CVE-2026-116313
Description
A flaw was found in PostgreSQL. An untrusted search path vulnerability in the vacuumdb utility allows a database owner to execute arbitrary Structured Query Language (SQL) commands with the privileges of the user running vacuumdb. By defining custom operators that override those used in vacuumdb's internal catalog queries, an attacker can hijack query execution and escalate privileges within the database.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Important because it allows a malicious database owner to achieve complete privilege escalation by executing arbitrary commands with the administrative privileges of the account running maintenance utilities. The risk arises during maintenance routines where untrusted user-defined operators can hijack internal catalog queries. Red Hat enterprise deployments are generally not exposed under default installations as supported platforms ship major versions of PostgreSQL that predate the introduction of the vulnerable catalog query behavior.
Mitigation
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 7.2 | N/A | 7.2 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | High | N/A | High |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | High | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | High | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
There is the potential for arbitrary code execution with privileges of the vulnerable program. If the product uses a search path to locate critical resources such as programs or libraries, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program/library, which the targeted product would then execute.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
The program could be redirected to the wrong files, potentially triggering a crash or hang when the targeted file is too large or does not have the expected format.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories
The program could access unauthorized data and send the output of unauthorized files to the attacker.
Other
Technical Impact: Varies by Context
The problem extends to any type of critical resource that the product trusts. For example, the attacker could modify configuration in unexpected ways.
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