CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-116247NVD status: Analyzed

pgAdmin 4: Insufficiently Protected Credentials

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-116247 is a critical-severity insufficiently protected credentials vulnerability in pgAdmin 4 from Pgadmin.org, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.6 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists version 9.19 as the first without the flaw, so updating pgAdmin 4 to that release or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update pgAdmin 4 to 9.19 or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Pgadmin.orgpgAdmin 4before 9.199.19

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
ChangedThe attack can reach beyond the vulnerable component into other systems.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
NoneAvailability is not affected.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N. Scored by NVD.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 4.07.1HighCNA
CVSS 3.18.2HighCNA
CVSS 3.19.6CriticalNVD

Official description

When a server in pgAdmin 4 had no password file, client certificate or client key configured, or the configured one could not be found, pgAdmin left the parameter out of the connection and libpq fell back to the defaults of the operating-system account running pgAdmin: ~/.pgpass, ~/.postgresql/postgresql.crt and postgresql.key, or PGPASSFILE, PGSSLCERT and PGSSLKEY. In server mode any user could therefore connect to a server with the service account's saved passwords or client certificate, and supplying only a copy of its public certificate was enough for libpq to pair it with the service account's private key. A pg_service.conf entry, or a maintenance database name read as a connection string by pg_dumpall, could bring the same files back for the utilities. The fix gives each of these parameters a value in server mode, the user's own file or otherwise a path that can never be opened, in the connection string, in the environment of the utilities and in the --dbname connection string that ranks above a service entry. Desktop mode is unchanged. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Insufficiently Protected Credentials

The product transmits or stores authentication credentials, but it uses an insecure method that is susceptible to unauthorized interception and/or retrieval.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use an appropriate security mechanism to protect the credentials.
  • Make appropriate use of cryptography to protect the credentials.
  • Use industry standards to protect the credentials (e.g. LDAP, keystore, etc.).

More Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerabilities (CWE-522)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other references

Other vulnerabilities in pgAdmin 4

All pgAdmin 4 vulnerabilities

Recent Insufficiently Protected Credentials vulnerabilities

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