CVE-2026-116246 — pgAdmin 4: Server passwords are left in pgAdmin's process environment
To pass a server's password to psql and to the utilities pgAdmin 4 runs as background processes, the server manager wrote it into pgAdmin's own process environment: as PGPASSWORD for the PSQL tool, and under a per-process variable for a utility. Nothing removed it afterwards. pgAdmin's environment is shared by every user's requests and copied into every process it starts, so in server mode another user's later PSQL session or utility inherited the password, and libpq used PGPASSWORD for any connection made without a password of its own, letting one user connect with another user's saved password. The fix puts the password only into the environment built for the process that needs it and starts psql with a copy of pgAdmin's environment instead of the environment itself. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Technical severity (medium)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pgadmin.org | pgAdmin 4 | < 9.19 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.0 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.0 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | PostgreSQL via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
| 6.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | 1.3 | 4.7 | f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007 via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 6.5 | CVSS 3.1 | Medium | — | — | PostgreSQL via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N (score shown at the top: f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · pgadmin.org/pgadmin 4
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 6.5
- Source status changed · → Received
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× References added · Oct 30, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 30, 2026 – Oct 30, 2026
References
2 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-116251 pgAdmin 4: A user's other sessions survive a change of their password 1d
- High CVE-2026-116249 pgAdmin 4: Connection file paths and parameter keys escape the user's storage directory 1d
- Medium CVE-2026-116250 pgAdmin 4: Files opened in a storage directory follow a symbolic link, hard link or FIFO planted after the containment check 1d
- Medium CVE-2026-116252 pgAdmin 4: Materialized view refresh redirects its connection through a crafted database name 1d
- High CVE-2026-116245 pgAdmin 4: Connection services are not restricted in server mode 1d
- High CVE-2026-116243 pgAdmin 4: Utility binary path can point at a shared storage directory 1d
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No FIRST EPSS score.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No CISA SSVC assessment.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-116246 is "pgAdmin 4: Server passwords are left in pgAdmin's process environment", rated Medium. It affects pgAdmin 4 (Pgadmin.org); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 6.5 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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