CVE-2026-16241
Description
A flaw was found in PostgreSQL ECPG. A highly privileged database server administrator can trigger an integer underflow by sending a specially crafted bytea value to the ECPG client. This vulnerability causes the client to overwrite a large memory region, leading to a temporary denial of service (DoS). In rare cases, this could also result in client-specific data integrity issues.
Statement
This Low impact flaw in PostgreSQL ECPG affects client applications. It requires a highly privileged database administrator to send a malformed bytea value, leading to an integer underflow and a temporary denial of service in the ECPG client. The limited scope to client-side disruption and the prerequisite of elevated server privileges contribute to its lower severity.
Mitigation
To mitigate this vulnerability, ensure that database server administrator privileges are tightly controlled and only granted to highly trusted individuals. Because exploiting this flaw requires an attacker to already have administrative control over the database server to target connecting ECPG clients, adhering to the principle of least privilege and maintaining strict access controls on server administration effectively neutralizes the risk.
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 | 3.8 | N/A | 3.8 |
| 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 | None | N/A | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
| Availability Impact | Low | N/A | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Instability
This weakness will generally lead to undefined behavior and therefore crashes. In the case of overflows involving loop index variables, the likelihood of infinite loops is also high.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Memory
If the value in question is important to data (as opposed to flow), simple data corruption has occurred. Also, if the wrap around results in other conditions such as buffer overflows, further memory corruption may occur.
Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism
This weakness can sometimes trigger buffer overflows which can be used to execute arbitrary code. This is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.
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