Security Bulletin
Summary
An extension script is vulnerable if it uses @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ inside a quoting construct (dollar quoting, '', or ""). No bundled extension is vulnerable. Vulnerable uses do appear in a documentation example and in non-bundled extensions. Hence, the attack prerequisite is an administrator having installed files of a vulnerable, trusted, non-bundled extension. Subject to that prerequisite, this enables an attacker having database-level CREATE privilege to execute arbitrary code as the bootstrap superuser. PostgreSQL will block this attack in the core server, so there's no need to modify individual extensions. As of October 2025, there is no assigned EDB ID for CVE-2023-39417, which is a PostgreSQL SQL injection vulnerability. EnterpriseDB (EDB) has issued a security advisory for their Postgres products, confirming that they are affected and have been patched.
Vulnerability Details
CVEID: CVE-2023-39417
DESCRIPTION: 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.
CWE: CWE-89: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')
CVSS Source: CVE.org
CVSS Base score: 7.5
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
Affected Products and Versions
| Affected Product(s) | Version(s) |
| PostgreSQL | 15 |
| PostgreSQL | 14 |
| PostgreSQL | 13 |
| PostgreSQL | 12 |
| PostgreSQL | 11 |
Remediation/Fixes
| Affected Product(s) | Fixed in | Fix Published by EDB |
|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL | 15.4 | Aug. 10, 2023 |
| PostgreSQL | 14.9 | Aug. 10, 2023 |
| PostgreSQL | 13.12 | Aug. 10, 2023 |
| PostgreSQL | 12.16 | Aug. 10, 2023 |
| PostgreSQL | 11.21 | Aug. 10, 2023 |
Workarounds and Mitigations
None
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References
Change History
*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.
Disclaimer
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Document Location
Worldwide
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Document Information
Modified date:
29 October 2025
UID
ibm17249550