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pgAdmin 4: Connection services are not restricted in server mode

Priority LOW 32CWE-522Published · Updated

Key facts

Attack vector
Network
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Attack complexity
High
Attack requirements
Present
Impact type
Information disclosure, Security bypass
Confidentiality · integrity · availability
High · None · None
Fix status
Fixed

Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA. Impact type from CWE-522 and CWE-862.

Summary

pgAdmin 4 before 9.19 lets any user of a server-mode instance use connection services defined in the service file of the operating-system account running pgAdmin 4. Such an entry can hold a password or name a password file or client certificate, so a user who sets a server's Service or a service connection parameter to it connects with those credentials. The weaknesses are CWE-522 (insufficiently protected credentials) and CWE-862 (missing authorization). An authenticated user with a low-privilege pgAdmin account can exploit it over the network, with high impact on confidentiality of the connected database.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31

Description from the CNA

libpq looks a connection service up in the service file of the operating-system account running pgAdmin 4, and an entry there can hold a password or name a password file or client certificate. In server mode any user could set a server's Service, or a "service" connection parameter, to one of those entries and connect with its credentials. A PGPASSWORD or PGSERVICE variable set for that account was likewise used by libpq for every connection without a value of its own and passed on to the utilities, and pg_dumpall read a maintenance database name such as "service=..." as a connection string. The fix adds the SERVER_MODE_ALLOWED_SERVICES setting, empty by default: in server mode only a listed service can be used, the servicefile parameter is refused, and PGPASSWORD and PGSERVICE are removed from pgAdmin's environment at startup. The allowlist is checked again on the final connection string, and the pg_dumpall database name is wrapped as a connection string. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.

Why it matters now

Exploitation None reported CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00158 4th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed pgAdmin 4 (pgadmin.org): 9.19

SSVC decision points

CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3

Exploitation
None
Automatable
No
Technical impact
Total

The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
pgadmin.orgpgAdmin 4before 9.199.19Patch availableCNA
  • pgAdmin 4 Vendorpgadmin.org Affected before 9.19 Fixed in 9.19 Patch available CNA

CPE configurations NVD · 1

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*before 9.19Vulnerablepgadmin.org
  • cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 9.19 Vulnerable ·pgadmin.org

Remediation

Upgrade pgAdmin 4 to version 9.19. The sources list no fixed version for other pgAdmin 4 releases. Administrators can set SERVER_MODE_ALLOWED_SERVICES in the pgAdmin configuration to restrict which services server mode may use.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31

  • Fix · CNA pgAdmin 4 (pgadmin.org) Fixed in 9.19

Fixed in the same release

Records fixed by the same vendor advisory or release, as the CNA lists them.

  • Release ·

    pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4 9.19

    15 records Highest priority Priority MEDIUM 3 MEDIUM, 12 LOW

    Other records, highest priority first

    • TI-2026-83355 Command execution via backslash bypass in pgAdmin 4 query exportPriority MEDIUM 42
    • TI-2026-83352 Failed login limit bypass in pgAdmin 4 allows unlimited password guessingPriority MEDIUM 42
    • TI-2026-83353 pgAdmin 4 LDAP or Kerberos login opens another account by usernamePriority MEDIUM 41

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-116245
  2. 2026-10-30 Alias added: GHSA-mxqp-rrfg-8vgh
  3. 2026-11-01 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
  4. 2026-11-04 CVSS score added · NVD
  5. 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed

References

  • 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
See all 56 →

Sources