CVE-2023-5870 Postgresql: role pg_signal_backend can signal certain superuser processes.
A high-privileged user can cause denial of service in specific background workers if a non-core extension is installed.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- An administrator
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2023-5870?
CVE-2023-5870 is a low-severity denial of service vulnerability in Postgresql Postgresql, published on 10 Dec 2023. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, with no action from the victim.
Official description
A flaw was found in PostgreSQL involving the pg_cancel_backend role that signals background workers, including the logical replication launcher, autovacuum workers, and the autovacuum launcher. Successful exploitation requires a non-core extension with a less-resilient background worker and would affect that specific background worker only. This issue may allow a remote high privileged user to launch a denial of service (DoS) attack.
Weakness: CWE-400
Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-5870?
1 open source package ship an affected version, including postgresql. It affects 16 products.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
postgresql Bitnami | From 11.0.0 | 11.22.0, 12.17.0, 13.13.0, 14.10.0, 15.5.0, 16.0.1 |
Products include Postgresql Postgresql, Redhat Codeready Linux Builder Eus, Redhat Codeready Linux Builder Eus for Power Little Endian Eus, Redhat Codeready Linux Builder for Arm64 Eus, Redhat Codeready Linux Builder for Ibm Z Systems Eus, Redhat Codeready Linux Builder for Power Little Endian Eus and 10 more.
How do I fix CVE-2023-5870?
Upgrade postgresql to a fixed version for your release line: 11.22.0, 12.17.0, 13.13.0 or 14.10.0.
Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.
Is CVE-2023-5870 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-5870 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Postgresql Postgresql
Sources
Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2023-5870, AZL-32105, BELL-CVE-2023-5870, BIT-postgresql-2023-5870, CLEANSTART-2026-UY39386, DEBIAN-CVE-2023-5870 and 4 more.