What is CVE-2017-14798?

CVE-2017-14798 is a high-severity vulnerability in PostgreSQL, classified under UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following. CVSS score: 7.3/10. Published 2018-03-01.

How severe is CVE-2017-14798?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.3 out of 10.

Is CVE-2017-14798 known to be exploited?

3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

Vulnerability in PostgreSQL

CVE-2017-14798

A race condition in the postgresql init script could be used by attackers able to access the postgresql account to escalate their privileges to root.

Published 2018-03-01 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.3 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.010 (61.2th percentile), scored 2026-09-29.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 61st percentile — 61.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.010 · newest: 0.010 · change: 0.000

Affected products

PostgreSQL
SUSE Postgresql-Init — versions unspecified
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server — versions 11

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2017-14798?: CVE-2017-14798 is a high-severity vulnerability in PostgreSQL, classified under UNIX Symbolic Link (Symlink) Following. CVSS score: 7.3/10. Published 2018-03-01.
How severe is CVE-2017-14798?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.3 out of 10.
Is CVE-2017-14798 known to be exploited?: 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.