pgAdmin 4: Lockout bypass enables unlimited password guessing in server mode
Summary
In server mode, pgAdmin 4 locks an internal account after a set number of failed logins, but this limit can be bypassed. An unauthenticated remote attacker can make an unlimited number of password guesses against any internal account, including the administrator account, in the default configuration. The bypass uses Flask-Security's own login, verify, change and reset views, and a case-variant username. Desktop mode is not affected.
Affected
- pgAdmin 4 before 9.19 in server mode
- Desktop mode is not affected
Fixed in
- Fixed in pgAdmin 4 9.19
Workaround
- No vendor workaround is documented; upgrading to 9.19 is the fix.
- If an upgrade is not possible right away, restrict access to the server-mode web interface (VPN or IP allow-list) and rate-limit login requests at the reverse proxy for all pgAdmin login paths.
Exploitation
- The vendor and the CNA have not reported exploitation.
- OffSeq reports the CVE is not known to be exploited and is not in CISA KEV.
- No public proof-of-concept found. Unknown beyond that.
Our recommendation
- Find all pgAdmin instances and confirm which run in server mode.
- Upgrade to pgAdmin 4 9.19 or later; this release also fixes 14 other CVEs.
- Prioritise instances reachable from the internet.
- Check that internal account passwords, especially the administrator's, are strong and not reused.
- Review logs for repeated failed logins.
Public exploits
PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit and Exploit-DB list nothing for this CVE.
Research sources
- Fix commit: Count every failed internal login, lock only internal authentication github.com
- Fix commit: Act only on the internal account when accounts share an email github.com
- Fix commit (third) github.com
- pgAdmin 4 v9.19 release announcement www.postgresql.org
- pgAdmin issue #10676 github.com
- VulDB entry 429359 vuldb.com
- OffSeq threat radar entry radar.offseq.com
- Strix CVE-2026-116238 www.strix.ai
Researched and written up in English and German by an AI (Claude by Anthropic) based on NVD, CISA, EPSS and the sources listed. The vendor information is authoritative. Researched on 31 Oct 2026, 03:51.
Original description (NVD)
In server mode pgAdmin 4 locks an internal account after MAX_LOGIN_ATTEMPTS failed logins (3 by default). The limit could be bypassed, giving an unauthenticated attacker an unlimited number of password guesses against any internal account, including the administrator's, in the default configuration: - Flask-Security registers its own views next to pgAdmin's. A login submitted to its /login view was checked and logged in without pgAdmin's failed login count or lock. Its /verify view checked a signed-in user's password without limit, its /change view changed a password without pgAdmin's change password permission or re-encrypting the user's saved server passwords, and its /reset views sent and applied password resets for accounts that are not internal or are locked. - The internal account was looked up by its exact username, while the login form matches the email ignoring case, so a login with the username typed in another case was neither counted nor checked for the lock. - With LDAP or webserver authentication also configured, a wrong internal password was never counted, and with Kerberos or webserver authentication configured a guess could be answered without being counted. In addition, where accounts from different authentication sources share an email address, a password reset could be sent for, or applied to, an account from another source, and the About box showed the server configuration to a user whose email was that of an administrator's account. The fix refuses submissions to Flask-Security's own views, counts every failed internal login however the username is typed and whatever other sources are configured, no longer lets a login that posts a password fall back to an authentication source that does not check it, and locks only internal authentication. Password resets and the About box act only on the user's own internal account. Desktop mode is not affected. This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.19.
NVD references (4)
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/35c9235d17a7d5a99778f01b2f1b9e5e3a3b7fde
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/58c531d831179dc9b0a5bf873ccb80c71c8d387a
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/commit/c6ef41a951012cd877a1992b5dac681eec36e48d
- https://github.com/pgadmin-org/pgadmin4/issues/10676
Sources
The tracker combines official, freely usable data sources – updated continuously:
- NVD (NIST) – CVEs, rating (CVSS), affected products
- CISA KEV – vulnerabilities confirmed by CISA as actively exploited
- CISA Vulnrichment – CISA assessment (SSVC) in the official CVE record
- FIRST EPSS – probability of exploitation
- Microsoft MSRC – Patch Tuesday: vulnerabilities, severity, updates
- PoC-in-GitHub – public proof-of-concept repositories
- Metasploit (Rapid7) – modules of the Metasploit Framework
- Exploit-DB (OffSec) – archive of public exploits (links only)
- Patch days: official vendor pages (linked per vendor) (Vendor patch days)
This product uses data from the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS data © FIRST.org.
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