CVE-2026-116246
pgAdmin 4: Server passwords are left in pgAdmin's process environment
Description
To pass a server's password to psql and to the utilities pgAdmin 4 runs as background processes, the server manager wrote it into pgAdmin's own process environment: as PGPASSWORD for the PSQL tool, and under a per-process variable for a utility. Nothing removed it afterwards. pgAdmin's environment is shared by every user's requests and copied into every process it starts, so in server mode another user's later PSQL session or utility inherited the password, and libpq used PGPASSWORD for any connection made without a password of its own, letting one user connect with another user's saved password. The fix puts the password only into the environment built for the process that needs it and starts psql with a copy of pgAdmin's environment instead of the environment itself. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 30, 2026, 8:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 30, 2026, 8:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | ||||
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | MITRE-CVE | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | HIGH | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 |
Solution
- Update pgAdmin 4 to version 9.19 or later.
- Ensure password handling is restricted per process.
- Remove password from shared environment variables.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-116246.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/0eefa38f774dce07c1f939d87f2993b36e2313b9 | |
| https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10653 |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-116246 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-116246
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-116246 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-116246 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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New CVE Received by f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
Oct. 30, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description To pass a server's password to psql and to the utilities pgAdmin 4 runs as background processes, the server manager wrote it into pgAdmin's own process environment: as PGPASSWORD for the PSQL tool, and under a per-process variable for a utility. Nothing removed it afterwards. pgAdmin's environment is shared by every user's requests and copied into every process it starts, so in server mode another user's later PSQL session or utility inherited the password, and libpq used PGPASSWORD for any connection made without a password of its own, letting one user connect with another user's saved password. The fix puts the password only into the environment built for the process that needs it and starts psql with a copy of pgAdmin's environment instead of the environment itself. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:L/SA:N/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 Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N Added CWE CWE-214 Added CWE CWE-526 Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/116xxx/CVE-2026-116246.json">CVE-2026-116246</a> Added Reference https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/0eefa38f774dce07c1f939d87f2993b36e2313b9 Added Reference https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10653