{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-17566","assignerOrgId":"f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007","state":"PUBLISHED","assignerShortName":"PostgreSQL","dateReserved":"2026-07-27T14:43:12.802Z","datePublished":"2026-07-31T16:00:22.738Z","dateUpdated":"2026-08-01T03:56:13.838Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"providerMetadata":{"orgId":"f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007","shortName":"PostgreSQL","dateUpdated":"2026-07-31T16:00:22.738Z"},"title":"pgAdmin 4: RCE via backslash-escape mismatch in Import/Export Data query guard (incomplete defense, sibling gap to CVE-2025-13780)","affected":[{"vendor":"pgadmin.org","product":"pgAdmin 4","repo":"https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4","modules":["Import/Export Data"],"programFiles":["https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/blob/master/web/pgadmin/tools/import_export/__init__.py"],"versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"0","lessThan":"9.18","versionType":"custom"}],"defaultStatus":"unaffected"}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"pgAdmin 4's Import/Export Data tool builds a psql \\copy (...) command line by interpolating a user-supplied SQL query into a Jinja template and passing the rendered line to psql via --command. To stop an attacker from breaking out of the (...) wrapper, create_import_export_job() (route POST /import_export/job/<sid>, gated only by the ordinary, commonly-granted tools_import_export_data permission) validated the query with a hand-written parenthesis-balance checker, _is_query_parens_balanced(). That checker always treated a backslash before a single quote (\\') as escaping the quote, i.e. as if standard_conforming_strings were off. PostgreSQL has defaulted standard_conforming_strings to on since 9.1 (2010), the default on every PostgreSQL version pgAdmin 4 currently supports (13-18); under that default psql's own \\copy tokenizer treats \\ as an ordinary character, so a single quote immediately after it closes the string literal. A query such as SELECT 'a\\') TO PROGRAM 'echo pwned' x' was therefore accepted as \"balanced\" by pgAdmin's checker (which believed the ) was still inside the string), while psql, run through the actual rendered command line, closes the string at that point and treats the following ) as the end of the wrapping \\copy (...) subquery, exposing an attacker-chosen TO PROGRAM '<command>' clause that psql executes via popen() -- independent of a subsequent syntax error later on the same line. This is the same class of bug as CVE-2025-12762/CVE-2025-13780 (RCE via psql meta-command/COPY injection during PLAIN-format dump restore), reached through an independently written defense in a different module (Import/Export Data rather than Restore) that had its own, different logic bug (inverted backslash-escape semantics rather than a BOM-defeated regex anchor).\n\nThe fix rejects any backslash inside a single-quoted string in the query outright, rather than picking one of the two possible psql interpretations. This is intentionally conservative: because the correct interpretation of \\ depends on the target server's standard_conforming_strings setting, which the checker cannot reliably know at validation time, refusing the query is safer than guessing.\n\nThis issue affects pgAdmin 4: from the introduction of _is_query_parens_balanced() before 9.18."}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10213","tags":["issue-tracking"]},{"url":"https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/1496fabe28c9f825f6bac0f0d000d9d3276322c3","tags":["patch"]}],"metrics":[{"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"Threat model: same as CVE-2025-12762/13780. An authenticated pgAdmin user (server mode) holding only the ordinary, routinely-granted \"Import/Export Data\" tool permission (tools_import_export_data) -- not an admin-only permission -- submits a single crafted POST to /import_export/job/<sid> with is_query_export true and a query field containing the payload. No further user interaction, no special server-side configuration, and no elevated pgAdmin role is required. Successful exploitation runs an arbitrary OS command as the pgAdmin application server's service account, which is a privilege escalation beyond anything the Import/Export Data permission is meant to grant (database-query access, not host command execution) -- Scope Changed. Impact is full compromise of the pgAdmin host (C/I/A: High)."}],"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","attackVector":"NETWORK","attackComplexity":"LOW","privilegesRequired":"LOW","userInteraction":"NONE","scope":"CHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"HIGH","integrityImpact":"HIGH","availabilityImpact":"HIGH","baseSeverity":"CRITICAL","baseScore":9.9,"vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"}},{"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"Same reasoning as the CVSS 3.1 entry: network-reachable, low privilege required, no user interaction, host RCE compromises both pgAdmin's own authority (SC/SI/SA: High) and the underlying system data/integrity/availability (VC/VI/VA: High)."}],"cvssV4_0":{"version":"4.0","vectorString":"CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H","baseScore":9.4,"baseSeverity":"CRITICAL"}}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","description":"CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')","cweId":"CWE-78","type":"CWE"},{"lang":"en","description":"CWE-115 Misinterpretation of Input","cweId":"CWE-115","type":"CWE"}]}],"credits":[{"lang":"en","value":"Arpit Jain (arpitjain099)","type":"finder"},{"lang":"en","value":"Ashesh Vashi <ashesh.vashi@enterprisedb.com>","type":"remediation developer"}],"source":{"discovery":"EXTERNAL"}},"adp":[{"metrics":[{"other":{"type":"ssvc","content":{"timestamp":"2026-07-31T00:00:00+00:00","options":[{"Exploitation":"none"},{"Automatable":"no"},{"Technical Impact":"total"}],"role":"CISA Coordinator","version":"2.0.3","id":"CVE-2026-17566"}}}],"title":"CISA ADP Vulnrichment","providerMetadata":{"orgId":"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0","shortName":"CISA-ADP","dateUpdated":"2026-08-01T03:56:13.838Z"}}]}}