pgAdmin 4: Unsafe deserialization (CWE-502) in file-backed session manager leads to remote code execution
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-7818 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | PostgreSQL |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-05-11 16:17:38 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-05-11 17:16:35 UTC |
| Description | Deserialization of untrusted data (CWE-502) in pgAdmin 4 FileBackedSessionManager. The session manager performed unsafe deserialization of session-file contents (using Python's standard object-serialization module) before performing any HMAC integrity check. Any file dropped into the sessions directory was deserialized unconditionally. An authenticated user with write access to the sessions directory (whether by misconfiguration or in combination with another path-traversal flaw) could plant a crafted serialized payload to achieve operating-system level remote code execution under the pgAdmin process identity. Fix prepends a 64-byte hex SHA-256 HMAC over the session body, computed with SECRET_KEY, and verifies it via hmac.compare_digest before any deserialization. The check is raised (rather than asserted) on empty SECRET_KEY so it is not stripped under -O. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.15. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 7.3 HIGH from f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS: 0.002770000 probability, percentile 0.510500000 (date 2026-05-12)
Problem Types: CWE-502 | CWE-502 CWE-502 Deserialization of Untrusted Data
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | Secondary | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | Secondary | 7 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 7 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
HighAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Pgadmin.org | PgAdmin 4 | affected 9.15 custom | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/9901 | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 | github.com | |
| 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: Fernando Bortotti (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.