CVE-2020-21469
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via...
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- High
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
NVD Score used
4.4
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).
- Record
CVE-2020-21469- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
CVE List No score
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).
- Record
CVE-2020-21469- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2020-14241 No score
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).
- Record
EUVD-2020-14241- Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-w8hm-59h4-7ff2
7.5
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via...
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals.
- Record
GHSA-w8hm-59h4-7ff2- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-120
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVOESA-2023-1567
8.8
libpq security update
PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system that uses and extends the SQL language combined with many features that safely store and scale the most complicated data workloads. This package provides the essential shared library for any PostgreSQL client program or interface.
Security Fix(es):
** DISPUTED ** An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).(CVE-2020-21469)
schema_element defeats protective search_path changes; It was found that certain database calls in PostgreSQL could permit an authed attacker with elevated database-level privileges to execute arbitrary code.(CVE-2023-2454)
Row security policies disregard user ID changes after inlining; PostgreSQL could permit incorrect policies to be applied in certain cases where role-specific policies are used and a given query is planned under one role and then executed under other roles. This scenario can happen under security definer functions or when a common user and query is planned initially and then re-used across multiple SET ROLEs. Applying an incorrect policy may permit a user to complete otherwise-forbidden reads and modifications. This affects only databases that have used CREATE POLICY to define a row security policy.(CVE-2023-2455)
IN THE EXTENSION SCRIPT, a SQL Injection vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL if it uses @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ inside a quoting construct (dollar quoting, '', or ""). If an administrator has installed files of a vulnerable, trusted, non-bundled extension, an attacker with database-level CREATE privilege can execute arbitrary code as the bootstrap superuser.(CVE-2023-39417)
A vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL with the use of the MERGE command, which fails to test new rows against row security policies defined for UPDATE and SELECT. If UPDATE and SELECT policies forbid some rows that INSERT policies do not forbid, a user could store such rows.(CVE-2023-39418)
- Record
OESA-2023-1567- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVOESA-2023-1568
8.8
libpq security update
PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system that uses and extends the SQL language combined with many features that safely store and scale the most complicated data workloads. This package provides the essential shared library for any PostgreSQL client program or interface.
Security Fix(es):
** DISPUTED ** An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).(CVE-2020-21469)
schema_element defeats protective search_path changes; It was found that certain database calls in PostgreSQL could permit an authed attacker with elevated database-level privileges to execute arbitrary code.(CVE-2023-2454)
Row security policies disregard user ID changes after inlining; PostgreSQL could permit incorrect policies to be applied in certain cases where role-specific policies are used and a given query is planned under one role and then executed under other roles. This scenario can happen under security definer functions or when a common user and query is planned initially and then re-used across multiple SET ROLEs. Applying an incorrect policy may permit a user to complete otherwise-forbidden reads and modifications. This affects only databases that have used CREATE POLICY to define a row security policy.(CVE-2023-2455)
IN THE EXTENSION SCRIPT, a SQL Injection vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL if it uses @extowner@, @extschema@, or @extschema:...@ inside a quoting construct (dollar quoting, '', or ""). If an administrator has installed files of a vulnerable, trusted, non-bundled extension, an attacker with database-level CREATE privilege can execute arbitrary code as the bootstrap superuser.(CVE-2023-39417)
A vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL with the use of the MERGE command, which fails to test new rows against row security policies defined for UPDATE and SELECT. If UPDATE and SELECT policies forbid some rows that INSERT policies do not forbid, a user could store such rows.(CVE-2023-39418)
- Record
OESA-2023-1568- CVSS 3.1
- 8.8 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVOESA-2023-1569
7.5
libpq security update
PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system that uses and extends the SQL language combined with many features that safely store and scale the most complicated data workloads. This package provides the essential shared library for any PostgreSQL client program or interface.
Security Fix(es):
** DISPUTED ** An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).(CVE-2020-21469)
schema_element defeats protective search_path changes; It was found that certain database calls in PostgreSQL could permit an authed attacker with elevated database-level privileges to execute arbitrary code.(CVE-2023-2454)
Row security policies disregard user ID changes after inlining; PostgreSQL could permit incorrect policies to be applied in certain cases where role-specific policies are used and a given query is planned under one role and then executed under other roles. This scenario can happen under security definer functions or when a common user and query is planned initially and then re-used across multiple SET ROLEs. Applying an incorrect policy may permit a user to complete otherwise-forbidden reads and modifications. This affects only databases that have used CREATE POLICY to define a row security policy.(CVE-2023-2455)
A vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL with the use of the MERGE command, which fails to test new rows against row security policies defined for UPDATE and SELECT. If UPDATE and SELECT policies forbid some rows that INSERT policies do not forbid, a user could store such rows.(CVE-2023-39418)
- Record
OESA-2023-1569- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-21469
4.4
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).
- Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-21469- CVSS 3.1
- 4.4 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-postgresql-2020-21469 No score
An issue was discovered in PostgreSQL 12.2 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via repeatedly sending SIGHUP signals. NOTE: this is disputed by the vendor because untrusted users cannot send SIGHUP signals; they can only be sent by a PostgreSQL superuser, a user with pg_reload_conf access, or a user with sufficient privileges at the OS level (the postgres account or the root account).
- Record
BIT-postgresql-2020-21469- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
postgresqlBitnami |
12.2.0 up to 12.2.1 | 12.2.1 |
libpqopenEuler:22.03-LTS-SP1 From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 13.12-1.oe2203sp1 | 13.12-1.oe2203sp1 |
libpqopenEuler:22.03-LTS-SP2 From an advisory covering 5 CVEs |
before 13.12-1.oe2203sp2 | 13.12-1.oe2203sp2 |
libpqopenEuler:22.03-LTS From an advisory covering 4 CVEs |
before 13.12-1.oe2203 | 13.12-1.oe2203 |
postgresql-12Ubuntu:20.04:LTS |
before 12.5-0ubuntu0.20.04.1, plus listed versions 12.0-112.1-112.1-2build112.2-112.2-1ubuntu212.2-412.4-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 |
12.5-0ubuntu0.20.04.1 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| affected, facts | ||
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-21469 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 4.4) in Postgresql, published August 22, 2023. Its validity is disputed. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.37%, the 30th percentile. Fixed in postgresql 12.2.1.
References
postgresql.org/support/security
postgresql.org/message-id/CAA8ZSMqAHDCgo07hqKoM5XJaoQy6Vv76O7966agez4ffyQktkA%40mail.gmail.com
postgresql.org/message-id/flat/CAA8ZSMqAHDCgo07hqKoM5XJaoQy6Vv76O7966agez4ffyQktkA%40mail.gmail.com
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-21469
github.com/advisories/GHSA-w8hm-59h4-7ff2
openeuler.org/en/security/safety-bulletin/detail.html?id=openEuler-SA-2023-1567
Show 9 moreShow less
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2454
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-2455
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39417
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-39418
openeuler.org/en/security/safety-bulletin/detail.html?id=openEuler-SA-2023-1568
openeuler.org/en/security/safety-bulletin/detail.html?id=openEuler-SA-2023-1569
ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2020-21469
postgresql.org/about/news/cve-2020-21469-is-not-a-security-vulnerability-2701
cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-21469