dbcve.org
PostgreSQLDatabase / datastore

CVE-2021-32029

MEDIUM · 6.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-10-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.12 / 12.7 or later.
See remediation →
71/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable Zero-click Patch available

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
A flaw was found in postgresql. Using an UPDATE ... RETURNING command on a purpose-crafted table, an authenticated database user could read arbitrary bytes of server memory. The highest threat from this vulnerability is to data confidentiality.

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
How this class of weakness works · CWE-200

The application discloses data — error detail, internal paths, tokens, or other users' records — to someone who shouldn't see it. On its own it can look minor, but it hands attackers the map they need for a larger attack. Remediation is about minimising what's returned and enforcing authorization on every piece of data.

General guidance for the information exposure class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

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:>= 11.0, < 11.12>= 12.0, < 12.7>= 13.0, < 13.3
Jboss Enterprise Application PlatformApplication
Affected:= 7.0.0

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
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

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

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 11.12 / 12.7 / 13.3 or later
Fixed in 11.1212.713.3
Vendor patch bugzilla.redhat.com →
Recommended fix High confidence

PostgreSQL 11.12, 12.7, or 13.3 depending on current major version

  1. Identify the current PostgreSQL major version (11, 12, or 13) using: psql --version or SELECT version();
  2. Plan and schedule a maintenance window for the upgrade
  3. Back up all databases using pg_dump or pg_basebackup before upgrading
  4. For PostgreSQL 11.x: upgrade to version 11.12
  5. For PostgreSQL 12.x: upgrade to version 12.7
  6. For PostgreSQL 13.x: upgrade to version 13.3
  7. Use pg_upgrade or perform a logical dump/restore as appropriate for your environment
  8. After upgrade, verify the version with: SELECT pg_postmaster_start_time(); and confirm the fixed version is running
Caveat Minor version upgrades typically have low risk but review release notes for any deprecated features or behavioral changes

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $900. Get the upgrade done

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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-2021-32029 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