Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component in PostgreSQL - CVE-2026-18408
Published: August 15, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU142620
CSH Severity: High
CVSS v4: 8.4 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-18408
CWE-ID: CWE-74
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code.
The vulnerability exists due to improper neutralization of special elements in pg_dump and related dump-generation tools when processing untrusted server-side data for restore in psql. A remote attacker can inject arbitrary code into a dump file to execute arbitrary code.
User interaction is required to restore the crafted dump with psql.
Affected software
PostgreSQL
Debian Linux
postgresql-17 (Debian package)
Debian Linux
postgresql-17 (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-18408
Install security update from vendor's website.
PostgreSQL - addressed in versions 14.24, 15.19, 16.15, 17.11, 18.5
postgresql-17 (Debian package) - update to 17.11-0+deb13u1
postgresql-17 (Debian package) - update to 17.11-0+deb13u1