@apostrophecms/import-export: ApostropheCMS: Archive duplicate continuation lets contributors overwrite published content

Review scope and evidence limits

Package: @apostrophecms/import-export, version 3.7.0.

Release tag reviewed: @apostrophecms/import-export@3.7.0, commit 9500b8b0e1d630d5e07fbb5fd2c25ed0943845ce (September 30, 2026).

Current main reviewed: 5ce3732be0ebdebb4db0f8ef160c81e8671157e6.

The importer, gzip extractor, import permission gate, and core permission implementation have no differences between that release tag and the reviewed main. This follow-up is a static remediation review. We have not repeated the original end-to-end reproductions against the latest release or tested a deployed site. Current exploitability and impact therefore still require maintainer validation; the observations below establish that the reported security checks remain absent in public source. The original emailed PDF contains the original reproduction material. Please refer to that existing private attachment.

Archive duplicate continuation permits unauthorized published-content replacement

The overrideDuplicates() continuation still accepts client-supplied replacement choices, rather than binding them to a server-maintained, user-owned duplicate analysis. The replacement and write helpers do not establish a single canonical resource identity and authorization context before the update. This leaves the reported gap between draft editing authority and the published target selected for replacement unresolved at source level.

The original report describes a contributor crossing the publication boundary through duplicate replacement on an import-enabled localized type. We have not repeated that end-to-end sequence on 3.7.0.

Suggested remediation: bind continuation state to the initiating user, archive, job, permitted source/target mapping, locale and mode; reject inconsistent identity metadata; derive permissions from the actual loaded target and require publication authority for published targets.

Source: overrideDuplicates(), replaceDocId(), and insertOrUpdateDoc() in the importer.

Coordination

Vivek R / Winfunc Original reporting team: Mufeed VH / Winfunc