pgAdmin 4 CVE-2026-17566

Requires an authenticated pgAdmin 4 session with the tools_import_export_data permission (described as ordinary and commonly granted) and access to the Import/Export Data tool's POST /import_export/job/<sid> endpoint; the pgAdmin server must be connected to a PostgreSQL server running with standard_conforming_strings=on, which is the default on every supported version (PostgreSQL 13-18). The attacker supplies a query where a backslash immediately precedes a single quote (e.g. 'a\') so psql, under scs=on, closes the string literal and exposes an injected TO PROGRAM clause. Limiting factors that reduce real-world risk: exploitation is not fully unauthenticated (PR:L - a valid pgAdmin login plus the tools_import_export_data permission is needed), the affected version must be earlier than 9.18, the pgAdmin web UI must be reachable by the attacker, and the injected command runs with the privileges of the OS account running the pgAdmin server. It does NOT require the query to be otherwise syntactically valid - RCE fires independent of a later syntax error on the same line.

This is a genuine high-priority issue, not a paper tiger. The provided CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N with VC/VI/VA:H and SC/SI/SA:H, base 9.4) indicates network-reachable, low-complexity exploitation requiring only low privileges and no user interaction, resulting in full compromise of the affected and subsequent systems - consistent with server-side RCE. The PR:L is meaningful: exploitation requires an authenticated pgAdmin session holding tools_import_export_data, but that permission is described as ordinarily and commonly granted, so it is a weak barrier in typical multi-user deployments. Working exploit conditions and a concrete payload are public in the fix commit, which raises practical risk even though the vulnerability is NOT in CISA KEV (no confirmed active exploitation) and no EPSS score was supplied to gauge exploitation probability. Conflicting/missing signals to note: no EPSS and no KEV means widespread automated exploitation is unconfirmed; the CVSS 4.0 AV:N assumes the pgAdmin web interface is network-exposed, which for many internal admin deployments it is not, lowering real-world exposure. Overall: treat as a serious authenticated RCE to patch promptly, weighted by how exposed and how multi-tenant the pgAdmin instance is.

An authenticated pgAdmin 4 user who holds the ordinary tools_import_export_data permission opens the Import/Export Data tool and submits a crafted query such as SELECT 'a\') TO PROGRAM 'echo pwned' x'; pgAdmin's balance checker accepts it, but the rendered psql \copy command line closes the string and subquery early and psql executes the attacker's TO PROGRAM command via popen() on the pgAdmin server host. Because the CVSS vector is AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N, no victim interaction is needed and complexity is low - the fix commit even ships the working payload as a regression test - making reliable RCE straightforward for any low-privileged pgAdmin account.