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PostgreSQL INSERT ... ON CONFLICT can read or modify rows despite auto-updatable view WHERE condition

CVE-2026-16237EUVD-2026-124430

5.4MediumCNA
Exploited
No known exploitation
Fix
Fixed in 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, 14.25
Who is exposed
Not reported

Do first: Upgrade to a fixed version: 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, 14.25.

Published
Last modified
Reference
Last checked
25/100 · provisional
None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
  • Exploitation: none
  • Automatable: no
  • Technical impact: partial

Summary

Improper protection in PostgreSQL INSERT ... ON CONFLICT on auto-updatable views allows an attacker having INSERT and UPDATE privileges on the view to read and modify every row in the view's base table, via iterated INSERT ... ON CONFLICT DO UPDATE. This bypasses the view's WHERE condition, whether or not the view is a security_barrier view. Versions before PostgreSQL 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, and 14.25 are affected.

cve.now Index

25Pcve.now Index 25 of 100 · methodology v3 · provisional
  • Exploitation0/40No signal
  • Exposure3/25Reachable over the network · Unknown: No advisory context yet
  • Reach17/20Affects PostgreSQL (a widely deployed server, runtime, framework or database)
  • Severity5.4/10CVSS 5.4
  • No patch0/5No signal

What would change the score

  • Would score about 80 if added to CISA KEV
  • Would score about 75 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
  • Would score about 44 if advisories confirm default setups are exposed

What to do

  • Upgrade to a fixed version: 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, 14.25.

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-2026-16237 (PostgreSQL INSERT ... ON CONFLICT can read or modify rows despite auto-updatable view WHERE condition), 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-2026-16237 (entry last updated 2026-11-12):
Affected:
- n/a PostgreSQL: from 18, fixed in 18.7; from 17, fixed in 17.12; from 16, fixed in 16.16; from 15, fixed in 15.20; fixed in 14.25
Fixed versions: 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, 14.25.
Setup: unknown whether the bug needs a non-default feature or setting. Check the advisory.
CISA KEV: CVE-2026-16237 is not listed as of cve.now's last read.
This KEV status is for CVE-2026-16237 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-2026-16237/
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-2026-16237
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-2026-16237"}.

Timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. First seen by cve.now
  3. CISA SSVC assessment

    Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: partial

  4. Record last updated

Affected versions

  • n/a PostgreSQL

    From 18 · fixed in 18.7; From 17 · fixed in 17.12; From 16 · fixed in 16.16; From 15 · fixed in 15.20; fixed in 14.25

Evidence 3

Vendor advisory · 1

Establishes: Affected and fixed versions.

  1. Link

CVE record · 2

Establishes: The identifier and description.

  1. Record
  2. Record

Corrections

None so far.

Something wrong on this page? Report an error. Every fix is listed here.

Questions about CVE-2026-16237

Is CVE-2026-16237 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

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-16237?

PostgreSQL: from 18 before 18.7; from 17 before 17.12; from 16 before 16.16; from 15 before 15.20; before 14.25.Source: cve.now feed data

How do I fix CVE-2026-16237?

Upgrade to a fixed version: 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, 14.25.Source: cve.now feed data