pgAdmin 4: Tool permission bypass via backend routes and Socket.IO handlers
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Security bypass
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- Low · Low · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-862.
Summary
The per-tool permission system (custom roles / role-based tool permissions, introduced in pgAdmin 4 9.3) did not enforce its permission check consistently. In SERVER mode, pgAdmin 4 gates each tool behind a per-tool Flask-Security permission, but the permission decorator (permissions_required) was applied only to a single "front door" route per tool. Every other backend route and Socket.IO handler in that tool's workflow relied solely on pga_login_required/socket_login_required, which check authentication but not the tool permission. The reporter verified three cases against a test build: (1) a user without tools_query_tool permission received 403 on the protected sqleditor initialization route, but the same session went on to connect the server, initialize the viewdata backend chain, and retrieve real table row content; (2) a user without tools_grant_wizard received 403 on the protected acl route, but the same session still enumerated grantable objects, generated GRANT SQL, and successfully applied it -- confirmed database-side via has_table_privilege(); (3) a user without tools_schema_diff received 403 on the protected panel route, but the same session initialized schema diff, enumerated and connected databases, and obtained real DDL differences via the compare_database Socket.IO handler. The reporter also confirmed a related but distinct issue: a non-owner triggering /misc/workspace/adhoc_connect_server against an administrator-owned shared server caused pgAdmin to persist a new server row still owned by the administrator (user_id/shared unchanged from the source), even though the connection attempt itself reported failure. During remediation, the same front-door-only permission gap was found to also affect the ERD, PSQL, and Debugger tools, and the Backup, Restore, Maintenance, and Import/Export blueprints, none of which were part of the original report; these were fixed using the same pattern as an extension of the reported defect class. An authenticated user who had valid pgAdmin login and a stored, working database connection, but had been explicitly denied a specific tool's permission by an administrator, could therefore still drive that tool end-to-end through its other routes and sockets, including obtaining an interactive psql session over the /pty Socket.IO namespace and invoking backup/restore/maintenance/import-export jobs. Because the bypass only restores access to tools operating over the user's own already-authenticated database connection, it does not grant the user any database privilege they did not already hold; it circumvents pgAdmin's own tool-level access-control policy (an organisational segregation-of-duties control, separate from database-level authorization), letting a user reach a pgAdmin feature an administrator intended to withhold from them, using capabilities their existing database role already permits through other means. Socket.IO event handlers had no permission-aware equivalent of permissions_required; only socket_login_required existed, checking authentication but not the tool permission. Fix adds a socket_permissions_required decorator (mirroring permissions_required, honouring the Administrator bypass, reading permissions via has_permission()) and applies it, alongside permissions_required, as the outermost decorator on every backend route and Socket.IO handler for the affected tools. Regression tests assert 403 on every gated route and socket handler for a permission-less user. This issue affects pgAdmin 4 in SERVER mode: from 9.3 before 9.17.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pgadmin.org | pgAdmin 4 | 9.3 to before 9.17 | 9.17 | Patch available | CNA |
- pgAdmin 4 Vendorpgadmin.org Affected 9.3 to before 9.17 Fixed in 9.17 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:postgresql:*:* | 9.3 to before 9.17 | Vulnerable | pgadmin.org |
- cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:postgresql:*:* Versions 9.3 to before 9.17 Vulnerable ·pgadmin.org
Remediation
- Fix · CNA pgAdmin 4 (pgadmin.org) Fixed in 9.17
Fixed in the same release
Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.
- Release ·
pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4 9.17
6 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 3 MEDIUM, 3 LOW
Other records, highest priority first
- TI-2026-14311 SQL injection in pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4Priority MEDIUM 43
- TI-2026-14309 pgAdmin 4: Adhoc server clone leaks another user's stored database credentials and ownership to a non-ownerPriority MEDIUM 42
- TI-2026-14306 SQL injection in pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4Priority MEDIUM 41
Vendor assessments
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-17350
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-4pj2-vq9j-xj3g
References
Patch 5
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10190
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/461c3afba92baad37c70a6fbd52d205d13a9de53
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/d36bd8dc96812c716664feac533d240544e70adc
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/ba1984718ad703011740ad48cb9b82402b89cc2c
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/64a9cdbd6a240a962144f84418beaf9e66419779
More pgadmin.org Pgadmin 4 vulnerabilities
- TI-2024-01901 Unsafe Deserialisation and Remote Code Execution by an Authenticated user in pgAdmin 4 CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2024-02918 Remote Code Execution Vulnerability through the validate binary path API in pgAdmin 4 CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2022-03867 Code injection in pgadmin4 CVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2026-06875 pgAdmin 4: Cross-user data access and shared-server privilege escalation in server mode CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.4
- TI-2025-02572 pgAdmin 4: Remote Code Execution in Query Tool and Cloud Deployment CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9
- TI-2023-00228 Path traversal in pgadmin CVSS 3.1MEDIUM 6.5
Sources
- CVE-2026-17350 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-17350 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-4pj2-vq9j-xj3g · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-17350 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences