CVE-2025-8713 is a low-severity vulnerability affecting PostgreSQL. This vulnerability allows users to read sampled data within a view that they should not have access to. Additionally, it enables users to access sampled data that a row security policy was intended to hide. PostgreSQL maintains statistics for tables by sampling data available in columns, which is consulted during the query planning process.
Prior to this release, a user could craft a leaky operator that bypassed view access control lists (ACLs) and row security policies in partitioning or table inheritance hierarchies. Notably, reachable statistics data included histograms and most-common-values lists. Previous vulnerabilities, CVE-2017-7484 and CVE-2019-10130, aimed to close this class of vulnerability, but a gap remained.
The urgency for defenders is moderate, as organizations should schedule remediation. Versions prior to PostgreSQL 17.6, 16.10, 15.14, 14.19, and 13.22 are affected by this vulnerability.
Organizations should prioritize patching to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data.
Vulnerability Details
The CVSS score for CVE-2025-8713 is 3.1, classified as low severity. The vulnerability is characterized by high attack complexity, low privileges required, and no user interaction needed. The attack vector is network-based, and the confidentiality impact is low, while the integrity and availability impacts are none.
Technical Analysis
The root cause of this vulnerability lies in the way PostgreSQL maintains and utilizes statistics for query planning. By sampling data, the system can inadvertently expose sensitive information that should be protected by row security policies or access control lists.
The attack vector is network-based, which means that an attacker could potentially exploit this vulnerability remotely without needing physical access to the database. The attack complexity is high, as it requires crafting a specific query that can leverage the leaky operator to bypass existing security mechanisms.
Given the nature of the vulnerability, there are no privileges required to exploit it, and no user interaction is necessary. The confidentiality impact is low since sensitive data can be exposed, but there is no integrity or availability impact.
Risk & Impact Analysis
Risk to organizations includes exposure of sensitive information that should be restricted by security policies. The potential blast radius is significant, as the vulnerability affects multiple versions of PostgreSQL, which are widely used across various applications.
Organizations should assess their current PostgreSQL version and prioritize remediation efforts, especially if they are operating on affected versions. The urgency assessment is moderate, indicating that organizations should schedule remediation as part of their routine maintenance.
Exploitation Status
Signal | Status |
|---|---|
Known Exploit | No |
Public PoC | No |
Actively Exploited | No |
Ransomware Use | No |
Affected Versions
All versions prior to PostgreSQL 17.6, 16.10, 15.14, 14.19, and 13.22 are affected by this vulnerability.
Mitigation & Remediation
Organizations should ensure they are running the latest versions of PostgreSQL by applying the necessary patches to remediate this vulnerability. In the absence of a patch, organizations may consider implementing additional row security policies to harden their database access controls.
For further guidance, organizations can refer to the application security assessment services to evaluate their security posture.
Detection Guidance
Monitoring logs for anomalies related to access to PostgreSQL views is critical. Organizations should establish behavioral baselines to detect unauthorized access attempts, especially in cases where sensitive data is involved.
AppSecure Threat Intelligence Insight
The long-term significance of CVE-2025-8713 highlights the importance of continuous evaluation of database security measures. This vulnerability represents a trend of increasingly sophisticated access control bypass techniques that may emerge.
Security teams should learn from this incident and enhance their monitoring and detection capabilities to identify similar vulnerabilities. Implementing a robust vulnerability management program can help organizations to proactively address potential threats.
For organizations using PostgreSQL, understanding the implications of CVE-2025-8713 is essential. Regular audits and assessments are vital to ensure that databases remain secure against evolving attack vectors.
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
.webp)