CVE-2026-116245: libpq looks a connection service up in the service file of the operating-system account running pgAdmin 4, and an entry there can hold a password or name a pass

libpq looks a connection service up in the service file of the operating-system account running pgAdmin 4, and an entry there can hold a password or name a pass

libpq looks a connection service up in the service file of the operating-system account running pgAdmin 4, and an entry there can hold a password or name a password file or client certificate. In server mode any user could set a server's Service, or a "service" connection parameter, to one of those entries and connect with its credentials. A PGPASSWORD or PGSERVICE variable set for that account was likewise used by libpq for every connection without a value of its own and passed on to the utilities, and pg_dumpall read a maintenance database name such as "service=..." as a connection string. The fix adds the SERVER_MODE_ALLOWED_SERVICES setting, empty by default: in server mode only a listed service can be used, the servicefile parameter is refused, and PGPASSWORD and PGSERVICE are removed from pgAdmin's environment at startup. The allowlist is checked again on the final connection string, and the pg_dumpall database name is wrapped as a connection string. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007

What it means for a small business

If your business uses pgAdmin 4, install the vendor's update. If you're not sure whether you use it, ask whoever manages your computers.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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