scales with the number of aliases and depth of relational queries\n- **Compounded by concurrency:** Multiple simultaneous requests multiply the effect further",
  "id": "GHSA-ph52-67fq-75wj",
  "modified": "2026-04-07T14:20:15Z",
  "published": "2026-04-04T06:12:52Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-ph52-67fq-75wj"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35441"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/directus/directus"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Directus: GraphQL Alias Amplification Denial of Service Due to Missing Query Cost/Complexity Limits"
}

FKIE_CVE-2026-35441

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-04-06 22:16 - Updated: 2026-04-07 13:20

Severity ?

6.5 (Medium) - CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Summary

References

	URL	Tags
	security-advisories@github.com	https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-ph52-67fq-75wj

Impacted products

	Vendor	Product	Version

JSON

To clipboard

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  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "Directus is a real-time API and App dashboard for managing SQL database content. Prior to 11.17.0, Directus\u0027 GraphQL endpoints (/graphql and /graphql/system) did not deduplicate resolver invocations within a single request. An authenticated user could exploit GraphQL aliasing to repeat an expensive relational query many times in a single request, forcing the server to execute a large number of independent complex database queries concurrently, multiplying database load linearly with the number of aliases. The existing token limit on GraphQL queries still permitted enough aliases for significant resource exhaustion, while the relational depth limit applied per alias without reducing the total number executed. Rate limiting is disabled by default, meaning no built-in throttle prevented this from causing CPU, memory, and I/O exhaustion that could degrade or crash the service. Any authenticated user, including those with minimal read-only permissions, could trigger this condition. This vulnerability is fixed in 11.17.0."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-35441",
  "lastModified": "2026-04-07T13:20:11.643",
  "metrics": {
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      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "LOW",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 6.5,
          "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
          "confidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "integrityImpact": "NONE",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
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        "impactScore": 3.6,
        "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
        "type": "Secondary"
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  "published": "2026-04-06T22:16:22.697",
  "references": [
    {
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      "url": "https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-ph52-67fq-75wj"
    }
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  "vulnStatus": "Undergoing Analysis",
  "weaknesses": [
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          "value": "CWE-400"
        },
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          "value": "CWE-770"
        }
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      "type": "Primary"
    }
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}

Sightings

Author	Source	Type	Date

Nomenclature

Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.

Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.

Action not permitted

CVE-2026-35441 (GCVE-0-2026-35441)

GHSA-PH52-67FQ-75WJ

Summary

Fix

Impact

FKIE_CVE-2026-35441

Tags

Sightings

Nomenclature