PostgreSQL pgAdmin up to 9.18 Server API servers.json privileges management

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL pgAdmin up to 9.18. It has been classified as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file servers.json of the component Server API. This manipulation causes privileges management. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-116248. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in PostgreSQL pgAdmin up to 9.18 and classified as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown code block of the file servers.json of the component Server API. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a privileges management vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-269. The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

In pgAdmin 4 server mode only administrators are meant to share a server with all users; the server dialog shows the Shared switch only to them. The create and update endpoints of the server API, however, stored the "shared" flag and shared username they were sent, so any user able to register a server could share one with every other user. The servers.json import had a similar gap: a non-administrator's "Shared" entries were removed only after validation, so a file that also held an invalid entry could create a shared server. A shared server carries no credentials, so this gives no direct access. It lets a user plant a server, named to look trusted, in every other user's tree and pointing at a host the user controls; anyone who then connects to it presents their own database password to that host. The fix refuses a non-administrator's request that would share a server with HTTP 403, prunes a non-administrator's shared entries from a servers.json import before validating it, and warns at startup about servers shared earlier by non-administrators. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.

The advisory is shared at github.com. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-116248 since 10/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1068 for this issue.

By approaching the search of inurl:servers.json it is possible to find vulnerable targets with Google Hacking.

Upgrading to version 9.19 eliminates this vulnerability.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Database Software

Vendor

• PostgreSQL

Name

• pgAdmin

Version

• 9.0
• 9.1
• 9.2
• 9.3
• 9.4
• 9.5
• 9.6
• 9.7
• 9.8
• 9.9
• 9.10
• 9.11
• 9.12
• 9.13
• 9.14
• 9.15
• 9.16
• 9.17
• 9.18

License

• open-source

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

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CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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