PgBouncer vulnerability

What happened

Improper authentication in PgBouncer 1.17.0 through 1.26.0 allows a remote attacker who knows the password of a user listed in auth_file to log in as any other user that authenticates using SCRAM, including PgBouncer admin users and backend superusers. A second StartupMessage sent during SCRAM authentication against a non-existent database is not rejected and switches the user being logged in as, while the SCRAM exchange is still verified against the keys of the first user.

Affected versions

PgBouncer: 1.17.0 through before 1.26.1 (semver) Fixed: See vendor advisory.

Why it matters

Review the vendor advisory and exposure of the affected product to determine operational impact.

Detection & mitigation

• Apply vendor-provided updates or mitigations.
• Review affected product exposure and access logs.