# CVE-2018-16203: Auth bypass in PgpoolAdmin

> Remote attackers can bypass login authentication to gain administrative privileges in PgpoolAdmin, compromising the PostgreSQL database.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 9 Jan 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-57hw-m52h-79m7

## What is CVE-2018-16203?

CVE-2018-16203 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in PgpoolAdmin, published on 9 Jan 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

PgpoolAdmin 4.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to bypass the login authentication and obtain the administrative privilege of the PostgreSQL database via unspecified vectors.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-16203?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Pgpool Pgpooladmin.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-16203?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-16203 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-16203 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16203 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-16203 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-16203 is a critical authentication bypass vulnerability in PgpoolAdmin, published on 9 Jan 2019. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-16203 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: PgpoolAdmin. 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-2018-16203/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16203/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-16203
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-16203
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-16203

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-16203/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.