CVE
PostgreSQL code execution in vacuumdb via untrusted search path
- Exploited
- No known exploitation
- Fix
- Fixed in 18.7
- Who is exposed
- Specific setups only
Do first: Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs. PostgreSQL 18 minor versions before 18.7 are affected; versions before 18 are unaffected. Attacker owns the database and a victim runs vacuumdb with --missing-stats-only against that database.
- Last modified
- Whether it needs action now or is a reference record, by fixed rules, with why. Last checked is when cve.now last re-read it.What do these mean? →
- Reference
- Last checked
- FIRST's estimate of the chance attackers exploit it in the next 30 days, updated daily.What do these mean? →
- 0.50% · 43rd percentile
- A 0-100 score for how much a CVE matters across the industry: exploitation, exposure, how widely the software is used, severity and whether a fix exists.What do these mean? →
- 33/100 · provisional
- 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
- 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
- Exploitation: none
- Automatable: no
- Technical impact: total
Summary
PostgreSQL's `vacuumdb --missing-stats-only` lets a database owner run arbitrary SQL as the database user who runs `vacuumdb`, by shadowing operators that the tool's catalog query depends on. Only PostgreSQL major version 18 releases before the fix are affected, and an attacker must first hold database-owner access over the network, with no action needed from a user.
Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.
Read the original description
Untrusted search path in PostgreSQL vacuumdb allows a database owner to execute arbitrary SQL as the database user running vacuumdb, via shadowing operators used in the --missing-stats-only catalog query. The pg_upgrade documentation recommends an affected vacuumdb invocation. Within major version 18, minor versions before PostgreSQL 18.7 are affected. Versions before PostgreSQL 18 are unaffected.
Who should check
Teams running PostgreSQL 18 before 18.7 that run vacuumdb with --missing-stats-only, including pg_upgrade follow-up steps.
Read the source excerpt
“Within major version 18, minor versions before PostgreSQL 18.7 are affected.”
cve.now Index
- Exploitation0/40No signal
- Exposure8/25Specific setups only, reachable over the network
- Reach17/20Affects PostgreSQL (a widely deployed server, runtime, framework or database)
- Severity8.2/10CVSS 7.2, total technical impact per CISA
- No patch0/5No signal
What would change the score
- Would score about 83 if added to CISA KEV
- Would score about 78 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
- Would score about 40 if CISA's SSVC rates it automatable
What to do
Check whether your setup matches what the bug needs.
PostgreSQL 18 minor versions before 18.7 are affected; versions before 18 are unaffected. Attacker owns the database and a victim runs vacuumdb with --missing-stats-only against that database.Upgrade to a fixed version: 18.7.
Check your systems with an agent
Paste this into a coding or ops agent. It checks your systems read-only and reports a table per asset.
Check whether my systems are affected by CVE-2026-116313 (PostgreSQL "vacuumdb --missing-stats-only" lets a database owner execute code as the vacuumdb user), using the cve.now data below.
Rules: work read-only. Do not run exploit code, proof-of-concept scripts or scanners that send attack payloads, and do not change any configuration, package, image or deployment. Report findings only.
What cve.now has for CVE-2026-116313 (entry last updated 2026-11-13):
Affected:
- n/a PostgreSQL: from 18, fixed in 18.7
Fixed versions: 18.7.
Conditions (all must be true for the bug to be hit):
- PostgreSQL 18 minor versions before 18.7 are affected; versions before 18 are unaffected. (source: https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-116313/)
- Attacker owns the database and a victim runs vacuumdb with --missing-stats-only against that database. (source: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-116313)
Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory.
Attacker needs: network access, high-privilege login, no user action.
CISA KEV: CVE-2026-116313 is not listed as of cve.now's last read.
This KEV status is for CVE-2026-116313 only. If you also check another CVE, look up its own KEV status; never assume it from this one.
How to check:
- Installed software: check what is actually running, not what a repo declares. Read the version from each host, container image and Kubernetes node (the binary's version output, the OS package database, image layers), and check whether the conditions above hold there. Distribution packages may carry a backported fix under an older version number; confirm against the distribution's own advisory.
Verify against the linked advisories before concluding, and cite the date you read each one:
- https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-116313/
- https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-116313
Do not conclude an asset is unaffected unless you checked it and the evidence covers both its version and the conditions above. If you could not check something, mark it unknown and say what is missing.
Report a table with one row per asset and these columns: Asset | Version or build | Status (affected, fixed, not applicable, unknown) | Compensating controls | Exposure (internet-facing, internal, none) | Evidence | Next action.
Entry: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-116313
For follow-up questions, use the cve.now MCP server at https://mcp.cve.now/mcp (no authentication), for example execute with name cve.get and arguments {"id": "CVE-2026-116313"}.Timeline
- CISA SSVC assessment
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
- CVE published
- First seen by cve.now
- Posted on X by cve.now1 day
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- n/a PostgreSQL
From 18 · fixed in 18.7
Evidence 3
Vendor advisory · 1
Establishes: Affected and fixed versions.
- Link
CVE record · 2
Establishes: The identifier and description.
- Record
- Record
Corrections
None so far.
Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.
Questions about CVE-2026-116313
Is CVE-2026-116313 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
What does this mean?
A database owner can run arbitrary SQL as the operating-system database user that runs vacuumdb. This happens when a victim runs vacuumdb with --missing-stats-only against a database the attacker owns.Source: postgresql.org, cve.org
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-116313?
PostgreSQL: from 18 before 18.7.Source: cve.now feed data
Am I affected, and how do I check?
PostgreSQL 18 minor versions before 18.7 are affected; versions before 18 are unaffected. The exposed setup is running vacuumdb with --missing-stats-only against a database owned by someone else. To check the version, run postgres --version or select version() in psql.Source: postgresql.org, cve.org
How do I fix CVE-2026-116313?
Upgrade PostgreSQL 18 to version 18.7 or later. No vendor patch IDs or workaround are listed in the checked facts.Source: postgresql.org, cve.org