CVE-2026-16238
Description
A flaw was found in PostgreSQL. An object creator can exploit a type confusion vulnerability in the pg_restore_attribute_stats() function. This flaw occurs due to the conflation of range and multirange values, allowing the attacker to execute arbitrary code as the operating system user running the database. This could lead to a complete compromise of the database system.
Statement
A type confusion flaw in PostgreSQL’s pg_restore_attribute_stats() function allows an authenticated user with object-creation privileges to achieve arbitrary code execution under the database server process (postgres) via crafted range and multirange values.
Note: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 and earlier releases do not ship the vulnerable PostgreSQL major version (18.x) and are therefore not affected.
Mitigation
To mitigate this issue, restrict the ability to create database objects and perform database restorations to only highly trusted administrative users. This operational control limits the attack surface by ensuring that only authorized personnel can introduce potentially malicious objects into the database environment. Carefully manage user privileges to enforce this restriction.
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 | 8.8 | N/A | 8.8 |
| Attack Vector | Network | N/A | Network |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| 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:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability,Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Memory; Modify Memory; Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
When a memory buffer is accessed using the wrong type, it could read or write memory out of the bounds of the buffer, if the allocated buffer is smaller than the type that the code is attempting to access, leading to a crash and possibly code execution.
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