CVE-2026-39356: Drizzle ORM SQL Injection Vulnerability

CVE-2026-39356 Overview

CVE-2026-39356 is a SQL Injection vulnerability in Drizzle ORM, a modern TypeScript ORM. Prior to versions 0.45.2 and 1.0.0-beta.20, Drizzle ORM improperly escaped quoted SQL identifiers in its dialect-specific escapeName() implementations. In affected versions, embedded identifier delimiters were not escaped before the identifier was wrapped in quotes or backticks. As a result, applications that pass attacker-controlled input to APIs that construct SQL identifiers or aliases, such as sql.identifier() or .as(), may allow an attacker to terminate the quoted identifier and inject arbitrary SQL.

Critical Impact

This SQL Injection vulnerability allows attackers to break out of quoted identifiers and inject malicious SQL, potentially leading to unauthorized data access and database manipulation.

Affected Products

• Drizzle ORM versions prior to 0.45.2
• Drizzle ORM versions prior to 1.0.0-beta.20

Discovery Timeline

• 2026-04-07 - CVE CVE-2026-39356 published to NVD
• 2026-04-08 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2026-39356

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability stems from improper handling of SQL identifier escaping in Drizzle ORM's dialect-specific escapeName() function implementations. When developers use Drizzle ORM APIs such as sql.identifier() or .as() to dynamically construct SQL identifiers or aliases, the ORM is expected to properly sanitize and escape these values to prevent SQL injection attacks.

However, in vulnerable versions, the escapeName() function fails to properly escape embedded identifier delimiters (such as backticks for MySQL or double quotes for PostgreSQL) before wrapping the identifier in its protective quotes. This creates a classic identifier injection scenario where an attacker can provide input containing the appropriate delimiter character to terminate the quoted context and inject arbitrary SQL statements.

The vulnerability is particularly concerning because identifier injection is often overlooked in security reviews that focus primarily on value-based SQL injection. Developers may assume that using the ORM's identifier APIs provides sufficient protection, when in fact the improper escaping allows malicious payloads to escape the intended identifier context.

Root Cause

The root cause of this vulnerability is the failure to escape embedded delimiter characters in the escapeName() implementations across Drizzle ORM's database dialect handlers. When constructing SQL identifiers, the function wraps the provided name in quotes (backticks for MySQL, double quotes for PostgreSQL/SQLite) but does not first escape any instances of those same delimiter characters that may already exist within the identifier string. This allows attacker-controlled input to prematurely close the quoted identifier context.

Attack Vector

This vulnerability is exploitable over the network by any attacker who can control input that gets passed to Drizzle ORM's identifier construction APIs. The attack requires no authentication or special privileges and can be executed without user interaction.

To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would need to identify an application endpoint where user-supplied data is used to dynamically construct SQL identifiers through functions like sql.identifier() or .as(). By crafting input containing the appropriate delimiter character followed by malicious SQL syntax, the attacker can break out of the identifier context and inject arbitrary SQL commands.

For example, if an application allows users to specify column names or aliases, an attacker could inject a payload containing a backtick (for MySQL) or double quote (for PostgreSQL) followed by SQL injection syntax. The vulnerable escapeName() function would fail to escape this delimiter, allowing the injected SQL to execute within the database context.

Detection Methods for CVE-2026-39356

Indicators of Compromise

• Unusual SQL error messages in application logs indicating syntax errors in identifier positions
• Database query logs showing unexpected SQL commands following legitimate identifier names
• Application behavior anomalies when processing requests with special characters in identifier-related parameters
• Evidence of data exfiltration or unauthorized database queries in access logs

Detection Strategies

• Review application logs for SQL syntax errors, particularly those occurring in column names, table names, or alias contexts
• Implement database activity monitoring to detect anomalous query patterns that may indicate injection attempts
• Audit application code for usage of sql.identifier() and .as() methods with user-controlled input
• Deploy Web Application Firewalls (WAF) configured to detect SQL injection patterns in non-traditional parameter positions

Monitoring Recommendations

• Enable comprehensive database query logging to capture all SQL statements executed by the application
• Monitor for SQL injection attack patterns including backtick and double-quote characters in identifier contexts
• Implement alerting for database queries that contain unexpected SQL syntax after identifier names
• Track dependency versions and alert when vulnerable Drizzle ORM versions are detected in the application stack

How to Mitigate CVE-2026-39356

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade Drizzle ORM to version 0.45.2 or later for stable releases
• Upgrade Drizzle ORM to version 1.0.0-beta.20 or later for beta releases
• Audit all code paths where user input may reach sql.identifier() or .as() method calls
• Implement input validation to restrict identifier names to a safe character set (alphanumeric and underscores)

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been fixed in Drizzle ORM versions 0.45.2 and 1.0.0-beta.20. The fix ensures that embedded identifier delimiters are properly escaped before the identifier is wrapped in quotes or backticks. Organizations using affected versions should upgrade immediately. For additional details, refer to the GitHub Security Advisory.

Workarounds

• Avoid passing user-controlled input directly to sql.identifier() or .as() methods
• Implement an allowlist of permitted identifier names and validate all input against this list
• Use parameterized queries for values and restrict dynamic identifier construction to trusted, hardcoded strings
• Apply strict input validation that rejects any characters that could function as SQL delimiters (backticks, double quotes, semicolons)

# Update Drizzle ORM to patched version
npm update drizzle-orm@0.45.2

# Or for beta releases
npm update drizzle-orm@1.0.0-beta.20