Information Disclosure via `choices`/`counts` Query Parameters Bypassing publicApiProjection Field Restrictions

Summary

ApostropheCMS is an open-source Node.js content management system. Versions 4.28.0 and prior contain an authorization bypass vulnerability in the choices and counts query parameters of the REST API, where these query builders execute MongoDB distinct() operations that bypass the publicApiProjection restrictions intended to limit which fields are exposed publicly. The choices and counts parameters are processed via applyBuildersSafely before the projection is applied, and MongoDB's distinct operation does not respect projections, returning all distinct values directly. The results are returned in the API response without any filtering against publicApiProjection or removeForbiddenFields. An unauthenticated attacker can extract all distinct field values for any schema field type that has a registered query builder, including string, integer, float, select, boolean, date, slug, and relationship fields. Fields protected with viewPermission are similarly exposed, and the counts variant additionally reveals how many documents have each distinct value. Both the piece-type and page REST APIs are affected. This issue has been fixed in version 4.29.0.

Timeline

1. Apr 15, 2026, 7:38 PM UTCCVE published
2. Apr 16, 2026, 1:40 PM UTCCISA SSVC assessment

   Exploitation: poc · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial

3. Apr 16, 2026, 1:40 PM UTCRecord last updated

Affected versions

• apostrophecms apostrophe

  fixed in 4.29.0

• apostrophenpm

  fixed in 4.29.0

References 2