Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2018-16850

postgresql before versions 11.1, 10.6 is vulnerable to a to SQL injection in pg_upgrade and pg_dump via CREATE TRIGGER ... REFERENCING. Using a purpose-crafted trigger definition, an attacker can cause arbitrary SQL statements to run, with superuser privileges.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 3 products from postgresql, from redhat, from canonical organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2018, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2018-11-13T15:29:00.233

Last Modified

2024-11-21T03:53:26.610

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: PARTIAL
Integrity Impact: PARTIAL
Availability Impact: PARTIAL

Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

6.4

Weaknesses

Type: Secondary
CWE-89
Type: Primary
CWE-89

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	postgresql	postgresql	< 10.6	Yes
Application	postgresql	postgresql	< 11.1	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux	7.0	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux	7.4	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux	7.5	Yes
Operating System	redhat	enterprise_linux	7.6	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.04	Yes
Operating System	canonical	ubuntu_linux	18.10	Yes

References

http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105923 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1042144 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry ([email protected])
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3757 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16850 Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201811-24 Mitigation, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3818-1/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/1905/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105923 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1042144 Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:3757 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=CVE-2018-16850 Issue Tracking, Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201811-24 Mitigation, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3818-1/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/1905/ Release Notes, Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For postgresql's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.