pgAdmin 4: Import/Export Data query export runs a command through a backslash in a double-quoted identifier (pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4)

CVE-2026-116241
CRITICAL 9.4

At a glance

Source
NVD
State
PUBLISHED
Published
Updated
Assigner
PostgreSQL
NVD status
Received

Description

pgAdmin 4's Import/Export Data tool wraps a user's query export in a psql \copy (...) TO command and checks that the query's parentheses are balanced so that nothing can escape the wrapper. The check rejected a backslash inside a single-quoted string, but not inside a double-quoted identifier, where it treated the next double quote as closing the identifier. psql's \copy parser applies the connection's escape character to whichever quote opened a token, so with standard_conforming_strings off a backslash-escaped double quote does not close the identifier. pgAdmin's and psql's view of the quoting then diverged, a closing parenthesis hidden from the check ended the \copy (...) wrapper, and a following TO PROGRAM clause was executed by psql on the pgAdmin host, as the operating-system account running pgAdmin, before the server rejected the statement. An ordinary database role can turn standard_conforming_strings off for itself, and the Import/Export Data permission is granted to non-administrators by default. This is a bypass of the fix for CVE-2026-17566. The fix rejects any backslash inside a double-quoted identifier, as was already done for single-quoted strings, since its meaning depends on a server setting that cannot be known reliably when the query is validated. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.

Weaknesses (CWE)

  • CWE-78 — Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command
  • CWE-115 — Misinterpretation of Input

References

Scores

VersionScoreVectorScored by
CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HPostgreSQL
CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.4CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:HPostgreSQL
CVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.4CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XNVD · f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 (Secondary)
CVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.9CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HNVD · f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 (Secondary)

European references

Affected products

ProductVersions
pgadmin.org · pgAdmin 4affected 0 < 9.19

Sources

SourceLicence
CVE List (CVEProject cvelistV5)CVE Program Terms of Use
ENISA EUVDENISA — reproduction authorised, source acknowledged
NVD (NIST) via fkie-cad/nvd-json-data-feedsPublic domain — this product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD