SurrealDB: USE NS/DB implicit creation bypasses DEFINE authorization

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2026-63741: 0.37% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 30.86 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

An anonymous caller could create new namespaces and databases on a running SurrealDB instance without holding `DEFINE NAMESPACE` or `DEFINE DATABASE` permission. `USE NS ` and `USE DB ` automatically create the target when it does not exist. The three places `USE` is handled — the RPC `use` method, `Datastore::process_use`, and the SurrealQL executor — did not check whether the caller was allowed to create the resource. Under default capabilities any session reached this path, including an unauthenticated guest.

Impact What an attacker can do: - Create new namespaces and databases without `DEFINE NAMESPACE` / `DEFINE DATABASE` permission. An unauthenticated guest is enough under default capabilities. - Recreate a parent namespace that an operator deliberately dropped, using a stale namespace-Editor token, by running `USE NS DB anything`. - Exhaust catalog storage by repeatedly creating new resources. What it can't do: - Read or modify data inside any pre-existing…

Published by the source

1 Jul 2026, 20:21 UTC

Last modified by the source

4 Nov 2026, 02:56 UTC

Source last checked

4 Nov 2026, 06:30 UTC

1. Revision 2 · amended · 4 Nov 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93

2. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-63741

Advisory: SurrealDB: USE NS/DB implicit creation bypasses DEFINE authorization
IDs: CVE-2026-63741, GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/ghsa-wp87-mgvq-5j93 (revision 2, source checked 4 Nov 2026, 06:30 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 6.5)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: surrealdb 3.1.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- crates.io surrealdb: affected < 3.1.0; fixed in 3.1.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- crates.io surrealdb: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on surrealdb.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93 lists affected ranges: crates.io surrealdb >=0 <3.1.0)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93 (OSV record GHSA-wp87-mgvq-5j93 lists affected ranges: crates.io surrealdb >=0 <3.1.0 (fixed))

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