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Postgres Advanced ServerDatabase / datastore · Enterprisedb

CVE-2023-41119

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-12-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 11.21.32 / 12.16.20 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
An issue was discovered in EnterpriseDB Postgres Advanced Server (EPAS) before 11.21.32, 12.x before 12.16.20, 13.x before 13.12.16, 14.x before 14.9.0, and 15.x before 15.4.0. It contains the function _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue that may be used to elevate a user's privileges to superuser. This function accepts the OID of a table, and then accesses that table as the superuser by using SELECT and DML commands.

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

EnterpriseDB Postgres Advanced Server contains a function _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue that accepts a table OID parameter and executes SELECT/DML commands against that table as the superuser. An authenticated attacker can exploit this by passing arbitrary table OIDs to execute commands with superuser privileges, achieving privilege escalation.

MitigationUpgrade EPAS to version 11.21.32, 12.16.20, 13.12.16, 14.9.0, or 15.4.0 or later. As a temporary mitigation, restrict non-superuser access to the _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue function until patching can be completed.

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
Postgres Advanced ServerDatabase / datastore
Affected:< 11.21.32>= 12.0.0, < 12.16.20>= 13.0.0, < 13.12.17>= 14.0.0, < 14.9.0>= 15.0.0, < 15.4.0

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. Confirm EPAS installation
    Run 'psql --version' or check for the presence of pg_config and the product name via 'SELECT version();' in psql
    Affected if The output shows 'EnterpriseDB' or 'Postgres Advanced Server' rather than standard PostgreSQL
  2. Determine installed EPAS version
    Execute 'SELECT edb_version();' in psql, or run 'psql --version' from the EPAS bin directory, or check the installed package version via your OS package manager
    Affected if The version falls into any of the affected ranges: < 11.21.32, 12.x < 12.16.20, 13.x < 13.12.17, 14.x < 14.9.0, or 15.x < 15.4.0
  3. Verify vulnerable function exists
    Query the PostgreSQL system catalog: SELECT proname FROM pg_proc WHERE proname = '_dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue';
    Affected if The function exists in the database (returns a row)
  4. Check function accessibility for non-superusers
    Run: SELECT proowner, prosecdef, pronargs FROM pg_proc WHERE proname = '_dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue'; Then check: SELECT * FROM pg_namespace WHERE nspname = 'public' OR nspname = 'dbo'; Review grants: SELECT grantee, privilege_type FROM information_schema.function_privileges WHERE specific_name LIKE '%_dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue%';
    Affected if Non-superuser roles have EXECUTE permission on this function (grantee is not only superusers)
  5. Audit current user privileges
    Connect as a non-superuser and attempt: SELECT _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue(0::oid); or check if any non-superuser role can access the function via: SELECT rolname FROM pg_roles WHERE rolname NOT IN ('pg_execute_server_program', 'pg_read_server_files', 'pg_write_server_files', 'postgres') AND rolname NOT LIKE 'pg%';
    Affected if Non-superuser authenticated users can successfully invoke the function and it executes without permission errors

The environment is affected if EPAS (not standard PostgreSQL) is installed with a version matching the affected ranges AND the _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue function is accessible to non-superuser accounts.

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 11.21.32 / 12.16.20 / 13.12.17 or later
Fixed in 11.21.3212.16.2013.12.17
Interim mitigation

Upgrade EPAS to version 11.21.32, 12.16.20, 13.12.16, 14.9.0, or 15.4.0 or later. As a temporary mitigation, restrict non-superuser access to the _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue function until patching can be completed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to 11.21.32+ (for 11.x), 12.16.20+ (for 12.x), 13.12.17+ (for 13.x), 14.9.0+ (for 14.x), or 15.4.0+ (for 15.x)

  1. 1. Identify the current version of EnterpriseDB Postgres Advanced Server by running: SELECT version();
  2. 2. Determine the appropriate upgrade path based on current major version: For 11.x upgrade to 11.21.32+, for 12.x upgrade to 12.16.20+, for 13.x upgrade to 13.12.17+, for 14.x upgrade to 14.9.0+, for 15.x upgrade to 15.4.0+
  3. 3. Review EnterpriseDB upgrade documentation for your current version at https://www.enterprisedb.com/docs/
  4. 4. Create a backup of the current database cluster before upgrading
  5. 5. Test the upgrade in a non-production environment to verify application compatibility
  6. 6. Schedule a maintenance window for the production upgrade
  7. 7. Perform the upgrade following EnterpriseDB's documented upgrade procedure
  8. 8. After upgrade, verify the _dbms_aq_move_to_exception_queue function no longer allows privilege escalation by confirming only superusers can execute it
Caveat Minor: Upgrades within the same major version typically have minimal breaking changes, but test thoroughly before production deployment

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

Fix this in Postgres Advanced Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2023-41119 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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