pgAdmin 4: Utility binary path can point at a shared storage directory
Only affects pgAdmin 4 before 9.19 in server mode with a SHARED_STORAGE directory that ordinary users can write to. The fix is in 9.19.
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Specific setups only
- Fix
- Fixed in 9.19
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
pgAdmin 4 (the web-based PostgreSQL administration tool) is affected, particularly its server mode on Windows, where a user could point the utility binary path at an uploaded executable in shared storage and have pgAdmin run it under the operating-system account it runs as. This could allow a user to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the pgAdmin process.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
pgAdmin 4 runs pg_dump, pg_restore, pg_dumpall and psql from the binary path a user sets in their preferences. In server mode the binary path was refused only when it lay under the per-user storage directory (STORAGE_DIR), not under a SHARED_STORAGE directory, which ordinary users can upload files to. A user could therefore upload an executable to shared storage, point their binary path at it, and have pgAdmin run it as the operating-system account running pgAdmin. On POSIX, files created through pgAdmin are not executable, so this is exploitable where any file with an executable name can run, such as Windows server mode. The fix checks the binary path against every SHARED_STORAGE directory as well, after expanding $DIR, collapsing ".." and resolving symbolic links, compares directories in a way a different spelling on a case-insensitive filesystem cannot bypass, refuses a path containing a NUL, and enforces the check wherever binary paths are resolved, including for the PSQL tool. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.
Timeline
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
Affected versions
- pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4
fixed in 9.19
References 2
GitHub · pgadmin-org/pgadmin4
Questions about CVE-2026-116243
What does this mean?
A utility binary path in pgAdmin can be pointed at a file inside a shared storage directory. pgAdmin then runs whatever file is placed there, as the operating-system account that runs pgAdmin.Source: github.com, github.com
Am I affected, and how do I check?
Versions before 9.19 running in server mode with a SHARED_STORAGE directory that ordinary users can write to. To check, compare the installed pgAdmin version with 9.19 and look at whether SHARED_STORAGE is configured.Source: github.com, github.com
What should I do about it?
Upgrade pgAdmin 4 to 9.19 or later, which contains the fix.Source: github.com, github.com
Is it being exploited?
It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data