CVE-2026-18408 — Untrusted data inclusion in pg_dump in PostgreSQL allows a malicious superuser of the…¶

Key facts

CVE-2026-18408 is a High (8.8) vulnerability: Untrusted data inclusion in pg_dump in PostgreSQL allows a malicious superuser of the…. This entry ships a detection-only PoC and a Docker test lab.


CVE	CVE-2026-18408
Severity	High (8.8)
Detection / prevention	—
PoC	poc.py
Source	2026/CVE-2026-18408/

Details¶

English | 한국어

Description¶

Untrusted data inclusion in pg_dump in PostgreSQL allows a malicious superuser of the origin server to inject arbitrary code for restore-time execution as the client operating system account running psql to restore the dump, via psql \restrict meta-command input expansion. The fix for CVE-2025-8714 introduced \restrict and \unrestrict to block this attack, but \unrestrict itself was sufficient for an attack. pg_dumpall is also affected. pg_restore is affected when used to generate a plain-format dump. Non-core use of \restrict would be affected, but we've not identified non-core use. Versions before PostgreSQL 18.5, 17.11, 16.15, 15.19, and 14.24 are affected.

Vulnerability Details¶

Property	Value
CVE ID	CVE-2026-18408
CVSS Score	8.8

Proof of Concept¶

Download¶

# Download PoC script
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/fankh/vulnerability-poc/main/2026/CVE-2026-18408/poc.py

Usage¶

# Run PoC against target
python3 poc.py --target <TARGET_URL>

# With authentication
python3 poc.py --target <TARGET_URL> --username <USER> --password <PASS>

⚠️ Warning: This PoC is for authorized security testing only. It uses detection-only techniques and does not exploit or damage target systems.

Test Lab¶

This repository includes a Docker-based test environment with both vulnerable and patched applications.

Quick Start¶

# Clone and navigate to CVE directory
cd CVE-2026-18408

# Start both applications
docker-compose up -d

# Run tests
./run-tests.sh    # Linux/Mac
./run-tests.ps1   # Windows PowerShell

Application Endpoints¶

Application	URL	Status
Vulnerable App	http://localhost:8080	Shows vulnerability
Patched App	http://localhost:8081	Demonstrates fix

Directory Structure¶

├── README.md           # English documentation
├── README_KO.md        # Korean documentation
├── poc.py              # PoC detection script
├── docker-compose.yml  # Container orchestration
├── run-tests.sh        # Linux/Mac test runner
├── run-tests.ps1       # Windows test runner
├── vulnerable-app/     # Vulnerable version
│   ├── app.py
│   ├── Dockerfile
│   └── requirements.txt
└── patched-app/        # Fixed version
    ├── app.py
    ├── Dockerfile
    └── requirements.txt

References¶

https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-18408/

Generated by PoC Generator on 2026-08-16T19:04:02.743152629

Frequently asked questions¶

What is CVE-2026-18408?¶

CVE-2026-18408 is a High (8.8) vulnerability: Untrusted data inclusion in pg_dump in PostgreSQL allows a malicious superuser of the…. This entry ships a detection-only PoC and a Docker test lab.

How do I detect CVE-2026-18408?¶

Run the detection-only PoC included with this entry against your Docker test lab to confirm whether a target is affected; pair it with your own IDS logging.

How do I block or mitigate CVE-2026-18408?¶

Upgrade to a fixed version per the vendor advisory; the NVD record lists the affected versions. Use the included PoC to verify your remediation.

For authorized security testing and research only. See the full source and NVD record.