{"id":"CVE-2017-12172","url":"https://www.cyber-defence.io/tools/cve/CVE-2017-12172","generatedAt":"2026-10-28T22:20:05.558Z","title":"PostgreSQL 10.x before 10.1, 9.6.x before 9.6.6, 9.5.x before 9.5.10, 9.4.x before 9.4.15, 9.3.x before 9.3.20, and 9.2.x before 9.2.24 runs under a non-root operating system account, and database superusers have effective ability to run arbitrary code…","description":"PostgreSQL 10.x before 10.1, 9.6.x before 9.6.6, 9.5.x before 9.5.10, 9.4.x before 9.4.15, 9.3.x before 9.3.20, and 9.2.x before 9.2.24 runs under a non-root operating system account, and database superusers have effective ability to run arbitrary code under that system account. PostgreSQL provides a script for starting the database server during system boot. Packages of PostgreSQL for many operating systems provide their own, packager-authored startup implementations. Several implementations use a log file name that the database superuser can replace with a symbolic link. As root, they open(), chmod() and/or chown() this log file name. This often suffices for the database superuser to escalate to root privileges when root starts the server.","published":"2017-11-22T19:29:00.000Z","lastModified":"2026-10-15T16:17:27.000Z","status":"Modified","sourceIdentifier":"secalert@redhat.com","cvss":{"version":"3.0","score":6.7,"severity":"MEDIUM","vector":"CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"},"cwe":["CWE-59"],"affected":["postgresql/postgresql"],"epss":{"score":0.00586,"percentile":0.4784,"date":"2026-10-27","history":[]},"kev":{"listed":false},"exploits":{"count":0,"verified":false,"firstPublished":null,"source":"Exploit-DB (https://gitlab.com/exploit-database/exploitdb)","entries":[]},"verdict":{"level":"low","text":"Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.59%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own."},"changes":[],"references":[{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101949","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039752","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3402","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3403","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3404","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3405","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/1801/","tags":["Issue Tracking","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/","tags":["Issue Tracking","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"secalert@redhat.com"},{"url":"http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/101949","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1039752","tags":["Third Party Advisory","VDB Entry"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3402","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3403","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3404","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2017:3405","tags":["Issue Tracking","Third Party Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.postgresql.org/about/news/1801/","tags":["Issue Tracking","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"},{"url":"https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/","tags":["Issue Tracking","Vendor Advisory"],"source":"af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108"}],"sources":{"nvd":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-12172","epss":"https://www.first.org/epss/","kev":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog","exploitdb":"https://www.exploit-db.com/"},"licence":"CC BY 4.0 — link back to the CVE Explorer if you publish the results; upstream data remains subject to its own terms."}