PostgreSQL type confusion after ALTER ... SET DATA TYPE executes arbitrary code

MITRE NVD CVE.ORG JSON API

Summary

CVECVE-2026-6460
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerPostgreSQL
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-11-12 15:17:51 UTC
Updated2026-11-12 22:19:23 UTC
DescriptionType confusion in PostgreSQL allows an object creator to execute arbitrary code as the operating system user running the database, via ALTER ... SET DATA TYPE primarily. Other DDL attack routes exist, such as "ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN; ROLLBACK; ALTER TABLE ... ADD COLUMN". The system had inadequate tracking of typed values, and values were not self-identifying. Stale values could appear in data dictionary entries, PL/pgSQL variables, and many other parts of the system. PostgreSQL Versions before PostgreSQL 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, and 14.25 are affected.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.8 HIGH from f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Problem Types: CWE-843 | CWE-843 Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007Secondary8.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNACVSS8.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

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

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Na PostgreSQL affected 18 18.7 rpm Not specified
CNA Na PostgreSQL affected 17 17.12 rpm Not specified
CNA Na PostgreSQL affected 16 16.16 rpm Not specified
CNA Na PostgreSQL affected 15 15.20 rpm Not specified
CNA Na PostgreSQL affected 14.25 rpm Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
www.postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-6460 f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 www.postgresql.org
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: The PostgreSQL project thanks Andrew Gierth, Alexander Lakhin, Francesco Verardi, Hcamael, Tomer Fichman, OpenAI Security Research Team, Mehmet Ince @mdisec, Bryan Green, Sumedh Pathak, Nicholas Carlini, Sergey Shinderuk, Yuxiao Guo, Nikhil Sontakke, Stephan Lipp, and Daniel Bakker for reporting this problem. (en)

© CVE.report 2026

Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. It is the responsibility of user to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY consequences of his or her direct or indirect use of this web site. ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. This site will NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT or any other kind of loss.

CVE, CWE, and OVAL are registred trademarks of The MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. This site includes MITRE data granted under the following license.

Free CVE JSON API cve.report/api

CVE.report and Source URL Uptime Status status.cve.report