---
id: "CVE-2026-35442"
page: "https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-35442"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-35442", "GHSA-38hg-ww64-rrwc"]
title: "Directus: Authenticated Users Can Extract Concealed Fields via Aggregate Queries"
severity: "high"
cvss: 8.1
epss: 0.00343
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "package"
products: [{"name": "directus", "fixed": ["11.17.0"], "affected": "< 11.17.0", "ecosystem": "npm"}, {"name": "monospace directus", "fixed": ["11.17.0"], "affected": "< 11.17.0", "ecosystem": "vendor"}]
ecosystems: ["npm", "vendor"]
tags: ["api", "cwe-200", "cwe-863", "directus", "node", "package", "self-hosted"]
not_affected_if: ["no-authenticated-users-with-read-access", "version-11.17.0-or-later"]
published_at: "2026-04-04T06:13:57+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-11-09T01:44:56+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-11-09T01:54:15+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "ghsa", "url": "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-38hg-ww64-rrwc", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-09T01:44:56+00:00"}, {"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35442", "first_seen_at": "2026-11-09T01:54:15+00:00"}]
exploit_sources: [{"type": "epss", "score": 0.00343, "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-35442"}]
---

# Directus: Authenticated Users Can Extract Concealed Fields via Aggregate Queries

Link for people: https://infrastack.ai/live/CVE-2026-35442 (this .md is for agents)

Directus hides fields marked with the conceal type on normal reads, but aggregate min and max queries with groupBy return their raw values. An logged-in user with read access to the collection can pull static API tokens and two-factor secrets from directus_users, then take over other accounts.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Affected

- npm:directus affected < 11.17.0 fixed 11.17.0
- vendor:monospace directus affected < 11.17.0 fixed 11.17.0

## How to check

- Check the installed version with `npm ls directus` or `npx directus --version`, and compare it to the fixed version.
- Look for collections containing fields with the `conceal` special type, especially in directus_users.
- Review which roles have read access to collections that include concealed fields.

## Fix

- directus: upgrade to `11.17.0` or later

## Timeline

- 2026-11-09T01:44:56+00:00 ghsa https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-38hg-ww64-rrwc
- 2026-11-09T01:54:15+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-35442

## Documents

- [advisory] Maintainer's advisory: api.github.com https://api.github.com/repos/directus/directus/security-advisories/GHSA-38hg-ww64-rrwc
- [advisory] Maintainer's advisory: github.com https://github.com/directus/directus/security/advisories/GHSA-38hg-ww64-rrwc

## From the sources

### Summary

Aggregate functions (`min`, `max`) applied to fields with the `conceal` special type incorrectly return raw database values instead of the masked placeholder. When combined with `groupBy`, any authenticated user with read access to the affected collection can extract concealed field values, including static API tokens and two-factor authentication secrets from `directus_users`.

### Details

Fields marked with `conceal` are protected by payload processing logic that replaces real values with a masked placeholder on read. This protection works correctly for standard item queries, but aggregate query results are structured differently, operations are nested under their function name rather than appearing as flat field keys. The masking logic does not account for this nested structure, causing it to silently skip concealed fields in aggregate responses and return their raw values to the client.

### Impact

- **Account Takeover** An authenticated attacker can harvest static API tokens for all users, including administrators, enabling immediate authentication as any account without credentials.

- **2FA Bypass** TOTP seeds stored in directus_users can similarly be extracted, allowing an attacker to bypass two-factor authentication for any account.

---

_Free to read, with fair use of about 60 pages a minute. For higher limits or API access: sales@infrastack.ai_