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PostgreSQLDatabase / datastore

CVE-2012-1618

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-10-06
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges 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
Interaction error in the PostgreSQL JDBC driver before 8.2, when used with a PostgreSQL server with the "standard_conforming_strings" option enabled, such as the default configuration of PostgreSQL 9.1, does not properly escape unspecified JDBC statement parameters, which allows remote attackers to perform SQL injection attacks. NOTE: as of 20120330, it was claimed that the upstream developer planned to dispute this issue, but an official dispute has not been posted as of 20121005.

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

The PostgreSQL JDBC driver before version 8.2 fails to properly escape JDBC statement parameters when connecting to PostgreSQL servers with standard_conforming_strings enabled (the default in PostgreSQL 9.1+), allowing remote SQL injection attacks via unsanitized parameter input.

MitigationUpgrade the PostgreSQL JDBC driver to version 8.2 or later, and validate that standard_conforming_strings is appropriately configured on the database server.

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:= 9.1
Postgresql Jdbc DriverDatabase / datastore
Affected:= 8.1

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
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/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. Identify the installed PostgreSQL JDBC driver version
    Locate the pg JDBC jar file in your application classpath or lib directory. Check the filename (e.g., postgresql-8.1.x.jar) or inspect the MANIFEST.MF file inside the jar for the Implementation-Version attribute. Alternatively, run this Java code: DriverManager.getDriver("jdbc:postgresql://localhost").getMajorVersion() and getMinorVersion()
    Affected if The driver version is 8.1 or earlier (versions below 8.2)
  2. Determine the PostgreSQL server version
    Connect to the database and run: SELECT version(); or query: SHOW server_version_num; Compare the returned major version number to 9.1 or higher
    Affected if The PostgreSQL server is version 9.1 or higher, which enables standard_conforming_strings by default
  3. Verify the standard_conforming_strings setting
    Connect to the PostgreSQL database and run: SHOW standard_conforming_strings; This parameter controls whether escape string syntax is accepted
    Affected if standard_conforming_strings is set to on (which is the default in PostgreSQL 9.1+)
  4. Inspect application code for unsafe SQL parameter handling
    Review Java code that constructs SQL statements via the PostgreSQL JDBC driver. Search for patterns where string concatenation or unsanitized input is used directly in SQL queries instead of using PreparedStatement with proper parameter binding
    Affected if The application uses string concatenation or raw string interpolation in SQL queries rather than parameterized statements with setString() or setInt() binds

You are affected if you use a PostgreSQL JDBC driver version 8.1 or earlier while connecting to a PostgreSQL 9.1+ server (where standard_conforming_strings is on by default) and your application passes unsanitized input directly into SQL statements instead of using proper parameterized queries.

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 the PostgreSQL JDBC driver to version 8.2 or later, and validate that standard_conforming_strings is appropriately configured on the database server.

Fix this in PostgreSQL Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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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-2012-1618 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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