CVE-2025-13780 Impact Assessment

Executive Summary

CVE-2025-13780 is a critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability in pgAdmin 4 that allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary commands on the server hosting pgAdmin. The vulnerability exists due to an insufficient regex validation in the restore functionality.

Attribute	Value
CVE ID	CVE-2025-13780
Severity	Critical
CVSS Score	8.8 (High)
Attack Vector	Network
Attack Complexity	Low
Privileges Required	Low (Authenticated User)
User Interaction	None
Affected Versions	pgAdmin 4 ≤ 8.14

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Vulnerability Details

Root Cause

pgAdmin 4 uses the following regular expression to detect and block dangerous psql meta-commands (like \! for shell execution):

(^|\n)[ \t]*\\

This regex attempts to match:

1. Start of string (^) or newline (\n)
2. Optional whitespace (space or tab: [ \t]*)
3. A backslash (\)

Bypass Methods

1. UTF-8 BOM (Byte Order Mark) Bypass

By prepending \xef\xbb\xbf (UTF-8 BOM) before the backslash:

• The regex fails to match because the line no longer "starts" with \
• psql ignores the BOM and executes the meta-command

Payload Example:

\xef\xbb\xbf\! whoami

2. CRLF Injection Bypass

By inserting a Carriage Return (\r) between newline and backslash:

• The regex matches \n but expects [ \t]* next
• \r is not space/tab, so the pattern breaks
• psql treats \r as whitespace and executes the command

Payload Example:

SELECT 1;
\r\! whoami

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Attack Scenario

Prerequisites

1. Attacker has valid pgAdmin credentials (any role)
2. pgAdmin is running version ≤ 8.14
3. Network access to pgAdmin web interface

Attack Flow

┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐     ┌─────────────────┐
│   Attacker      │     │    pgAdmin      │     │   Server OS     │
│                 │     │                 │     │                 │
└────────┬────────┘     └────────┬────────┘     └────────┬────────┘
         │                       │                       │
         │  1. Login             │                       │
         │──────────────────────>│                       │
         │                       │                       │
         │  2. Upload malicious  │                       │
         │     SQL file with     │                       │
         │     BOM/CRLF bypass   │                       │
         │──────────────────────>│                       │
         │                       │                       │
         │  3. Trigger Restore   │                       │
         │──────────────────────>│                       │
         │                       │                       │
         │                       │  4. psql executes     │
         │                       │     \! command        │
         │                       │──────────────────────>│
         │                       │                       │
         │                       │  5. Shell command     │
         │                       │     execution         │
         │                       │<──────────────────────│
         │                       │                       │
         │  6. RCE achieved!     │                       │
         │<──────────────────────│                       │
         │                       │                       │

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Impact Analysis

Immediate Impacts

Impact Category	Description	Severity
Confidentiality	Full access to server filesystem, database credentials, application secrets	Critical
Integrity	Ability to modify/delete files, inject malware, alter database content	Critical
Availability	System shutdown, resource exhaustion, ransomware deployment	High

Potential Attack Outcomes

1. Data Breach

   • Access to all databases managed by pgAdmin
   • Extraction of sensitive data (PII, credentials, business data)
   • Access to configuration files with API keys/secrets

2. Privilege Escalation

   • If pgAdmin runs as root/admin, full system compromise
   • Access to SSH keys, sudo credentials
   • Lateral movement to other systems

3. Persistence

   • Installation of backdoors, web shells
   • Creation of rogue admin accounts
   • Scheduled tasks for persistent access

4. Ransomware/Destruction

   • Encryption of databases and files
   • Deletion of backups
   • System sabotage

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Affected Environments

High Risk

• Production pgAdmin instances exposed to internet
• Multi-tenant environments with shared pgAdmin
• Cloud-hosted pgAdmin (AWS, Azure, GCP)
• pgAdmin with default/weak credentials

Medium Risk

• Internal network pgAdmin instances
• pgAdmin with proper access controls
• Container deployments with limited permissions

Lower Risk (but still vulnerable)

• Development/testing environments
• Instances with network isolation

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Real-World Risk Assessment

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    RISK MATRIX                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│  IMPACT     │ Low    │ Medium │ High   │ Critical              │
│  ───────────┼────────┼────────┼────────┼──────────             │
│  Very High  │        │        │        │   ████   ← This CVE   │
│  High       │        │        │  ████  │                       │
│  Medium     │        │  ████  │        │                       │
│  Low        │  ████  │        │        │                       │
│             │        │        │        │                       │
│  LIKELIHOOD │  Low   │ Medium │  High  │ Very High             │
│                                                                 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

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Using the Scanner

Quick Detection

Use the included scanner.py to identify vulnerable pgAdmin instances:

# Single target scan
python3 scanner.py http://target:5050

# Multiple targets from file
python3 scanner.py -f targets.txt --threads 10

# Authenticated scan for deeper testing
python3 scanner.py http://target:5050 -e admin@cve2025-13780.com -p admin

# Export results to JSON
python3 scanner.py -f targets.txt -o results.json --json

Understanding Scanner Results

The scanner provides a confidence score (0-100) based on multiple factors:

Score Range	Status	Action Required
≥55 (with version ≤8.14)	VULNERABLE	Immediate patching required
≥40 (with version ≤8.14)	LIKELY VULNERABLE	Prioritize patching
<40 (with version ≤8.14)	POSSIBLY VULNERABLE	Investigate and patch
Any (with version >8.14)	NOT VULNERABLE	Continue monitoring
≥70 (version unknown)	LIKELY VULNERABLE	Investigate and patch
≥50 (version unknown)	POSSIBLY VULNERABLE	Investigate further
<50 (version unknown)	NOT VULNERABLE	Likely secure

Confidence Factors

The scanner evaluates multiple indicators to build the confidence score:

Factor	Max Points	Description
Version Check (≤ 8.14)	40	Version in vulnerable range detected
Version Unknown	15	Version cannot be determined (assume risk)
Restore Endpoint Accessible	25	Restore API accessible without authentication
Restore Endpoint (Auth Required)	15	Restore API exists but requires authentication
Both Bypass Tests Pass	25	BOM and CRLF bypasses both work
One Bypass Test Passes	20	Either BOM or CRLF bypass works
Browser Endpoint	10	Main interface accessible

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Mitigation & Remediation

Immediate Actions

1. Upgrade pgAdmin

   pip install --upgrade pgadmin4
   

   Or update container image to version > 8.14

2. Network Isolation

   • Place pgAdmin behind VPN
   • Restrict access to trusted IPs only

3. Strong Authentication

   • Enforce complex passwords
   • Enable MFA if available
   • Audit user accounts

Long-Term Solutions

1. Apply principle of least privilege
2. Run pgAdmin in containers with minimal permissions
3. Regular security audits and patching
4. Monitor for suspicious restore operations

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Detection

Log Indicators

Look for the following in pgAdmin logs:

• Unusual restore operations
• Files with .sql extension containing BOM bytes (\xef\xbb\xbf)
• Restore jobs from unexpected users

Network Indicators

• POST requests to /restore/job/ endpoint
• Uploads containing \xef\xbb\xbf sequences
• Outbound connections from pgAdmin server (potential reverse shells)

Automated Detection

Use the scanner in monitoring mode with a scheduled task:

# Create a cron job to scan periodically (every 6 hours)
0 */6 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /path/to/scanner.py -f /path/to/targets.txt -o /var/log/pgadmin-scan.json --json -q

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References

• pgAdmin Official Website
• PostgreSQL psql Meta-Commands
• OWASP Command Injection
• CWE-78: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements

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Disclaimer

This document is provided for educational and authorized security testing purposes only. Unauthorized access to computer systems is illegal. Always obtain proper authorization before testing.

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