pgadmin4 has a Meta-Command Filter Command Execution

CVE-2025-13780 → View on GitHub ↗ View on CVE.org ↗ View on NVD ↗

Description

The PLAIN restore meta-command filter introduced in pgAdmin as part of the fix for CVE-2025-12762 does not detect meta-commands when a SQL file begins with a UTF-8 Byte Order Mark (EF BB BF) or other special byte sequences. The implemented filter uses the function has_meta_commands(), which scans raw bytes using a regular expression. The regex does not treat the bytes as ignorable, so meta-commands such as \\! remain undetected. When pgAdmin invokes psql with --file, psql strips the bytes and executes the command. This can result in remote command execution during a restore operation.

Basic information

Type
reviewed
Severity
critical
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
—
Source code
Browse source ↗
Published (advisory)
2025-12-11 21:31:28 UTC
Updated
2025-12-12 16:42:56 UTC
GitHub reviewed
2025-12-12 16:42:54 UTC
NVD published
2025-12-11

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.17% 38.76%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
9.1 3.1 —
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:L 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:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.

Identifiers

Type Value
GHSA GHSA-fxmw-jcgr-w44v ↗
CVE CVE-2025-13780 ↗

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-77 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command ('Command Injection')
CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

Credits

  • zeropwn (analyst)
  • Cycloctane (analyst)

Affected packages (1)

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

Ecosystem Package Vulnerable range First patched Vulnerable functions
pip pgadmin4 < 9.11 9.11 —

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence