Vulnerability in PostgreSQL

CVE-2026-18408

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 18.6, 17.11, 16.15, 15.19, and 14.24 are affected.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (26.7th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 27th percentile — 26.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-18408: held from 0.004 to 0.004.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: -0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-18408?
CVE-2026-18408 is a high-severity vulnerability in PostgreSQL, classified under Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere. CVSS score: 8.8/10. Published 2026-08-13.
How severe is CVE-2026-18408?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.8 out of 10.