# CVE-2009-4136: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Authenticated users can escalate privileges to superuser by exploiting improper session state management in crafted index functions.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.5 (`AV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:P/A:P`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Dec 2009
- **Updated:** 7 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-p8jm-5754-gqxq

## What is CVE-2009-4136?

CVE-2009-4136 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Postgresql Postgresql, published on 15 Dec 2009. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PostgreSQL 7.4.x before 7.4.27, 8.0.x before 8.0.23, 8.1.x before 8.1.19, 8.2.x before 8.2.15, 8.3.x before 8.3.9, and 8.4.x before 8.4.2 does not properly manage session-local state during execution of an index function by a database superuser, which allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges via a table with crafted index functions, as demonstrated by functions that modify (1) search_path or (2) a prepared statement, a related issue to CVE-2007-6600 and CVE-2009-3230.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2009-4136?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Postgresql Postgresql.

## How do I fix CVE-2009-4136?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2009-4136 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-4136 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Postgresql Postgresql

- [CVE-2013-1902](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1902/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2013-1903](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-1903/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2007-3279](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2007-3279/): Privilege escalation in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2002-1399](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2002-1399/): Integer overflow in n/a (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2016-3065](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2016-3065/): Information disclosure in n/a (critical 9.1)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2009-4136 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2009-4136 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Postgresql Postgresql, published on 15 Dec 2009. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2009-4136 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Postgresql Postgresql. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4136/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4136/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2009-4136
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2009-4136
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2009-4136

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2009-4136/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.