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PostgreSQLDatabase / datastore

CVE-2023-39417

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-08-11
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.21 / 12.16 or later.
See remediation →
94/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
IN THE EXTENSION SCRIPT, a SQL Injection vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL if it uses @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ inside a quoting construct (dollar quoting, '', or ""). If an administrator has installed files of a vulnerable, trusted, non-bundled extension, an attacker with database-level CREATE privilege can execute arbitrary code as the bootstrap superuser.

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

SQL injection vulnerability in PostgreSQL extension scripts that use @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ placeholders within dollar quoting or single/double quote constructs. An attacker with CREATE privilege on a database can inject malicious SQL through a crafted extension that executes as the bootstrap superuser.

MitigationAudit all non-bundled extensions for use of these vulnerable quoting constructs, remove or patch affected extensions, and restrict extension installation privileges to trusted administrators only.

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:>= 11.0, < 11.21>= 12.0, < 12.16>= 13.0, < 13.12>= 14.0, < 14.9>= 15.0, < 15.4
Software CollectionsApplication
Affected:all versions
Enterprise LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 9.0
Debian LinuxOperating system
Affected:= 8.0= 11.0= 12.0

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
High
Availability
High

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

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 your PostgreSQL version
    Run 'psql -c "SELECT version();"' or check the pg_config version
    Affected if The version falls within: 11.0-11.20, 12.0-12.15, 13.0-13.11, 14.0-14.8, or 15.0-15.3 (any version listed as affected in the CVE)
  2. List installed extensions
    Connect to each database and run 'SELECT extname, extversion, extowner::regrole FROM pg_extension;'
    Affected if Any non-bundled extensions are installed (third-party or custom extensions)
  3. Locate extension script files
    Query 'SELECT pg_extension_config_dump(oid) FROM pg_proc;' and examine the extension installation scripts in the share/extension directory (typically $PGHOME/share/extension/)
    Affected if Extension scripts contain the vulnerable placeholders @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ within dollar quoting ($$) or single/double quote constructs
  4. Search extension scripts for vulnerable placeholders
    Use grep or similar to search extension .sql files for the patterns '@extowner@', '@extschema@', and '@extschema:' within the extension installation scripts
    Affected if Any extension script files contain these placeholder patterns embedded in quotes or dollar-quoted strings

You are affected if your PostgreSQL version is in the affected range AND you have extensions installed that use @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ placeholders in their installation scripts.

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 11.21 / 12.16 / 13.12 or later
Fixed in 11.2112.1613.12
Interim mitigation

Audit all non-bundled extensions for use of these vulnerable quoting constructs, remove or patch affected extensions, and restrict extension installation privileges to trusted administrators only.

Recommended fix High confidence

PostgreSQL 11.21+, 12.16+, 13.12+, or 14.9+ (or latest 14.x/15.x stable)

  1. 1. Identify the current PostgreSQL version by running: psql --version or SELECT version();
  2. 2. For RHEL/Enterprise Linux systems, update via: sudo yum update postgresql or sudo dnf update postgresql
  3. 3. For Debian-based systems, update via: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install postgresql postgresql-contrib
  4. 4. For Software Collections, enable the newer collection version that contains the fixed PostgreSQL
  5. 5. Ensure all extensions are compatible with the target version before upgrading
  6. 6. Perform a full database backup before upgrading: pg_dumpall > backup.sql
  7. 7. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment first
  8. 8. Apply the upgrade during a scheduled maintenance window
Caveat Minor version upgrades are generally low-risk but review release notes for behavioral changes; ensure third-party extensions support the target version before upgrading

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

Fix this in PostgreSQL Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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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-2023-39417 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