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PostgreSQLDatabase / datastore

CVE-2021-43767

MEDIUM · 5.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-25
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 9.6.24 / 10.19 or later.
See remediation →
68/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Odyssey passes to client unencrypted bytes from man-in-the-middle When Odyssey storage is configured to use the PostgreSQL server using 'trust' authentication with a 'clientcert' requirement or to use 'cert' authentication, a man-in-the-middle attacker can inject false responses to the client's first few queries. Despite the use of SSL certificate verification and encryption, Odyssey will pass these results to client as if they originated from valid server. This is similar to CVE-2021-23222 for PostgreSQL.

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

Odyssey passes unencrypted bytes from MITM attackers to clients when configured to use PostgreSQL with 'trust' authentication plus 'clientcert' requirement or 'cert' authentication. An attacker can inject false responses to the client's first queries before SSL certificate verification completes, and Odyssey forwards these results to the client as if legitimate.

MitigationReview and harden PostgreSQL authentication configurations - avoid 'trust' authentication with 'clientcert' requirement; ensure Odyssey properly validates SSL/TLS before passing any data to clients; consider using 'verify-full' SSL mode.

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:>= 9.6.0, < 9.6.24>= 10.0, < 10.19>= 11.0, < 11.14>= 12.0, < 12.9>= 13.0, < 13.5= 14.0

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

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

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 Odyssey installation
    Locate the Odyssey configuration file (typically at /etc/odyssey/odyssey.conf or /usr/local/etc/odyssey.conf) or check running processes for odyssey binary
    Affected if Odyssey is installed and configured to pool PostgreSQL connections
  2. Check PostgreSQL authentication method configuration
    In Odyssey config, locate the 'auth' or 'authentication' directive for backend PostgreSQL connections. Also check pg_hba.conf on the PostgreSQL server for the 'trust' or 'cert' authentication methods
    Affected if Backend authentication is set to 'trust' with 'clientcert' requirement, or uses 'cert' authentication
  3. Verify SSL/TLS verification settings
    In Odyssey configuration, check if 'ssl' is enabled and what verification mode is set (verify-ca, verify-full, or no verification) for backend connections
    Affected if SSL verification is disabled or set to a mode that allows connection before certificate validation completes
  4. Confirm client-facing SSL configuration
    Examine Odyssey's client-side SSL settings in config - check if 'ssl' is enabled on listener and what mode (verify-ca, verify-full) is used for incoming client connections
    Affected if Clients connect without full SSL certificate verification (verify-full)

A user is affected if Odyssey is configured to use 'trust' or 'cert' authentication toward PostgreSQL backends while SSL verification can be bypassed or occurs after initial data forwarding

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 9.6.24 / 10.19 / 11.14 or later
Fixed in 9.6.2410.1911.14
Interim mitigation

Review and harden PostgreSQL authentication configurations - avoid 'trust' authentication with 'clientcert' requirement; ensure Odyssey properly validates SSL/TLS before passing any data to clients; consider using 'verify-full' SSL mode.

Recommended fix High confidence

PostgreSQL 9.6.24, 10.19, 11.14, or 12.9 (depending on your current major version)

  1. Identify the currently running PostgreSQL version using: SELECT version();
  2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on your current major version (9.6.x -> 9.6.24, 10.x -> 10.19, 11.x -> 11.14, 12.x -> 12.9)
  3. Back up all databases and configuration files before upgrading
  4. For production environments, test the upgrade in a staging environment first
  5. Stop the PostgreSQL service before performing the upgrade
  6. Upgrade PostgreSQL to the appropriate fixed version for your major release line
  7. After upgrade, verify the server starts successfully and connections work properly
  8. Run pg_dumpall on the old cluster and pg_restore if doing a major version upgrade to ensure data integrity
Caveat Minor version upgrades within the same major version (e.g., 12.x to 12.9) are generally backward compatible; major version upgrades (e.g., 11 to 12) may require application testing and configuration changes

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

Fix this in PostgreSQL Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation20.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA8.0 h
46.0 hours of engineering $8,040
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $12,864.

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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-2021-43767 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