CVSS 3.1
7.2 highCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCVE-2026-120153 PostgreSQL extension-script substitutions allow SQL injection through object names
High (7.2). EPSS 0.6% estimated probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
On this page
SQL injection in PostgreSQL extension-script substitutions allows an attacker with database-level CREATE privilege to execute arbitrary code as the bootstrap superuser, via a schema or owner name containing newlines or other special substrings. This is similar to CVE-2023-39417, but it requires a non-bundled extension with a vulnerable script pattern. Versions before PostgreSQL 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, and 14.25 are affected.
Severity
- EPSS
- 0.6% estimated probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; 47th percentile. Scored 2026-11-13. A forecast for this CVE across the internet, not for your own systems.
- CISA's assessment (SSVC)
- Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total, assessed 2026-11-12. From CISA's Vulnrichment in the CVE List: whether it is exploited, whether exploiting it can be automated, and how much control it gives.
- CWE
- CWE-89 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command (SQL Injection)
- OWASP Top 10
- A05:2025 Injection
- Published
- Modified
- Assigned by
- PostgreSQL (CNA)
- NVD analysis
- Awaiting analysis
- Record from
- the NVD, synced
Ask an AI about this CVE
Show the prompt
Explain CVE-2026-120153 for an engineer deciding whether to act. Use https://cve.bz/api/public/cves/CVE-2026-120153?via=ask-ai-copy and https://cve.bz/cve/CVE-2026-120153?via=ask-ai-copy as the source of truth: what is affected and which versions fix it, whether it is in CISA KEV, public exploits, and its EPSS (an internet-wide 30-day estimate of exploitation activity, not a forecast for my systems). If they give no fixed versions, use the CVE record https://cveawg.mitre.org/api/cve/CVE-2026-120153 or the vendor advisory, not third-party mirrors. Tell me how to check whether I am affected and how to verify a fix. Cite the sources and say where they are uncertain.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this CVE's id and public links.
Badge for a README or a site
An image that stays current: it is drawn from the data each time it is fetched (a host that proxies images, as GitHub does, may show its copy for a while). Markdown:
[](https://cve.bz/cve/CVE-2026-120153)
HTML:
<a href="https://cve.bz/cve/CVE-2026-120153"><img src="https://cve.bz/cve/badge/CVE-2026-120153.svg" alt="CVE-2026-120153"></a>
Fix and patched versions
- Debian, Red Hat, Alpine: fixed package versions per release
Linux distributions
| Distribution | Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Debian | 12 | postgresql-15 | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Debian | 13 | postgresql-17 | 17.12-0+deb13u1 | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Debian | 14 | postgresql-18 | no fix listed | DEBIAN-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | 20.04:LTS | postgresql-12 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | 22.04:LTS | postgresql-14 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | 24.04:LTS | postgresql-16 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | 26.04:LTS, 26.10 | postgresql-18 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | Pro:14.04:LTS | postgresql-9.3 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | Pro:16.04:LTS | postgresql-9.5 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Ubuntu | Pro:18.04:LTS | postgresql-10 | no fix listed | UBUNTU-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Red Hat | hummingbird:1 | libpq, libpq-devel | 0:18.7-0.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:99821 |
| Alpine | v3.21, v3.22 | postgresql15 | 15.20-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Alpine | v3.21, v3.22, v3.23 and 1 more | postgresql16 | 16.16-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Alpine | v3.21, v3.22, v3.23 and 1 more | postgresql17 | 17.12-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Alpine | v3.23, v3.24 | postgresql18 | 18.7-r0 | ALPINE-CVE-2026-120153 |
| Azure Linux | 3 | postgresql | no fix listed | AZL-113783 |
From the distributions' data via OSV.dev: the Debian Security Tracker; Ubuntu Security Notices © Canonical Ltd., CC BY-SA 4.0; Red Hat Security Data © Red Hat, Inc., CC BY 4.0; the Alpine secdb, CC BY-SA 4.0; Microsoft's Azure Linux vulnerability data, MIT. Modified: reformatted and linked to CVE records. Credits. On the distributions' own pages: Debian · Ubuntu · Red Hat · Alpine.
Red Hat
Red Hat rates this Important.
Red Hat has rated this vulnerability as having an impact of Important because successful exploitation allows an authenticated database user to escalate privileges to the administrative superuser, potentially executing code on the underlying host system. The flaw requires specific prerequisites: the user must possess database-level CREATE privileges, and the database must use an external, non-bundled extension containing vulnerable script substitution patterns. Default PostgreSQL installations provided with Red Hat enterprise distributions do not include these vulnerable extension scripts, limiting risk to environments that deploy unverified third-party extensions.
Revoke database-level CREATE privileges from untrusted users, avoid installing non-bundled third-party extensions, and restrict PostgreSQL network connectivity to trusted management networks.
1. Revoke database creation permissions using SQL:
REVOKE CREATE ON DATABASE <database_name> FROM <username>;
2. Restrict PostgreSQL network access to trusted sources using firewalld:
firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --remove-service=postgresql
firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=trusted --add-source=<trusted_ip_or_subnet>
firewall-cmd --reload
Caveats:
Revoking CREATE rights prevents affected database users from creating new schemas or database objects, which may break applications that rely on dynamic object creation. Limiting firewall access prevents incoming database connections from unauthorized networks.
Warning:
Modifying firewall settings requires a reload using `firewall-cmd --reload`. If modifying access controls within `pg_hba.conf` or `postgresql.conf`, execute `systemctl reload postgresql` to apply changes without restarting the daemon or terminating active client connections.
| Product | Package | State | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images | libpq | Affected | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | postgresql17 | Affected | |
| Red Hat Hardened Images | postgresql18 | Affected |
Contains Red Hat Security Data © Red Hat, Inc., licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: https://access.redhat.com/security/data. Modified: reformatted. Red Hat's page for CVE-2026-120153.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- CAPEC-7 Blind SQL Injection Likelihood: High · Severity: High
- CAPEC-66 SQL Injection Likelihood: High · Severity: High
- CAPEC-108 Command Line Execution through SQL Injection Likelihood: Low · Severity: Very High
- CAPEC-109 Object Relational Mapping Injection Likelihood: Low · Severity: High
- CAPEC-110 SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter Tampering Likelihood: High · Severity: Very High
- CAPEC-470 Expanding Control over the Operating System from the Database Severity: Very High
The attack patterns MITRE's CAPEC relates to this record's weaknesses, as MITRE names them. Credits.