CVE-2026-86861
Description
A flaw was found in pgAdmin 4. The File Manager's save_file endpoint, used for saving files from the Query Tool and ERD, did not properly handle symbolic links. An authenticated user with existing filesystem access to the pgAdmin host or a shared storage backend could exploit a timing window to substitute a symbolic link after a path validation check. This could allow the attacker to create or overwrite arbitrary files on the system where pgAdmin is running.
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
To mitigate this issue, ensure strict filesystem permissions are enforced on the pgAdmin host, particularly for the operating system account running pgAdmin and its storage directories. Restrict write access to these directories to only the pgAdmin process, preventing unauthorized users or processes from creating symbolic links. Additionally, securely configure any shared or network-mounted storage utilized by pgAdmin to limit write access.
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Other
Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic; Unexpected State
The attacker can gain access to otherwise unauthorized resources.
Integrity,Other
Technical Impact: Modify Application Data; Modify Files or Directories; Modify Memory; Other
Race conditions such as this kind may be employed to gain read or write access to resources which are not normally readable or writable by the user in question.
Integrity,Other
Technical Impact: Other
The resource in question, or other resources (through the corrupted one), may be changed in undesirable ways by a malicious user.
Non-Repudiation
Technical Impact: Hide Activities
If a file or other resource is written in this method, as opposed to in a valid way, logging of the activity may not occur.
Non-Repudiation,Other
Technical Impact: Other
In some cases it may be possible to delete files a malicious user might not otherwise have access to, such as log files.
Other
Technical Impact: Unexpected State
The product may perform invalid actions when the resource is in an unexpected state.
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