9.5
CRITICAL CVSS 4.0
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
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2026-12046 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Pgadmin pgadmin_4
CVSS Scores
The Common Vulnerability Scoring System is a standardized framework for assessing the severity of vulnerabilities in software and systems. We collect and displays CVSS scores from various sources for each CVE.
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
Add authentication checks to critical endpoints to prevent unauthenticated access and code execution.
  • 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:

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
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.