vulnerability / NVI-00016150 / Revision 1
PostgreSQL JDBC Driver: Silent channel-binding authentication downgrade via unsupported certificate algorithms
GitHub lists this reviewed advisory for org.postgresql:postgresql. Published version ranges and source prerequisites are shown below; this is not an inspection of a visitor’s application.
This report has not inspected your inventory, configuration, deployed build, reachability or evidence. A catalog listing and a severity score do not establish exposure or compromise.
01 / Meaning
Why it matters
Published affected context helps an owner decide what evidence to gather. This report has not examined your application.
02 / Applicability
The affected context
Affected versions, configuration prerequisites and known exclusions are public. Confirm each one against the deployed service.
org.postgresql:postgresql
source listed>= 42.7.4, < 42.7.12
### Impact `channelBinding=require` connections can be silently downgraded from `SCRAM-SHA-256-PLUS` (with channel binding) to plain `SCRAM-SHA-256` (without it), losing the man-in-the-middle protection the setting is meant to guarantee. An attacker who can intercept the TLS connection triggers the downgrade with a certificate whose signature algorithm has no `tls-server-end-point` channel-binding hash. Examples are `Ed25519`, `Ed448`, and post-quantum algorithms. Two issues combine in releases 42.7.4 through 42.7.11: 1. The bundled `com.ongres.scram:scram-client` (3.1 or 3.2) returns an empty byte array instead of failing when it cannot derive the binding hash for such a certificate. This is the library issue tracked as GHSA-p9jg-fcr6-3mhf. 2. pgJDBC does not enforce `channelBinding=require` where it matters. `ScramAuthenticator` checks only that the server *advertised* a `-PLUS` mechanism; it neither rejects the empty binding nor checks that the *negotiated* mechanism uses channel binding. The connection therefore downgrades silently, and would do so even against a fixed `scram-client`, because the miss
03 / Response
What to do next
- investigate
Identify the exact component and deployed version, examine the linked publisher’s conditions, and retain evidence of any mitigation.
Confirm current vendor support, compatibility and deployment evidence. This report has not tested a fix in your system. GitHub Advisory Database
A fixed release is not deployment evidence.
Check current vendor support and compatibility. After making a change, verify the deployed build and relevant runtime conditions. Keep the evidence, owner and time. An updated lockfile alone does not prove what is running.
04 / Limits
What this report cannot establish
- Customer inventory, deployment, reachability and exploitation have not been inspected.
05 / Provenance
Sources you can inspect
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- GHSA-j92g-9f8w-j867 ↗
GitHub Advisory Database · vendor advisory
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Public revision history
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- Revision 1 ·
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