VulnerabilityPublished 16 Nov 2024Updated 3 Nov 2025

CVE-2024-10977: PostgreSQL · Use of Less Trusted Source

Affects PostgreSQLSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.1 Low · fixed in 17.1 : update PostgreSQL when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 15:59 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.1Low

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 33% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 17.1, 16.5, 15.9 +3

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: Required
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: Low
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: High: A successful attack depends on conditions beyond the attacker's control. That is, a successful attack cannot be accomplished at will, but requires the attacker to invest in some measurable amount of effort in preparation or execution against the vulnerable component before a successful attack can be expected. For example, a successful attack may require an attacker to: gather knowledge about the environment in which the vulnerable target/component exists; prepare the target environment to improve exploit reliability; or inject themselves into the logical network path between the target and the resource requested by the victim in order to read and/or modify network communications (e.g., a man in the middle attack).
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: Required: Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a user to take some action before the vulnerability can be exploited.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: Low: Modification of data is possible, but the attacker does not have control over the consequence of a modification, or the amount of modification is limited. The data modification does not have a direct, serious impact on the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Nov 2024
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Postgresqlpostgresql/postgresql`pkg:deb/postgresql/postgresql`Other threats	Affected <17.1 <16.5 <15.9 <14.14 <13.17 <12.21	Fixed in 17.1 16.5 15.9 14.14 13.17 12.21

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

European organizations should promptly upgrade PostgreSQL installations to the fixed versions: 17.1, 16.5, 15.9, 14.14, 13.17, or 12.21. Network security should be enhanced to prevent man-in-the-middle attacks, including enforcing strict SSL/TLS configurations and validating server certificates rigorously. Client applications using libpq should be audited to ensure they clearly distinguish error messages from query results, possibly by updating client software or adding explicit parsing logic. Implementing network segmentation and monitoring for unusual error message patterns can help detect attempted exploitation. Additionally, educating users and administrators about the risks of interpreting error messages as valid data can reduce the impact of potential attacks. Regular vulnerability scanning and patch management processes should be enforced to maintain updated PostgreSQL versions.

Description

Client use of server error message in PostgreSQL allows a server not trusted under current SSL or GSS settings to furnish arbitrary non-NUL bytes to the libpq application. For example, a man-in-the-middle attacker could send a long error message that a human or screen-scraper user of psql mistakes for valid query results. This is probably not a concern for clients where the user interface unambiguously indicates the boundary between one error message and other text. Versions before PostgreSQL 17.1, 16.5, 15.9, 14.14, 13.17, and 12.21 are affected.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2024-10977 is the potential for data integrity issues where error messages might be misinterpreted as valid query results. This could lead to incorrect decision-making or automated processes acting on false data, especially in environments where database query results are consumed by scripts or screen-scrapers without robust error handling. While confidentiality and availability are not directly affected, the integrity compromise could have downstream effects in sectors relying heavily on accurate database outputs, such as finance, healthcare, and critical infrastructure. The requirement for a man-in-the-middle position and user interaction limits the likelihood of widespread exploitation, but organizations with less secure network configurations or insufficient client-side validation are at higher risk. The absence of known exploits reduces immediate threat levels but does not eliminate future risk.

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 3 Nov 2025, 23:15 UTC

Technical details

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