CVE-2026-6666
Description
A flaw was found in PgBouncer. A remote attacker could exploit a null pointer reference vulnerability by sending a specially crafted error response without a SQLSTATE field. This could lead to a crash of the PgBouncer instance, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for affected services.
Statement
Red Hat Product Security has determined that this vulnerability does not affect any currently supported Red Hat product. This assessment may evolve based on further analysis and discovery. For more information about this vulnerability and the products it affects, please see the linked references.
Mitigation
Restrict network access to the PgBouncer instance to only trusted PostgreSQL servers and clients. Configure firewall rules to limit inbound connections to the PgBouncer port from known, secure IP addresses or subnets. This reduces the exposure to malicious server error responses. A restart of the PgBouncer service may be necessary for firewall changes to take effect, which will temporarily interrupt database proxying.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
NULL pointer dereferences usually result in the failure of the process unless exception handling (on some platforms) is available and implemented. Even when exception handling is being used, it can still be very difficult to return the software to a safe state of operation.
Integrity,Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Read Memory; Modify Memory
In rare circumstances, when NULL is equivalent to the 0x0 memory address and privileged code can access it, then writing or reading memory is possible, which may lead to code execution.
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