pgAdmin 4's Import/Export Data tool builds a psql \copy (...) command line by interpolating a user-supplied SQL query into a Jinja template and passing the rendered line to psql via --command. To stop an attacker from breaking out of the (...) wrapper, create_import_export_job() (route POST /import_export/job/<sid>, gated only by the ordinary, commonly-granted tools_import_export_data permission) validated the query with a hand-written parenthesis-balance checker, _is_query_parens_balanced(). That checker always treated a backslash before a single quote (\') as escaping the quote, i.e. as if standard_conforming_strings were off. PostgreSQL has defaulted standard_conforming_strings to on since 9.1 (2010), the default on every PostgreSQL version pgAdmin 4 currently supports (13-18); under that default psql's own \copy tokenizer treats \ as an ordinary character, so a single quote immediately after it closes the string literal. A query such as SELECT 'a\') TO PROGRAM 'echo pwned' x' was therefore accepted as "balanced" by pgAdmin's checker (which believed the ) was still inside the string), while psql, run through the actual rendered command line, closes the string at that point and treats the following ) as the end of the wrapping \copy (...) subquery, exposing an attacker-chosen TO PROGRAM '<command>' clause that psql executes via popen() -- independent of a subsequent syntax error later on the same line. This is the same class of bug as CVE-2025-12762/CVE-2025-13780 (RCE via psql meta-command/COPY injection during PLAIN-format dump restore), reached through an independently written defense in a different module (Import/Export Data rather than Restore) that had its own, different logic bug (inverted backslash-escape semantics rather than a BOM-defeated regex anchor).
The fix rejects any backslash inside a single-quoted string in the query outright, rather than picking one of the two possible psql interpretations. This is intentionally conservative: because the correct interpretation of \ depends on the target server's standard_conforming_strings setting, which the checker cannot reliably know at validation time, refusing the query is safer than guessing.
This issue affects pgAdmin 4: from the introduction of _is_query_parens_balanced() before 9.18.
CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 9.9
Threat model: same as CVE-2025-12762/13780. An authenticated pgAdmin user (server mode) holding only the ordinary, routinely-granted "Import/Export Data" tool permission (tools_import_export_data) -- not an admin-only permission -- submits a single crafted POST to /import_export/job/<sid> with is_query_export true and a query field containing the payload. No further user interaction, no special server-side configuration, and no elevated pgAdmin role is required. Successful exploitation runs an arbitrary OS command as the pgAdmin application server's service account, which is a privilege escalation beyond anything the Import/Export Data permission is meant to grant (database-query access, not host command execution) -- Scope Changed. Impact is full compromise of the pgAdmin host (C/I/A: High).
| Attack Vector |
Network |
Scope |
Changed |
| Attack Complexity |
Low |
Confidentiality Impact |
High |
| Privileges Required |
Low |
Integrity Impact |
High |
| User Interaction |
None |
Availability Impact |
High |
Threat model: same as CVE-2025-12762/13780. An authenticated pgAdmin user (server mode) holding only the ordinary, routinely-granted "Import/Export Data" tool permission (tools_import_export_data) -- not an admin-only permission -- submits a single crafted POST to /import_export/job/<sid> with is_query_export true and a query field containing the payload. No further user interaction, no special server-side configuration, and no elevated pgAdmin role is required. Successful exploitation runs an arbitrary OS command as the pgAdmin application server's service account, which is a privilege escalation beyond anything the Import/Export Data permission is meant to grant (database-query access, not host command execution) -- Scope Changed. Impact is full compromise of the pgAdmin host (C/I/A: High).
CVSS 3.1
CVSS Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H
CVSS Score: 9.4
Same reasoning as the CVSS 3.1 entry: network-reachable, low privilege required, no user interaction, host RCE compromises both pgAdmin's own authority (SC/SI/SA: High) and the underlying system data/integrity/availability (VC/VI/VA: High).
| Exploitability Metrics |
Vulnerable System Impact Metrics |
Subsequent System Impact Metrics |
| Attack Vector |
Network |
Confidentiality |
High |
Confidentiality |
High |
| Attack Complexity |
Low |
Integrity |
High |
Integrity |
High |
| Attack Requirements |
None |
Availability |
High |
Availability |
High |
| Privileges Required |
Low |
| User Interaction |
None |
Same reasoning as the CVSS 3.1 entry: network-reachable, low privilege required, no user interaction, host RCE compromises both pgAdmin's own authority (SC/SI/SA: High) and the underlying system data/integrity/availability (VC/VI/VA: High).
CVSS 4.0