CVE-2019-9193

Exp

In PostgreSQL 9.3 through 11.2, the "COPY TO/FROM PROGRAM" function allows superusers and users in the 'pg_execute_server_program' group to execute arbitrary code in the context of the database's operating system user. This functionality is enabled by default and can be abused to run arbitrary operating system commands on Windows, Linux, and macOS. NOTE: Third parties claim/state this is not an issue because PostgreSQL functionality for ‘COPY TO/FROM PROGRAM’ is acting as intended. References state that in PostgreSQL, a superuser can execute commands as the server user without using the ‘COPY FROM PROGRAM’.

Published: 2019-04-01 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2019-9193 is rated High Exploit Risk (78.9/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 93.64%, 100th percentile). 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2019-9193

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
46813 exploit_db edb 2019-05-08 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-9193

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-31 93.48% 93.64% +0.16%
2 2026-04-29 93.40% 93.48% +0.08%
3 2026-04-20 — 93.40% —

Full EPSS history (50 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-9193

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.2 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:H)
They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.2 5.9 [email protected]
9.0 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:S)
A single authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 8.0 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-9193

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-9193

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2019-9193: 1 source package rows (postgresql); 8 state rows across 1 repos (edge-main); fixed 0, open 8. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-9193
redhat — — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-9193
suse medium CVE-2019-9193 severity moderate: SUSE including 7 source package names (postgresql94, postgresql94-contrib, …), 32 product×package rows across 8 product lines (SLES for SAP Applications 11 SP3, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3 LTSS, … (8 product lines)): Known Not Affected 32. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-9193/
ubuntu medium CVE-2019-9193 medium priority: Ubuntu including 5 source packages (postgresql-10, postgresql-11, postgresql-9.1, postgresql-9.3, postgresql-9.5), 25 status rows across 5 suites (bionic, cosmic, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 16, needs-triage 5, not-affected 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-9193

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-9193

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
postgresql postgresql >= 9.3, <= 11.2 cpe:2.3:a:postgresql:postgresql:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-9193

URL Tags
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152757/PostgreSQL-COPY-FROM-PROGRAM-Command-Execution.html Third Party Advisory
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/166540/PostgreSQL-11.7-Remote-Code-Execution.html
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/171722/PostgreSQL-9.6.1-Remote-Code-Execution.html
https://blog.hagander.net/when-a-vulnerability-is-not-a-vulnerability-244/ Third Party Advisory
https://medium.com/greenwolf-security/authenticated-arbitrary-command-execution-on-postgresql-9-3-latest-cd18945914d5 Exploit Third Party Advisory
https://paquier.xyz/postgresql-2/postgres-9-3-feature-highlight-copy-tofrom-program/ Third Party Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190502-0003/ Third Party Advisory
https://www.trustwave.com/en-us/resources/blogs/spiderlabs-blog/authenticated-arbitrary-command-execution-on-postgresql-9-3/ Third Party Advisory
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