CVE-2022-26520
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability in pgjdbc allows attackers who control JDBC connection parameters to write arbitrary files using Java's logging functionality. This could enable remote code execution by writing executable files to web directories. Applications using pgjdbc with untrusted connection properties are affected.
💻 Affected Systems
- PostgreSQL JDBC Driver (pgjdbc)
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise, data exfiltration, or ransomware deployment
Likely Case
Arbitrary file write enabling web shell deployment or configuration file modification
If Mitigated
No impact if connection properties are properly validated and controlled
🎯 Exploit Status
Exploitation requires ability to set JDBC connection parameters; often requires some level of application access
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: 42.3.3 and later
Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/pgjdbc/pgjdbc/security/advisories/GHSA-673j-qm5f-xpv8
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Update pgjdbc dependency to version 42.3.3 or higher
2. Update pom.xml or build.gradle to reference new version
3. Rebuild and redeploy application
4. Restart application server
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Validate Connection Properties
allEnsure JDBC connection properties come only from trusted sources
Disable FileHandler Logging
allConfigure Java logging to prevent FileHandler usage
-Djava.util.logging.config.file=logging.properties (with FileHandler disabled)
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict input validation for all JDBC connection parameters
- Use application-level firewalls to monitor for suspicious JDBC connection attempts
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check application dependencies for pgjdbc version < 42.3.3Check Version:
java -cp pgjdbc.jar org.postgresql.Driver --versionVerify Fix Applied:
Verify pgjdbc version is 42.3.3 or higher in deployed application📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unauthorized file writes via java.util.logging.FileHandler
- Suspicious JDBC connection strings with loggerFile parameter
Network Indicators:
- JDBC connections with unusual parameters from unexpected sources
SIEM Query:
source="application.logs" AND "java.util.logging.FileHandler" AND "loggerFile"🔗 References
- https://github.com/pgjdbc/pgjdbc/pull/2454/commits/017b929977b4f85795f9ad2fa5de6e80978b8ccc
- https://github.com/pgjdbc/pgjdbc/security/advisories/GHSA-673j-qm5f-xpv8
- https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/changelog.html#version_42.3.3
- https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/head/tomcat.html
- https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5196
- https://github.com/pgjdbc/pgjdbc/pull/2454/commits/017b929977b4f85795f9ad2fa5de6e80978b8ccc
- https://github.com/pgjdbc/pgjdbc/security/advisories/GHSA-673j-qm5f-xpv8
- https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/changelog.html#version_42.3.3
- https://jdbc.postgresql.org/documentation/head/tomcat.html
- https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5196
