CVE-2013-1900 in PostgreSQL
Summary
by MITRE
PostgreSQL 9.2.x before 9.2.4, 9.1.x before 9.1.9, 9.0.x before 9.0.13, and 8.4.x before 8.4.17, when using OpenSSL, generates insufficiently random numbers, which might allow remote authenticated users to have an unspecified impact via vectors related to the "contrib/pgcrypto functions."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/06/2021
This vulnerability affects multiple versions of the PostgreSQL database management system when configured to use OpenSSL for cryptographic operations. The core issue lies in the insufficient randomness of number generation within the contrib/pgcrypto functions, which are used for cryptographic operations such as generating keys, salts, and other security parameters. The weakness stems from the underlying OpenSSL library's random number generator not providing adequate entropy, creating predictable cryptographic values that can be exploited by attackers. This vulnerability is particularly concerning because it impacts the fundamental security mechanisms of database encryption and authentication functions.
The technical flaw manifests in the cryptographic random number generation process where the system fails to produce cryptographically secure random numbers. When PostgreSQL utilizes the pgcrypto module for functions like generating encryption keys, password salts, or session identifiers, the predictable nature of the random values compromises the entire security model. This weakness enables authenticated attackers to potentially predict cryptographic outputs, which could lead to key recovery, session hijacking, or bypass of encryption mechanisms. The vulnerability affects versions prior to specific patches including 9.2.4, 9.1.9, 9.0.13, and 8.4.17, indicating that the issue was present across several major release lines of the database system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple cryptographic weakness to potentially enable broader security breaches. An attacker with authenticated access to the database can exploit this flaw to recover encryption keys, decrypt sensitive data, or impersonate legitimate users by predicting session tokens and authentication values. The unspecified impact mentioned in the CVE description suggests that the consequences could vary depending on how the cryptographic functions are used within the database environment, potentially affecting data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-330, which addresses the use of insufficiently random values in cryptographic contexts, and represents a significant risk to database security infrastructure.
Organizations should immediately implement the vendor-provided patches for their PostgreSQL installations to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to the patched versions of PostgreSQL that contain fixes for the random number generation issue. Additionally, security teams should review their database configurations to ensure that cryptographic functions are not being used in ways that could amplify the impact of this vulnerability. Network segmentation and access controls should be reinforced to limit the potential impact of authenticated attacks, while monitoring systems should be configured to detect unusual patterns in database activity that might indicate exploitation attempts. This vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper random number generation in cryptographic systems and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1552.001 for credential access through weak encryption and T1005 for data from local systems.