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N A EUVDEUVD-2026-18364

| CVE-2026-25212 CRITICAL
Execution with Unnecessary Privileges (CWE-250)
2026-04-02 mitre GHSA-hm6f-x2ww-p497
9.9
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: mitre
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Recon
    Obtain pmm-admin credentials
  2. Delivery
    Authenticate to PMM interface
  3. Exploit
    Access 'Add data source' feature
  4. Install
    Inject OS commands via data source parameters
  5. C2
    Trigger privileged database execution
  6. Execute
    Break database context
  7. Impact
    Execute shell commands as PMM service account

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V8 - Authorization Unnecessary privilege execution
Exploitation Conditions

Attacker must possess valid pmm-admin role credentials-a privileged administrative account within Percona PMM with rights to manage data sources and monitoring configurations. Exploitation requires network access to the PMM web interface or API (CVSS AV:N), but authentication barrier (PR:L) limits attack surface to credential holders or scenarios where pmm-admin accounts have been compromised through separate attacks. No user interaction required (UI:N) once authenticated. Vulnerability is exploitable against default PMM configurations prior to version 3.7 without requiring non-standard feature enablement. Exploitation is limited by: necessity of pre-existing privileged credentials, network accessibility policies to PMM server, and logging/monitoring that may detect anomalous data source creation activity. The scope change (S:C) in CVSS vector indicates exploitation breaks containment boundaries between database and OS contexts.

Impact

CVSS 9.9 (Critical) reflects the severe technical impact: network-accessible (AV:N), low complexity (AC:L), scope change (S:C) enabling container breakout, and complete CIA triad compromise. However, real-world risk is significantly moderated by authentication requirements (PR:L) demanding pmm-admin credentials-a privileged operational role not held by typical users. EPSS probability of 0.04% (13th percentile) indicates attackers are not actively targeting this vulnerability in the wild, corroborated by CISA SSVC showing zero exploitation activity and non-automatable characteristics. The SSVC 'total technical impact' rating acknowledges the complete system compromise potential post-authentication. This creates a risk paradox: devastating impact if exploited, but limited attack surface requiring insider access or credential compromise. Priority depends on PMM deployment context-high risk in environments where pmm-admin credentials are broadly distributed or inadequately protected, lower risk where admin access follows least-privilege principles. The gap between CVSS severity and EPSS probability suggests this is more relevant for insider threat scenarios than opportunistic mass exploitation.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker with previously obtained pmm-admin credentials (through phishing, credential stuffing, or insider access) authenticates to the Percona PMM web interface. They navigate to the 'Add data source' feature and craft a malicious data source configuration containing shell metacharacters or command injection payloads. When PMM processes this input using the over-privileged internal database user, the injected commands execute at the operating system level with the privileges of the PMM service account, granting the attacker shell access to the monitoring server. From this foothold, the attacker can pivot to monitored database systems, exfiltrate credentials stored in PMM configuration, or establish persistence on the infrastructure.

Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Why: CRITICAL severity.
No patch listed yet 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv2 – Apr 21, 2026

Percona PMM (Percona Monitoring and Management) versions prior to 3.7 allow authenticated users with pmm-admin privileges to execute arbitrary operating system commands by exploiting excessive database superuser privileges through the 'Add data source' feature. This privilege escalation vulnerability enables container/system breakout from database context to shell access. EPSS score is low (0.04%, 13th percentile) indicating minimal observed exploitation activity, and CISA SSVC assessment confirms no active exploitation with non-automatable attack characteristics, though technical impact is rated total.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Apr 02, 2026 - 16:30 CVSS 9.9

Percona PMM before version 3.7 allows authenticated remote code execution through improper privilege management in its internal database user. An attacker with pmm-admin credentials can leverage the 'Add data source' feature to escape database isolation and execute arbitrary shell commands on the underlying operating system, requiring only valid pmm-admin access rather than direct system-level privileges.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to Percona PMM version 3.7.0 or later, as confirmed by the vendor release notes at https://docs.percona.com/percona-monitoring-and-management/3/release-notes/3.7.0.html. The 3.7.0 release explicitly addresses CVE-2026-25212 by reducing superuser privileges for internal database accounts to the minimum required for monitoring operations. If immediate upgrade is not feasible, implement compensating controls: restrict pmm-admin role assignment to only essential personnel following least-privilege principles, enable audit logging for all 'Add data source' operations to detect abuse attempts, deploy network segmentation to isolate PMM server from critical production systems limiting lateral movement post-exploitation, and implement MFA for pmm-admin credential access. Note that restricting data source features may impact legitimate monitoring workflows and should be tested in non-production environments. No workaround fully eliminates risk-patching to 3.7.0 is the only complete remediation.

Affected VersionsENISA

n/a n/a

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Technical ContextAI · show details

Percona PMM is an open-source database monitoring and management platform for MySQL, PostgreSQL, and MongoDB. The vulnerability stems from CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges), where an internal database user account retains excessive superuser privileges beyond operational requirements. PMM's architecture includes a data source management feature accessible to pmm-admin role users. The flaw allows authenticated users to inject commands through the 'Add data source' interface, leveraging the over-privileged database account to escape the intended SQL execution context and gain shell access on the host operating system. This represents a classic privilege escalation through insufficient privilege separation in a multi-tenant monitoring platform where database-level credentials should be restricted to read-only monitoring operations.

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Severity by source

Vendor (mitre) PRIMARY 9.9 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (mitre) · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorVendor: mitre

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

2
Analysis Updated
Apr 21, 2026 - 00:44 vuln.today
v2 - CVSS changed
CVE Published
Apr 02, 2026 - 00:00 nvd
CRITICAL 9.9

DescriptionCVE.org

An issue was discovered in Percona PMM before 3.7. Because an internal database user retains specific superuser privileges, an attacker with pmm-admin rights can abuse the "Add data source" feature to break out of the database context and execute shell commands on the underlying operating system.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Percona PMM versions before 3.7 contain a critical privilege escalation vulnerability that allows authenticated pmm-admin users to execute arbitrary OS commands and escape container isolation, potentially compromising monitoring infrastructure and underlying systems. Organizations running vulnerable PMM deployments face direct risk of lateral movement to production databases and host systems, making this a priority issue despite low current exploitation rates.

Business Impact: High
Compensating Controls

No vendor-released patch identified at time of analysis. Interim mitigations: (1) Revoke pmm-admin role from all non-essential accounts and enforce principle of least privilege; (2) Implement network access controls restricting PMM administrative interfaces to bastion hosts or VPNs with MFA; (3) Run PMM containers with minimal capabilities (drop all Linux capabilities, enforce read-only root filesystem where possible); (4) Enable audit logging for all PMM API calls and 'Add data source' operations; (5) Monitor for suspicious command execution patterns in PMM container logs; (6) Isolate PMM infrastructure on separate network segments from production database systems.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 87% exploitable
Data Quality
5 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity CRITICAL
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
CRITICAL severity
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision
Scheduled
Exploitation
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable
No
Human Impact
High
Technical Impact
Total

Priority Score

50
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +50
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Privilege escalation occurs when an attacker leverages flaws in access control mechanisms to gain permissions beyond what they were originally granted.

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