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CVE-2026-116250

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

In server mode pgAdmin 4 validates a path a user gives for a file in their storage directory with check_access_permission() and then opened it by name. Several places opened it with a plain open() or handed the path to a utility that opened it later: the servers.json export and import and the import file listing, and the files given to pg_dump, pg_dumpall, pg_restore and psql by Backup, Restore and Import/Export Data. A symbolic link swapped in at the file or at any parent directory between the check and the open redirected the operation outside the storage directory, so a file could be written, overwritten or read, or loaded into a table, as the operating-system account running pgAdmin. A hard link to an outside file, which O_NOFOLLOW does not detect, and a FIFO, which could hang a request, had the same effect. CVE-2026-86861 fixed this for the File Manager's save_file; these were the remaining paths. Exploitation requires creating such a link or FIFO inside the user's storage directory. pgAdmin offers no way to do so, and the per-user storage directories belong to the pgAdmin account, so this requires write access to the storage backend as a different operating-system user, for example a shared or network-mounted storage directory, and winning the race. The fix opens each file by walking down from the storage directory one component at a time with O_NOFOLLOW, accepting only a regular file with one link, and passes the utilities the open descriptor (/dev/fd/N) on Linux. Error messages no longer include the server path. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.

Severity
HIGH
CVSS score
7.3 (v4.0)
Vulnerability status
Received
Source identifier
f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
Published
2026-10-30 20:17:05.170000
Last modified
2026-10-30 20:17:05.170000
View original CVE JSON
{
  "id": "CVE-2026-116250",
  "sourceIdentifier": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007",
  "published": "2026-10-30T20:17:05.170",
  "lastModified": "2026-10-30T20:17:05.170",
  "vulnStatus": "Received",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In server mode pgAdmin 4 validates a path a user gives for a file in their storage directory with check_access_permission() and then opened it by name. Several places opened it with a plain open() or handed the path to a utility that opened it later: the servers.json export and import and the import file listing, and the files given to pg_dump, pg_dumpall, pg_restore and psql by Backup, Restore and Import/Export Data. A symbolic link swapped in at the file or at any parent directory between the check and the open redirected the operation outside the storage directory, so a file could be written, overwritten or read, or loaded into a table, as the operating-system account running pgAdmin. A hard link to an outside file, which O_NOFOLLOW does not detect, and a FIFO, which could hang a request, had the same effect. CVE-2026-86861 fixed this for the File Manager's save_file; these were the remaining paths.\n\nExploitation requires creating such a link or FIFO inside the user's storage directory. pgAdmin offers no way to do so, and the per-user storage directories belong to the pgAdmin account, so this requires write access to the storage backend as a different operating-system user, for example a shared or network-mounted storage directory, and winning the race.\n\nThe fix opens each file by walking down from the storage directory one component at a time with O_NOFOLLOW, accepting only a regular file with one link, and passes the utilities the open descriptor (/dev/fd/N) on Linux. Error messages no longer include the server path.\n\nThis issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "pgadmin.org",
          "product": "pgAdmin 4",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "modules": [
            "File Manager",
            "Import/Export Servers",
            "Backup",
            "Restore",
            "Import/Export Data"
          ],
          "programFiles": [
            "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/blob/master/web/pgadmin/misc/file_manager/__init__.py",
            "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/blob/master/web/pgadmin/utils/__init__.py",
            "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/blob/master/web/pgadmin/tools/import_export_servers/__init__.py"
          ],
          "repo": "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "0",
              "lessThan": "9.19",
              "versionType": "custom",
              "status": "affected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV40": [
      {
        "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007",
        "type": "Secondary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "4.0",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/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:X",
          "baseScore": 7.3,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "LOCAL",
          "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
          "attackRequirements": "PRESENT",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "vulnIntegrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "LOW",
          "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
          "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
          "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
          "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "valueDensity": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED",
          "providerUrgency": "NOT_DEFINED"
        }
      }
    ],
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007",
        "type": "Secondary",
        "cvssData": {
          "version": "3.1",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L",
          "baseScore": 6.5,
          "baseSeverity": "MEDIUM",
          "attackVector": "LOCAL",
          "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "LOW",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "availabilityImpact": "LOW"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 1.0,
        "impactScore": 5.5
      }
    ]
  },
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007",
      "type": "Secondary",
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-59"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-367"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/730d1e783c339ec696a1f77f2eee6f4b52cb6c37",
      "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/99f5606e2ebc7c94c7acdbab877ce7de54bfc756",
      "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/c4321b9968342716f34bc5f10de6cac3c0567e68",
      "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10647",
      "source": "f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007"
    }
  ]
}