CVE-2025-12763: pgAdmin 4 RCE Vulnerability on Windows

CVE-2025-12763 Overview

CVE-2025-12763 is a command injection vulnerability affecting pgAdmin 4 versions up to and including 9.9 on Microsoft Windows systems. The flaw originates from the use of shell=True in subprocess calls during backup and restore operations. Attackers can supply a crafted file path that the application passes unsanitized to the underlying Windows shell, resulting in arbitrary command execution in the context of the pgAdmin process. The issue is tracked under CWE-78 (Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command).

Critical Impact

Authenticated users can execute arbitrary operating system commands on Windows hosts running vulnerable pgAdmin 4 instances by manipulating backup or restore file path input.

Affected Products

• pgAdmin 4 versions up to and including 9.9
• Microsoft Windows (all supported versions running pgAdmin 4)
• PostgreSQL deployments managed via vulnerable pgAdmin 4 installations

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-11-13 - CVE-2025-12763 published to NVD
• 2025-12-01 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-12763

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability resides in pgAdmin 4's backup and restore subsystem on Windows. The application invokes external PostgreSQL utilities such as pg_dump.exe and pg_restore.exe through Python's subprocess module with the shell=True argument. When shell=True is set, Python passes the command string to cmd.exe for interpretation, where metacharacters such as &, |, ;, and % are evaluated by the shell rather than treated as literal path components.

pgAdmin 4 accepts a file path as part of the backup or restore workflow. The application concatenates this path into the command line without escaping shell metacharacters. An attacker who can submit a backup or restore request can embed additional commands inside the file path field. The shell parses those commands and executes them with the privileges of the pgAdmin server process.

Successful exploitation grants execution of arbitrary Windows commands. This can lead to credential theft, lateral movement, or full host compromise depending on the privileges of the pgAdmin service account.

Root Cause

The root cause is unsafe construction of shell commands. Using shell=True with user-controlled string input violates the principle of separating commands from data. Safe alternatives pass arguments as a list to subprocess.Popen with shell=False, which avoids shell interpretation of metacharacters.

Attack Vector

The attack vector is network-based and requires user interaction, typically an authenticated pgAdmin session. An attacker triggers a backup or restore operation and supplies a malicious file path containing shell metacharacters. See the pgAdmin GitHub Issue Report for technical details on the unsafe subprocess invocation.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-12763

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected child processes spawned by pgAdmin4.exe or the Python interpreter hosting pgAdmin, such as cmd.exe, powershell.exe, or wscript.exe.
• Backup or restore file path parameters containing shell metacharacters including &, |, ;, backticks, or %COMSPEC% references.
• Outbound network connections initiated by pgAdmin child processes to non-PostgreSQL endpoints.

Detection Strategies

• Monitor process creation events on Windows hosts running pgAdmin and alert on pg_dump.exe or pg_restore.exe parent chains that spawn shells or scripting engines.
• Inspect pgAdmin application logs for backup and restore requests containing suspicious file path values.
• Apply CWE-78 detection patterns that flag command-line strings concatenating user input with executable paths.

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable Windows command-line auditing through Event ID 4688 with command-line logging enabled.
• Forward pgAdmin server logs and Windows Sysmon process telemetry to a centralized SIEM for correlation.
• Track service account activity for the pgAdmin process and alert on any deviation from expected pg_dump or pg_restore invocations.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-12763

Immediate Actions Required

• Restrict access to pgAdmin 4 web interfaces to trusted administrative networks until a patched release is deployed.
• Audit pgAdmin user accounts and revoke backup and restore privileges from non-administrative roles.
• Run the pgAdmin service under a least-privilege Windows account to limit the impact of successful command injection.

Patch Information

At the time of NVD publication, the issue is tracked in the upstream pgAdmin GitHub repository. Administrators should monitor the pgAdmin project for a fixed release that replaces shell=True subprocess invocations with safer argument-list calls and upgrade as soon as a patched version is available.

Workarounds

• Use pgAdmin 4 on Linux or macOS hosts where the shell=True Windows-specific exploitation path does not apply, where operationally feasible.
• Disable or block access to the backup and restore endpoints via reverse proxy rules until the application is upgraded.
• Enforce strict input validation at a web application firewall to reject file path parameters containing shell metacharacters such as &, |, ;, and backticks.