How the Vulnerability Works
The CVE-2025-XXXXX vulnerability in Apollo Compiler stems from inefficient processing of GraphQL named fragments during query validation. When a query contains deeply nested and reused named fragments, the compiler redundantly processes the same fragments multiple times—once per fragment spread. This results in exponential resource consumption due to repeated traversals of identical fragments. Attackers can craft malicious queries with recursive fragment references, causing excessive CPU and memory usage, leading to denial of service (DoS). The validation logic fails to cache or deduplicate fragment processing, amplifying computational overhead.
DailyCVE Form:
Platform: Apollo Compiler
Version: <1.27.0
Vulnerability: DoS via fragments
Severity: High
Date: 2025-04-07
What Undercode Say:
Exploitation:
- Craft a malicious GraphQL query with recursive fragment spreads:
query { ...FragmentA } fragment FragmentA on Query { ...FragmentB } fragment FragmentB on Query { ...FragmentA } - Send the query to unpatched Apollo Compiler instances.
3. Observe CPU/memory exhaustion.
Protection:
1. Patch: Upgrade to `apollo-compiler >=1.27.0`.
2. Rate Limiting: Implement query depth/complexity limits:
Apollo Server config validationRules: [ depthLimit(10), complexityLimit(1000) ]
3. Monitoring: Alert on abnormal query processing times.
Detection:
Check installed version: npm list apollo-compiler | grep -E "1.26.|1.25."
Code Fix (Patch Analysis):
The fix introduces fragment caching:
// Patched validation logic
let mut processed_fragments = HashSet::new();
fn validate_fragment(fragment, &mut processed_fragments) {
if processed_fragments.contains(fragment.name) { return; }
processed_fragments.insert(fragment.name);
// Proceed with validation
}
Analytics:
- Attack Surface: GraphQL servers using Apollo Compiler <1.27.0.
- Impact Score: 7.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
- Exploitability: Low skill threshold; no authentication required.
Mitigation Script:
!/bin/sh Force upgrade for npm/yarn: npm install apollo-compiler@latest --save-exact
References:
Reported By: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-7mpv-9xg6-5r79
Extra Source Hub:
Undercode
