Server passwords left in pgAdmin 4 process environment
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- Passive
- Attack complexity
- High
- Attack requirements
- Present
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA.
Summary
pgAdmin 4 before 9.19 stores a server's password in pgAdmin's own process environment, as PGPASSWORD for the PSQL tool or a per-process variable for a utility, and never removes it. That environment is shared by all users' requests and copied into every process pgAdmin starts, so a user in server mode can inherit another user's saved password through a later PSQL session or utility. It is classified as cleartext storage of sensitive information in an environment variable (CWE-526). A low-privilege user can connect to a server with another user's saved password, with high confidentiality impact.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-31
Description from the CNA
To pass a server's password to psql and to the utilities pgAdmin 4 runs as background processes, the server manager wrote it into pgAdmin's own process environment: as PGPASSWORD for the PSQL tool, and under a per-process variable for a utility. Nothing removed it afterwards. pgAdmin's environment is shared by every user's requests and copied into every process it starts, so in server mode another user's later PSQL session or utility inherited the password, and libpq used PGPASSWORD for any connection made without a password of its own, letting one user connect with another user's saved password. The fix puts the password only into the environment built for the process that needs it and starts psql with a copy of pgAdmin's environment instead of the environment itself. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.
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 | before 9.19 | 9.19 | Patch available | CNA |
- pgAdmin 4 Vendorpgadmin.org Affected before 9.19 Fixed in 9.19 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | before 9.19 | Vulnerable | pgadmin.org |
- cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions before 9.19 Vulnerable ·pgadmin.org
Remediation
Upgrade pgAdmin 4 to version 9.19 or later, which places the password only in the environment built for the process that needs it.
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
- 2026-10-30 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-116246
- 2026-10-30 Alias added: GHSA-835v-3mj2-2w29
- 2026-11-01 Priority changed: MEDIUM → LOW
- 2026-11-04 CVSS score added · NVD
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
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-2026-116246 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-116246 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-835v-3mj2-2w29 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
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