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PostgreSQLDatabase / datastore

CVE-2009-3230

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-09-17
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The core server component in PostgreSQL 8.4 before 8.4.1, 8.3 before 8.3.8, 8.2 before 8.2.14, 8.1 before 8.1.18, 8.0 before 8.0.22, and 7.4 before 7.4.26 does not use the appropriate privileges for the (1) RESET ROLE and (2) RESET SESSION AUTHORIZATION operations, which allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges. NOTE: this is due to an incomplete fix for CVE-2007-6600.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

PostgreSQL's core server component fails to properly drop privileges during RESET ROLE and RESET SESSION AUTHORIZATION operations, allowing authenticated database users to retain elevated privileges and potentially escalate beyond their intended access levels. This is an incomplete fix for the earlier CVE-2007-6600.

MitigationUpgrade PostgreSQL to version 8.4.1, 8.3.8, 8.2.14, 8.1.18, 8.0.22, 7.4.26 or later to obtain the patched version.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
PostgreSQLDatabase / datastore
Affected:= 7.4= 7.4.1= 7.4.2= 7.4.3= 7.4.4= 7.4.5= 7.4.6= 7.4.7= 7.4.8= 7.4.9= 7.4.10= 7.4.11

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
Single
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Verify PostgreSQL is installed
    Run 'psql --version' or check for the postgres binary with 'which postgres'
    Affected if PostgreSQL is not installed on the system
  2. Determine the exact PostgreSQL version
    Connect to the database as any user and run 'SELECT version();' or use 'psql -c "SELECT version();"' from command line
    Affected if The version string shows 7.4.1 through 7.4.11 (any 7.4.x where x is 1-11)
  3. Confirm the server is accepting connections
    Attempt a connection to the database using psql or check if port 5432 is listening with 'netstat -tlnp | grep 5432'
    Affected if The server is running and accepting authenticated connections
  4. Identify if RESET ROLE or RESET SESSION AUTHORIZATION are in use
    Review application code or database logs for occurrences of 'RESET ROLE' or 'RESET SESSION AUTHORIZATION' commands
    Affected if These commands are executed in the environment

A user is affected if running PostgreSQL 7.4.1 through 7.4.11 and authenticated users can execute RESET ROLE or RESET SESSION AUTHORIZATION statements.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade PostgreSQL to version 8.4.1, 8.3.8, 8.2.14, 8.1.18, 8.0.22, 7.4.26 or later to obtain the patched version.

Fix this in PostgreSQL Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-3230 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data