CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-55769NVD status: Deferred

cloudnative-pg: Untrusted Search Path

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-55769 is a critical-severity untrusted search path vulnerability in cloudnative-pg, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 9.4 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. Affected cloudnative-pg versions: < 1.28.4; >= 1.29.0, < 1.29.2. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.77% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 56% of scored CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Check which version of cloudnative-pg you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
  2. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
Cloudnative-pgcloudnative-pg< 1.28.4; >= 1.29.0, < 1.29.2Not stated

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.
Attack requirements
NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
Integrity (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
Availability (vulnerable system)
HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
Confidentiality (other systems)
HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Integrity (other systems)
HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Availability (other systems)
HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.

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/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (github.com).

Official 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.

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

The underlying weakness: Untrusted Search Path

The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
  • When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames. The portability can be improved by locating the full-qualified paths in a centralized, easily-modifiable location within the source code, and having the code refer to these paths.
  • Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.

More Untrusted Search Path vulnerabilities (CWE-426)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: poc, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Other vulnerabilities in cloudnative-pg

All cloudnative-pg vulnerabilities

Recent Untrusted Search Path vulnerabilities

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