CVE-2026-16239 PUBLISHED

PostgreSQL type confusion in cursor CLOSE + DECLARE executes arbitrary code

Assigner: PostgreSQL
Reserved: 20.07.2026 Published: 13.08.2026 Updated: 13.08.2026

Type confusion in PostgreSQL "portal"/cursor lifecycle allows a user to execute arbitrary code as the operating system user running the database, via re-creation of a cursor or other portal with different types. Versions before PostgreSQL 18.5, 17.11, 16.15, 15.19, and 14.24 are affected.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 8.8

Attack Vector	Network	Scope	Unchanged
Attack Complexity	Low	Confidentiality Impact	High
Privileges Required	Low	Integrity Impact	High
User Interaction	None	Availability Impact	High

CVSS 3.1

Product Status

Vendor	n/a
Product	PostgreSQL
Versions	Default: unaffected affected from 18 to 18.5 (excl.) affected from 17 to 17.11 (excl.) affected from 16 to 16.15 (excl.) affected from 15 to 15.19 (excl.) affected from 0 to 14.24 (excl.)

Credits

The PostgreSQL project thanks Ben Morris (Claude and Anthropic Research) for reporting this problem.

References

https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-16239/

Problem Types

Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion') CWE