{"id":16173,"date":"2026-05-05T11:55:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newestek.com\/?p=16173"},"modified":"2026-05-05T11:55:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T11:55:54","slug":"ai-finds-20-year-old-bugs-in-postgresql-and-mariadb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newestek.com\/?p=16173","title":{"rendered":"AI finds 20-year-old bugs in PostgreSQL and MariaDB"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Open-source databases are facing a bit of a memory problem as AI helps surface decades-old buffer overflow issues in widely used components. Security researchers have disclosed a set of high and critical-severity vulnerabilities affecting PostgreSQL and MariaDB, with two bugs reportedly tracing their roots back more than 20 years.<\/p>\n

At Wiz\u2019s zeroday.cloud hacking event, researchers using the AI-powered security analysis tool \u201cXint Code<\/a>\u201d found a high-severity zero-day bug in PostgreSQL\u2019s \u201cpgcrypto\u201d extension, and a heap buffer overflow in MariaDB\u2019s JSON schema validation logic, both allowing remote code execution (RCE) on respective database servers.<\/p>\n

The Xint Code team also uncovered a missing validation bug in PostgreSQL, hidden for 20 years, allowing attackers to write arbitrary code.<\/p>\n

Patches have been released for all these flaws, with both PostgreSQL and MariaDB maintainers urging users to upgrade to fixed versions immediately.<\/p>\n

<\/a>More than one crack in PostgreSQL\u2019s foundation<\/h2>\n

The more pressing of the PostgreSQL zero-day flaws is a heap-based buffer overflow issue, tracked as CVE-2026-2005<\/a>, in the \u201cpgcrypto\u201d extension. By using specially crafted input, an attacker can trigger a size mismatch that leads to out-of-bounds writes on the heap, researchers said in a blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In environments where pgcrypto processes user-controlled input, this can be leveraged to achieve remote code execution on the database server.<\/p>\n

The flaw affected all supported versions, and has been fixed in updates including v18.2,v17.8,v16.12,v15.16, and v14.21. It received a high-severity rating of CVSS 8.8 out of 10. \u201cThe vulnerable code has been present since pgcrypto was first contributed in 2005, more than 20 years ago,\u201d the researchers added.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the only flaw reported in PostgreSQL. Another group of researchers competing as \u201cTeam Bugz Bunnies\u201c at the Wiz event found a missing validation bug, tracked as CVE-2026-2006<\/a>, that allows execution of arbitrary code. The flaw was rated at a near 9 CVSS severity and was patched in the same updates that fixed CVE-2026-2005.<\/p>\n

PostgreSQL maintainers urged<\/a> customers to quickly patch the flaws as they went public after being unnoticed for years, and attackers have access to exploit code. The flaws were fixed in February, but a Wiz analysis found 80% of cloud environments using PostgreSQL with 45% directly exposed to the internet.<\/p>\n

Inadequate JSON parsing allowed RCE on the MariaDB server<\/h2>\n

In MariaDB, a buffer overflow bug, tracked as CVE-2026-32710<\/a>, was found in the JSON_SCHEMA_VALID() function using Xint Code. The vulnerability allows an authenticated user to trigger a crash, which, under controlled conditions, could be escalated into remote code execution.<\/p>\n

Compared to the PostgreSQL flaws, exploitation here is less straightforward. Successful code execution would require manipulation of memory layout, achievable only in \u201clab environments.\u201d \u201cAny user who can open a SQL session \u2014 whether through stolen credentials, SQL injection, or lateral movement \u2014 can reach this code path with a single function call,\u201d Team Xint Code said in a separate blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MariaDB versions 11.4.1-11.4.9, and 11.8.1-11.8.5 are affected, with a fix rolled out in 11.4.10 and 11.8.6, respectively. The flaw was assessed at 8.5 high-severity by GitHub<\/a>, while NIST<\/a> ranked it at a critical 9.9 out of 10 base CVSS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Open-source databases are facing a bit of a memory problem as AI helps surface decades-old buffer overflow issues in widely used components. Security researchers have disclosed a set of high and critical-severity vulnerabilities affecting PostgreSQL and MariaDB, with two bugs reportedly tracing their roots back more than 20 years. At Wiz\u2019s zeroday.cloud hacking event, researchers using the AI-powered security analysis tool \u201cXint Code\u201d found a… <\/p>\n

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