Elide Sort Expression Permission Bypass Leading to Data Leakage

Executive Summary

CVE-2026-57954 is a vulnerability in Elide version 7.1.17 and earlier where the system fails to enforce the @ReadPermission check on client-supplied sort expressions in the SortingImpl.getValidSortingRules function.

This flaw allows attackers to sort data collections by fields they are not authorized to access, effectively bypassing permission controls.

By analyzing the order of rows returned when sorting by these forbidden fields, attackers can infer hidden field values without directly seeing them.

This information disclosure occurs through both JSON:API and GraphQL read paths, exposing sensitive data through relative field ordering.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can lead to unauthorized information disclosure by allowing attackers to infer sensitive data that should be hidden.

Attackers can exploit the flaw to reconstruct exact values of restricted fields by observing the order of rows when sorting on those fields, even though the field values themselves are never returned.

This undermines data confidentiality and the field-level read authorization guarantees of Elide.

As a result, sensitive information could be exposed to unauthorized users, increasing the risk of data breaches.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability can be detected by testing whether client-supplied sort expressions on Elide endpoints allow sorting by fields that should be restricted by @ReadPermission.

A practical approach is to send queries to JSON:API or GraphQL endpoints that attempt to sort collections by fields that are supposed to be forbidden. If the response orders rows according to these forbidden fields, the vulnerability is present.

For example, you can craft GraphQL or JSON:API requests with sort parameters targeting restricted fields and observe if the row ordering changes accordingly.

Specific commands depend on your environment, but a curl example for JSON:API might be:

• curl -X GET 'https://your-elide-server/api/collection?sort=forbiddenField'

If the response data rows are ordered by the forbiddenField despite the user lacking read permission, this indicates the vulnerability.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include restricting access to Elide versions 7.1.17 and earlier until a patch is applied.

You should upgrade Elide to a version where this vulnerability is fixed, as the issue arises from missing enforcement of @ReadPermission on sort expressions.

In the meantime, consider disabling or restricting client-supplied sorting functionality on sensitive collections or endpoints to prevent attackers from exploiting the sort-based information disclosure.

Additionally, monitor and audit API requests for suspicious sorting parameters targeting restricted fields.

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Compliance Impact

This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass read permission enforcement on certain fields by manipulating sort expressions, enabling them to infer sensitive information that should be protected.

Such unauthorized inference of hidden field values can lead to exposure of confidential data, which undermines data confidentiality requirements commonly mandated by standards and regulations like GDPR and HIPAA.

Because attackers can reconstruct sensitive data through sorting despite not having direct access, this flaw poses a risk to compliance with privacy and data protection regulations that require strict access controls and prevention of unauthorized data disclosure.

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