VulnerabilityPublished 13 Aug 2026Updated 29 Aug 2026

CVE-2026-14681: PostgreSQL · Improper Enforcement of Message Integrity During Transmission in a Communication Channel

Affects PostgreSQLSource CVE Database V5

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Not known to be exploited · CVSS 4.2 Medium : upgrade to 18.6 or 17.11 when convenient.

Data as of 13 Nov 2026, 23:53 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

4.2Medium

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

EPSS: 0.08% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 0% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 18.6, 17.11, 18.5

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: High
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: Low
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: 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: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to 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 13 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 13 Nov 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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 PostgreSQL to 18.6 or 17.11; postgresql/postgresql to 18.5 or 17.11.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
PostgreSQL	Affected >=18 <18.6	Fixed in 18.6
PostgreSQL	Affected >=17 <17.11	Fixed in 17.11
Postgresqlpostgresql/postgresql`pkg:deb/postgresql/postgresql`Other threats	Affected >=17 <17.11 >=18 <18.5	Fixed in 17.11 18.5

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

AI-suggested

Until a fix is confirmed, administrators should review their pg_hba.conf and TLS settings to ensure consistent enforcement of authentication requirements and consider restricting direct TLS connections if possible.

Description

CVE-2026-14681 is a vulnerability in PostgreSQL's GSSAPI support where message integrity enforcement during transmission is improper. This allows a user to negotiate GSSAPI authentication contrary to the pg_hba.conf configuration via an initial direct TLS connection. If TLS settings are more permissive than GSSAPI settings, the connection may proceed with weaker protection. The issue affects PostgreSQL major versions 17 and 18, specifically versions before 17.11 and 18.6. Versions before 17 are not affected.

Impact

The impact is a potential downgrade in the security of the authentication and communication channel, allowing connections to proceed with TLS encryption alone despite pg_hba.conf rules requiring GSSAPI. This could lead to reduced message integrity and confidentiality protections during transmission. The CVSS score is 4.2 (medium severity), indicating limited impact with low confidentiality and integrity loss and no availability impact.

Summary

This vulnerability involves improper enforcement of message integrity in PostgreSQL's GSSAPI authentication mechanism. An attacker can bypass pg_hba.conf rules that require GSSAPI by initiating a direct TLS connection, causing the connection to use TLS encryption alone if its settings are more permissive. This results in a connection that may have weaker protection than intended. The affected versions are PostgreSQL 17 prior to 17.11 and PostgreSQL 18 prior to 18.6.

References

postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-14681/ (opens in a new tab)

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 13 Sep 2026, 13:04 UTC

Technical details

References

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