CVE-2017-12172

Summary

CVECVE-2017-12172
StatePUBLISHED
Assignerredhat
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2017-11-22 19:29:00 UTC
Updated2025-04-20 01:37:25 UTC
DescriptionPostgreSQL 10.x before 10.1, 9.6.x before 9.6.6, 9.5.x before 9.5.10, 9.4.x before 9.4.15, 9.3.x before 9.3.20, and 9.2.x before 9.2.24 runs under a non-root operating system account, and database superusers have effective ability to run arbitrary code under that system account. PostgreSQL provides a script for starting the database server during system boot. Packages of PostgreSQL for many operating systems provide their own, packager-authored startup implementations. Several implementations use a log file name that the database superuser can replace with a symbolic link. As root, they open(), chmod() and/or chown() this log file name. This often suffices for the database superuser to escalate to root privileges when root starts the server.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.0 6.7 MEDIUM from [email protected]

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS: 0.000530000 probability, percentile 0.164750000 (date 2026-05-14)

Problem Types: CWE-59 | CWE-59 CWE-59


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.0[email protected]Primary6.7MEDIUMCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
2.0[email protected]Primary7.2AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS v3.0 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
High
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Local
Access Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

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

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Application Postgresql Postgresql 10 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.1 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.10 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.11 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.12 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.13 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.14 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.15 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.16 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.17 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.18 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.19 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.2 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.20 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.21 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.22 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.23 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.3 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.4 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.5 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.6 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.7 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.8 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.2.9 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.1 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.10 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.11 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.12 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.13 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.14 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.15 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.16 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.17 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.18 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.19 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.2 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.3 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.4 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.5 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.6 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.7 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.8 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.3.9 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.1 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.10 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.11 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.12 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.13 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.14 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.2 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.3 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.4 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.5 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.6 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.7 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.8 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.4.9 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.1 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.2 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.3 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.4 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.5 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.6 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.7 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.8 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.5.9 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.6 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.6.1 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.6.2 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.6.3 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.6.4 All All All
Application Postgresql Postgresql 9.6.5 All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Red Hat Inc. Postgresql affected 10.x before 10.1, 9.6.x before 9.6.6, 9.5.x before 9.5.10, 9.4.x before 9.4.15, 9.3.x before 9.3.20, 9.2.x before 9.2.24 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
PostgreSQL: Security Information af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.postgresql.org Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
PostgreSQL Bugs Let Remote Authenticated Users Bypass Access Controls and Obtain Potentially Sensitive Information and Let Local Users Modify Files on the Target System - SecurityTracker af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securitytracker.com Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Red Hat Customer Portal af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 access.redhat.com Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
Red Hat Customer Portal af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 access.redhat.com Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
Red Hat Customer Portal af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 access.redhat.com Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
Red Hat Customer Portal af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 access.redhat.com Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory
PostgreSQL CVE-2017-12172 Remote Privilege Escalation Vulnerabilities af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securityfocus.com Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
PostgreSQL: PostgreSQL 10.1, 9.6.6, 9.5.10, 9.4.15, 9.3.20, and 9.2.24 released! af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.postgresql.org Issue Tracking, Vendor Advisory
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

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