CVE-2025-12817VulnerabilityPublished 13 Nov 2025

CVE-2025-12817: PostgreSQL · Missing Authorization

Affects PostgreSQLSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 3.1 Low · fixed in 18.1 : update PostgreSQL when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 06:26 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

3.1Low

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

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 15% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 18.1, 17.7, 16.11 +3

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

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

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: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
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: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: Low: Performance is reduced or there are interruptions in resource availability. Even if repeated exploitation of the vulnerability is possible, the attacker does not have the ability to completely deny service to legitimate users. The resources in the impacted component are either partially available all of the time, or fully available only some of the time, but overall there is no direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 13 Nov 2025
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 2026-10-26.

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 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 <18.1 <17.7 <16.11 <15.15 <14.20 <13.23	Fixed in 18.1 17.7 16.11 15.15 14.20 13.23

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 affected PostgreSQL instances to versions 18.1, 17.7, 16.11, 15.15, 14.20, or 13.23 or later where the vulnerability is fixed. Until patching, restrict CREATE STATISTICS privileges to trusted users only and monitor usage patterns for unusual statistics creation attempts. Implement role-based access controls to limit table ownership and schema modification rights. Regularly audit database permissions and schema objects to detect unauthorized statistics objects. Employ database activity monitoring tools to alert on failed CREATE STATISTICS commands that may indicate attempted exploitation. Additionally, educate database administrators and users about the risk and encourage prompt reporting of anomalies. Avoid granting unnecessary CREATE privileges in shared environments to reduce attack surface.

Description

CVE-2025-12817 is a low-severity vulnerability in PostgreSQL affecting versions prior to 18.1, 17.7, 16.11, 15.15, 14.20, and 13.23. It involves missing authorization checks in the CREATE STATISTICS command, allowing a table owner to cause denial of service (DoS) against other users by creating statistics objects in any schema. This prevents other users with CREATE privileges from creating statistics with the same name, leading to failed operations. Exploitation requires low privileges (table owner) but no user interaction.

Impact

For European organizations, the primary impact of CVE-2025-12817 is a denial of service condition affecting database operations related to statistics creation. This can degrade database performance and query optimization, potentially impacting application responsiveness and availability. Organizations with multi-tenant or multi-user PostgreSQL deployments are at higher risk, as one user can disrupt others' ability to maintain accurate statistics. While the vulnerability does not expose sensitive data or allow unauthorized data modification, the availability impact can affect business-critical applications relying on PostgreSQL. Industries with heavy database usage such as finance, healthcare, and e-commerce in Europe could experience operational disruptions if unpatched. The low severity and lack of known exploits reduce immediate risk, but the potential for internal misuse or accidental disruption remains.

References

postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2025-12817/ (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 20 Nov 2025, 14:19 UTC

Technical details

References

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