CRITICAL CVSS 9.0
Published: 2026-06-19

CVE-2026-12046

pgadmin pgadmin_4 Security Advisory (CVE-2026-12046)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2026-12046 impacting pgadmin pgadmin_4. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 9.0 (CRITICAL).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
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.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Network (AV:N)
Exploitable remotely across internet boundaries
Attack Complexity
High (AC:H)
Depends on race conditions or environment
Privileges Required
None (PR:N)
Unauthenticated execution
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Changed (S:C)
Impacts components beyond caller authority
Confidentiality
High (C:H)
Total information disclosure
Integrity
High (I:H)
Total modification of target system
Availability
High (A:H)
Total denial of service or shutdown

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product pgadmin / pgadmin_4
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-306

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2026-12046 impacting pgadmin pgadmin_4.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2026-12046.yaml
id: cve-2026-12046

info:
  name: pgadmin pgadmin_4 - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: critical
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2026-12046 affecting pgadmin pgadmin_4.
    Evaluation: Two state-mutating endpoints in pgAdmin 4&#x27;s SQL Editor blueprint -- DELETE /sqleditor/close/&lt;trans_id&gt; and POST /sqleditor/initialize/sqled...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2026-12046
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
    cvss-score: 9.0
    cve-id: CVE-2026-12046
    cwe-id: CWE-306
  tags: cve,cve-2026-12046,pgadmin,pgadmin_4,critical

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "pgadmin_4"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2026-12046.py
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2026-12046
# Target: pgadmin pgadmin_4 | CVSS: 9.0 (CRITICAL)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2026-12046 (pgadmin pgadmin_4)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against pgadmin pgadmin_4 scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2026-12046.sh
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2026-12046
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install pgadmin_4 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade pgadmin_4 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update pgadmin_4

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i pgadmin_4 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i pgadmin_4

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

🔗 Verified Technical References

Authorities
  • No records filed in this category.
Distributions
  • No records filed in this category.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2026-12046 in pgadmin pgadmin_4?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update pgadmin pgadmin_4 packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2026-12046?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2026-12046?

CVE-2026-12046 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 9.0 (CRITICAL). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

Risk Snapshot
9.0
CRITICAL SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2026-12046
Weakness CWE-306
Vendor pgadmin
Product pgadmin_4
Published 2026-06-19
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H