Pterodactyl endlessly reprocesses/reuploads activity log data due to SQLite max parameters limit not being considered

Description

Summary

Wings does not consider SQLite max parameter limit when processing activity log entries allowing for low privileged user to trigger a condition that floods the panel with activity records

Details

After wings sends activity logs to the panel it deletes the processed activity entries from the wings SQLite database. However, it does not consider the max parameter limit of SQLite, 32766 as of SQLite 3.32.0.

If wings attempts to delete more than 32766 entries from the SQLite database in one query, it triggers an error (SQL logic error: too many SQL variables (1)) and does not remove any entries from the database. These entries are then indefinitely re-processed and resent to the panel each time the cron runs.

https://github.com/pterodactyl/wings/blob/9ffbcdcdb1163da823cf9959b9602df9f7dcb54a/internal/cron/activity_cron.go#L81
https://github.com/pterodactyl/wings/blob/9ffbcdcdb1163da823cf9959b9602df9f7dcb54a/internal/cron/sftp_cron.go#L86

PoC

Any method that can create the required 32767+ activity entries can trigger this vulnerability. It can (and has) been triggered by normal (non-malicious) use. I attached a simple PoC I used while verifying this that uses sftp to quickly create many small files, thus creating activity entries in the SQLite database.
https://ptero.co/mococesoca.go

Impact

By successfully exploiting this vulnerability you can trigger a situation where wings will keep uploading the same activity data to the panel repeatedly (growing each time to include new activity) until the panels’ database server runs out of disk space.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Open repository advisory ↗
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2026-01-20 16:30:54 UTC
Updated
2026-02-02 22:22:03 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2026-01-20 16:30:54 UTC
NVD published
2026-01-19 20:15:49 UTC

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.06% 19.16%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
6.5 3.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
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:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
8.3 4.0
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and stable.
Attack requirements (AT:N)
No additional preconditions are required beyond normal reachability.
Privileges required (PR:L)
Low privileges are required.
User interaction (UI:N)
No user interaction is required.
Vulnerable system confidentiality impact (VC:N)
No confidentiality impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system integrity impact (VI:N)
No integrity impact on the vulnerable system.
Vulnerable system availability impact (VA:H)
High availability impact on the vulnerable system.
Subsequent system confidentiality impact (SC:N)
No confidentiality impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system integrity impact (SI:N)
No integrity impact on subsequent systems.
Subsequent system availability impact (SA:H)
High availability impact on subsequent systems.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-400 Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CWE-770 Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

Credits

  • danny6167 (reporter)

Affected packages (1)

Vulnerable version ranges and first patched releases as published by GitHub.

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
go github.com/pterodactyl/wings >= 1.7.0, < 1.12.0 1.12.0

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence