CVE-2026-12046
pgAdmin 4: Unauthenticated pickle deserialization in SQL Editor close / update_connection routes enables remote code execution
Description
Two state-mutating endpoints in pgAdmin 4's SQL Editor blueprint -- DELETE /sqleditor/close/<trans_id> and POST /sqleditor/initialize/sqleditor/update_connection/<sgid>/<sid>/<did> -- were the only routes in the module missing the @pga_login_required decorator. Both reach a pickle.loads sink on session['gridData'][<trans_id>]['command_obj']: the close endpoint via close_sqleditor_session(), and update_sqleditor_connection via check_transaction_status(). In server mode these endpoints were reachable without any authenticated pgAdmin session. The defect is a missing-authentication-on-critical-function (CWE-306) wrapper around a deserialization-of-untrusted-data sink (CWE-502). Exploiting it for remote code execution requires the attacker to also forge a server-side session file whose gridData entry contains a malicious pickle payload, which in turn requires both (a) knowledge of pgAdmin's Flask SECRET_KEY (no chain to leak it is described here -- the attacker must already possess it) and (b) write access to pgAdmin's sessions/ directory on the host. Neither precondition is granted by this defect on its own. When those preconditions are met from another channel (misconfigured deployment, prior compromise, leaked configuration), the missing auth gate is the final hop that turns an existing partial compromise into unauthenticated code execution in the pgAdmin process -- and, by extension, on the host under whatever account runs pgAdmin. Fix is a one-line @pga_login_required decorator on each of the two endpoints, matching the convention used by every other route in the module. The is_authenticated / MFA chain now runs before the trans_id is dereferenced, so an unauthenticated request is rejected before reaching the deserialization path. The defect is server-mode only. In DESKTOP mode pgAdmin's before_request hook re-authenticates DESKTOP_USER on every request, so no endpoint can be exercised in an unauthenticated state and no auth decorator (or its absence) is meaningful. The accompanying regression test mirrors the attacker's path -- harvests an X-pgA-CSRFToken from GET /login and replays it against both endpoints -- and self-skips outside server mode for that reason; it is wired into the existing server-mode CI workflow alongside the data-isolation tests. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: from 6.9 before 9.16.
INFO
Published Date :
June 19, 2026, 12:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
July 1, 2026, 7:27 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | |||||
| CVSS 3.1 | CRITICAL | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | CRITICAL | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | ||||
| CVSS 4.0 | CRITICAL | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 |
Solution
- Apply the @pga_login_required decorator to affected endpoints.
- Ensure authentication checks occur before data deserialization.
- Test the fix in server mode to verify authentication.
- Update pgAdmin to the latest version.
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-2026-12046.
| URL | Resource |
|---|---|
| https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/f81433ae2f998f95bb17f27f53b4e99ebcc1df9c | Patch |
| https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10072 | Issue Tracking Patch Third Party Advisory |
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-12046 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-2026-12046
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-2026-12046 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-12046 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.
-
Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jul. 01, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:pgadmin:pgadmin_4:*:*:*:*:*:postgresql:*:* versions from (including) 6.9 up to (excluding) 9.16 Added Reference Type PostgreSQL: https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/f81433ae2f998f95bb17f27f53b4e99ebcc1df9c Types: Patch Added Reference Type PostgreSQL: https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10072 Types: Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 23, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Changed SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-12046', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-22T19:13:27.617619Z'} {'id': 'CVE-2026-12046', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-22T00:00:00+00:00'} -
CVE Modified by 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Jun. 22, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added SSVC {'id': 'CVE-2026-12046', 'role': 'CISA Coordinator', 'options': [{'exploitation': 'none'}, {'automatable': 'no'}, {'technicalImpact': 'total'}], 'version': '2.0.3', 'timestamp': '2026-06-22T19:13:27.617619Z'} -
New CVE Received by f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
Jun. 19, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4', 'vendor': 'pgadmin.org', 'modules': ['SQL Editor'], 'product': 'pgAdmin 4', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.9', 'lessThan': '9.16', 'versionType': 'custom'}], 'programFiles': ['https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/blob/master/web/pgadmin/tools/sqleditor/__init__.py'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}] Added Description Two state-mutating endpoints in pgAdmin 4's SQL Editor blueprint -- DELETE /sqleditor/close/<trans_id> and POST /sqleditor/initialize/sqleditor/update_connection/<sgid>/<sid>/<did> -- were the only routes in the module missing the @pga_login_required decorator. Both reach a pickle.loads sink on session['gridData'][<trans_id>]['command_obj']: the close endpoint via close_sqleditor_session(), and update_sqleditor_connection via check_transaction_status(). In server mode these endpoints were reachable without any authenticated pgAdmin session. The defect is a missing-authentication-on-critical-function (CWE-306) wrapper around a deserialization-of-untrusted-data sink (CWE-502). Exploiting it for remote code execution requires the attacker to also forge a server-side session file whose gridData entry contains a malicious pickle payload, which in turn requires both (a) knowledge of pgAdmin's Flask SECRET_KEY (no chain to leak it is described here -- the attacker must already possess it) and (b) write access to pgAdmin's sessions/ directory on the host. Neither precondition is granted by this defect on its own. When those preconditions are met from another channel (misconfigured deployment, prior compromise, leaked configuration), the missing auth gate is the final hop that turns an existing partial compromise into unauthenticated code execution in the pgAdmin process -- and, by extension, on the host under whatever account runs pgAdmin. Fix is a one-line @pga_login_required decorator on each of the two endpoints, matching the convention used by every other route in the module. The is_authenticated / MFA chain now runs before the trans_id is dereferenced, so an unauthenticated request is rejected before reaching the deserialization path. The defect is server-mode only. In DESKTOP mode pgAdmin's before_request hook re-authenticates DESKTOP_USER on every request, so no endpoint can be exercised in an unauthenticated state and no auth decorator (or its absence) is meaningful. The accompanying regression test mirrors the attacker's path -- harvests an X-pgA-CSRFToken from GET /login and replays it against both endpoints -- and self-skips outside server mode for that reason; it is wired into the existing server-mode CI workflow alongside the data-isolation tests. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: from 6.9 before 9.16. Added CVSS V4.0 AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/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 Added CVSS V3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Added CWE CWE-306 Added CWE CWE-502 Added Reference https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/f81433ae2f998f95bb17f27f53b4e99ebcc1df9c Added Reference https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10072