CVE-2025-13780: pgAdmin 4 RCE Vulnerability

CVE-2025-13780 Overview

CVE-2025-13780 is a Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability affecting pgAdmin versions up to 9.10 when running in server mode. The vulnerability occurs during restore operations from PLAIN-format dump files, allowing attackers to inject and execute arbitrary commands on the server hosting pgAdmin. This poses a critical risk to the integrity and security of the database management system and underlying data.

Critical Impact

Successful exploitation allows remote attackers with low privileges to execute arbitrary commands on the pgAdmin server, potentially leading to complete system compromise, data theft, and lateral movement within the network.

Affected Products

• pgAdmin 4 versions up to and including 9.10
• pgAdmin 4 installations running in server mode
• Systems performing PLAIN-format dump file restores

Discovery Timeline

• December 11, 2025 - CVE-2025-13780 published to NVD
• December 19, 2025 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-13780

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified as CWE-94 (Improper Control of Generation of Code / Code Injection). When pgAdmin operates in server mode and processes restore operations from PLAIN-format dump files, the application fails to properly sanitize user-controlled input before passing it to system command execution functions. This allows an attacker with authenticated access to craft malicious input that results in arbitrary command execution on the underlying server.

The network-accessible nature of the attack vector combined with low complexity requirements makes this vulnerability particularly dangerous in multi-user environments where pgAdmin is deployed as a centralized database management interface.

Root Cause

The root cause stems from improper input validation in the restore functionality when handling PLAIN-format dump files. The application does not adequately sanitize or escape command-line arguments before executing system-level operations, creating an injection point for malicious commands.

Attack Vector

The attack requires network access to a pgAdmin instance running in server mode. An authenticated user with restore privileges can leverage the PLAIN-format dump file restore functionality to inject arbitrary commands. The low privilege requirement means that any authenticated user with access to restore operations can potentially exploit this vulnerability.

The exploitation path involves crafting a specially formatted restore request that includes command injection payloads within the dump file parameters or restore options. When pgAdmin processes this request, the injected commands are executed with the privileges of the pgAdmin server process.

For technical details and discussion of this vulnerability, see the GitHub Issue Report.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-13780

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual restore operations in pgAdmin server logs, particularly involving PLAIN-format dump files
• Unexpected child processes spawned by the pgAdmin server process
• Network connections or file system modifications initiated by pgAdmin that deviate from normal behavior
• Suspicious command-line arguments in process execution logs related to pgAdmin restore operations

Detection Strategies

• Monitor pgAdmin server logs for restore operations with unusual or malformed parameters
• Implement process monitoring to detect unexpected command execution by the pgAdmin process
• Deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to identify command injection patterns
• Analyze network traffic for anomalous database restore requests to pgAdmin server instances

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable verbose logging for pgAdmin restore operations and centralize log collection
• Configure alerts for any restore operations involving PLAIN-format dump files from untrusted sources
• Monitor system calls and process trees originating from pgAdmin server processes
• Implement file integrity monitoring on systems hosting pgAdmin to detect unauthorized modifications

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-13780

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade pgAdmin 4 to a version newer than 9.10 that addresses this vulnerability
• Restrict access to pgAdmin server mode instances to trusted networks and users only
• Audit user permissions and remove restore privileges from accounts that do not require them
• Consider temporarily disabling PLAIN-format dump file restore functionality until patched

Patch Information

Refer to the GitHub Issue Report for the latest information on patches and fixes. Users should upgrade to the latest available version of pgAdmin 4 that addresses this command injection vulnerability.

Workarounds

• Run pgAdmin in desktop mode instead of server mode where possible to reduce attack surface
• Implement network segmentation to isolate pgAdmin server instances from untrusted networks
• Use a web application firewall (WAF) to filter potentially malicious restore requests
• Restrict restore operations to binary-format dump files only until a patch is applied

# Configuration example - Restrict pgAdmin access via reverse proxy
# nginx configuration to limit access to trusted IPs
location /pgadmin {
    allow 10.0.0.0/8;
    allow 192.168.1.0/24;
    deny all;
    proxy_pass http://localhost:5050;
}