GraphQL Armor Cost-Limit Plugin Bypass via Introspection Query Obfuscation
Summary
A query cost restriction using the cost-limit can be bypassed if ignoreIntrospection is enabled (which is the default configuration) by naming your query/fragment __schema.
Details
At the start of the computeComplexity function, we have the following check for ignoreIntrospection option:
if (this.config.ignoreIntrospection && 'name' in node && node.name?.value === '__schema') {
return 0;
}
However, the node can be FieldNode | FragmentDefinitionNode | InlineFragmentNode | OperationDefinitionNode | FragmentSpreadNode
So, for example, sending the following query
query hello {
books {
title
}
}
would create an OperationDefinitionNode with node.name.value == 'hello'
The proper way to handle this would be to check for the __schema field, which would create a FieldNode.
The fix is
if (
this.config.ignoreIntrospection &&
'name' in node &&
node.name?.value === '__schema' &&
node.kind === Kind.FIELD
) {
return 0;
}
to assert that the node must be a FieldNode
PoC
query {
...__schema
}
fragment __schema on Query {
books {
title
author
}
}
query __schema {
books {
title
author
}
}
Impact
Applications using GraphQL Armor Cost Limit plugin with ignoreIntrospection enabled.
Fix:
Fixed on 772. A quick patch would be to set ignoreIntrospection to false.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm package | @escape.tech/graphql-armor-cost-limit | < 2.4.2 | 2.4.2 |
References
- https://github.com/Escape-Technologies/graphql-armor/security/advisories/GHSA-733v-p3h5-qpq7
- https://github.com/Escape-Technologies/graphql-armor/pull/772
- https://github.com/Escape-Technologies/graphql-armor/commit/5a329541cf32a359ee1f69748738f91231b26eba
- https://github.com/Escape-Technologies/graphql-armor
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-400, CWE-770- Platform
- npm
- Package
@escape.tech/graphql-armor-cost-limit- Disclosed
- 25.04.2025
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-733v-p3h5-qpq7 - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: @escape.tech/graphql-armor-cost-limit
All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
This is the only known vulnerability of this package.
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