# SurrealDB field-level SELECT permission bypass via graph traversals

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/surrealdb-field-level-select-permission-bypass-via-graph-traversals-1a29fcf0  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-07-20. Updated: 2026-09-25  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

Severity: medium · CVSS 4.3 · Published 2026-07-20

SurrealDB is a multi-model database that uses field-level permissions to restrict access to sensitive data columns. Versions 3.1.0 through 3.1.4 fail to enforce these field-level restrictions when records are accessed via graph relationships or back-references, allowing authenticated users to read hidden fields they should not have access to. This allows data exposure for fields that are intended to be restricted.

Technologies: [surrealdb (crates.io)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/surrealdb). Vendors: [crates.io](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/crates-io).

## Quick answers

**Is This vulnerability exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of This vulnerability being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is This vulnerability?** Medium severity, with a CVSS score of 4.3, published 20 July 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** surrealdb (crates.io) >= 3.1.0, < 3.1.5.

**Is there a fix for This vulnerability?** A patch was published on 2026-06-19: Version 3.1.5 released with fix Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is This vulnerability attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected?** Check whether you run surrealdb (crates.io) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## Technical details

This is an authorization bypass vulnerability (CWE-863) in SurrealDB's query execution layer. The root cause is that the resolve_record_batch helper function, which materializes full records for graph-edge traversals (→) and back-reference traversals (←~), only enforces table-level SELECT permissions and fails to apply field-level filtering. While direct SELECT queries and fetch_record operations properly filter fields using build_field_state and filter_fields_by_permission, traversal queries bypass this filtering logic. An authenticated user with table-level SELECT access on a table can exploit this by querying through graph relationships (e.g., person:bob→(SELECT * FROM knows)) to retrieve fields marked with DEFINE FIELD permissions that should be hidden. The vulnerability is network-accessible, requires low privileges (table-level SELECT), and has low complexity. Patched in version 3.1.5, which applies field-level permissions and computed fields in the resolve_record_batch function.

## Affected products

- SurrealDB SurrealDB >=3.1.0, <3.1.5

## Timeline

- 2026-06-19: disclosed
- 2026-07-20: advisory
- 2026-06-19: patched: Version 3.1.5 released with fix

## References

- [https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/security/advisories/GHSA-hv6h-hc26-q48p](https://github.com/surrealdb/surrealdb/security/advisories/GHSA-hv6h-hc26-q48p)
- [https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/surrealdb-before-field-permission-bypass-via-traversal](https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/surrealdb-before-field-permission-bypass-via-traversal)

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