MediumCVE-2023-5868

    Postgresql: memory disclosure in aggregate function calls (CVE-2023-5868)

    Published Last modified Sources: Debian, BSI, OSV, CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    A memory disclosure vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL that allows remote users to access sensitive information by exploiting certain aggregate function calls with 'unknown'-type arguments. Handling 'unknown'-type values from string literals without type designation can disclose bytes, potentially revealing notable and confidential information.

    Update Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2 to version 4.2.4-6, Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2 to version 4.2.4-7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 to version 8090020231114113712.a75119d5.

    Affected
    • Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2 lt *..4.2.4-6
    • Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2 lt *..4.2.4-7
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 lt *..8090020231114113712.a75119d5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 lt *..8090020231128173330.a75119d5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 lt *..8090020231114113548.a75119d5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support lt *..8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Telecommunications Update Service lt *..8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions lt *..8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support lt *..8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support lt *..8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Service lt *..8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Service lt *..8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions lt *..8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions lt *..8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support lt *..8060020231114115246.ad008a3a
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support lt *..8060020231128165328.ad008a3a
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support lt *..8080020231114105206.63b34585
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support lt *..8080020231128165335.63b34585
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support lt *..8080020231113134015.63b34585
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 lt *..0:13.13-1.el9_3
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 lt *..9030020231120082734.rhel9
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support lt *..0:13.13-1.el9_0
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support lt *..0:13.13-1.el9_2
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support lt *..9020020231115020618.rhel9
    • Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 lt *..0:12.17-1.el7
    • Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 lt *..0:13.13-1.el7
    • Red Hat RHACS-3.74-RHEL-8 lt *..3.74.8-9
    • Red Hat RHACS-3.74-RHEL-8 lt *..3.74.8-7
    • Red Hat RHACS-4.1-RHEL-8 lt *..4.1.6-6
    Fixed in
    • Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2 4.2.4-6
    • Red Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2 4.2.4-7
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 8090020231114113712.a75119d5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 8090020231128173330.a75119d5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 8090020231114113548.a75119d5
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Telecommunications Update Service 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Service 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Service 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support 8060020231114115246.ad008a3a
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support 8060020231128165328.ad008a3a
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support 8080020231114105206.63b34585
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support 8080020231128165335.63b34585
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support 8080020231113134015.63b34585
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 0:13.13-1.el9_3
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 9030020231120082734.rhel9
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support 0:13.13-1.el9_0
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support 0:13.13-1.el9_2
    • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support 9020020231115020618.rhel9
    • Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 0:12.17-1.el7
    • Red Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 0:13.13-1.el7
    • Red Hat RHACS-3.74-RHEL-8 3.74.8-9
    • Red Hat RHACS-3.74-RHEL-8 3.74.8-7
    • Red Hat RHACS-4.1-RHEL-8 4.1.6-6

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    Metrics

    4.3

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    4.3

    CVSS v3

    Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Debian, BSI, OSV, CVE.org

    2.8 %

    EPSS score

    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 86.3

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Medium
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    85.09 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    4.3 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    4.3
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    2.8 %
    Moderate — model estimates 1-10% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    86.3
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: none known · automatable · Technical impact: partial
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 15 August 2025
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-686

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    A memory disclosure vulnerability was found in PostgreSQL that allows remote users to access sensitive information by exploiting certain aggregate function calls with 'unknown'-type arguments. Handling 'unknown'-type values from string literals without type designation can disclose bytes, potentially revealing notable and confidential information. This issue exists due to excessive data output in aggregate function calls, enabling remote users to read some portion of system memory.

    Source: Debian Security Advisories, BSI CSAF, BSI WID Portal, OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities), NVD (NIST), cvelistv5

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    Red HatRed Hat Advanced Cluster Security 4.2
    • < 4.2.4-6
    • < 4.2.4-7
    • 4.2.4-6
    • 4.2.4-7
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 6
    • —
    • —
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 7
    • —
    • —
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8
    • < 8090020231128173330.a75119d5
    • < 8090020231114113712.a75119d5
    • < 8090020231114113548.a75119d5
    • 8090020231128173330.a75119d5
    • 8090020231114113712.a75119d5
    • 8090020231114113548.a75119d5
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Advanced Update Support
    • < 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Telecommunications Update Service
    • < 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.2 Update Services for SAP Solutions
    • < 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    • 8020020231128165246.4cda2c84
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Advanced Mission Critical Update Support
    • < 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • < 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Telecommunications Update Service
    • < 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • < 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.4 Update Services for SAP Solutions
    • < 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • < 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    • 8040020231127153301.522a0ee4
    • 8040020231127154806.522a0ee4
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.6 Extended Update Support
    • < 8060020231128165328.ad008a3a
    • < 8060020231114115246.ad008a3a
    • 8060020231128165328.ad008a3a
    • 8060020231114115246.ad008a3a
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8.8 Extended Update Support
    • < 8080020231128165335.63b34585
    • < 8080020231114105206.63b34585
    • < 8080020231113134015.63b34585
    • 8080020231128165335.63b34585
    • 8080020231114105206.63b34585
    • 8080020231113134015.63b34585
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9
    • < 0:13.13-1.el9_3
    • < 9030020231120082734.rhel9
    • 0:13.13-1.el9_3
    • 9030020231120082734.rhel9
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.0 Extended Update Support
    • < 0:13.13-1.el9_0
    • 0:13.13-1.el9_0
    Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.2 Extended Update Support
    • < 0:13.13-1.el9_2
    • < 9020020231115020618.rhel9
    • 0:13.13-1.el9_2
    • 9020020231115020618.rhel9
    Red HatRed Hat Software Collections
    • —
    • —
    Red HatRed Hat Software Collections for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
    • < 0:12.17-1.el7
    • < 0:13.13-1.el7
    • 0:12.17-1.el7
    • 0:13.13-1.el7
    Red HatRHACS-3.74-RHEL-8
    • < 3.74.8-7
    • < 3.74.8-9
    • 3.74.8-7
    • 3.74.8-9
    Red HatRHACS-4.1-RHEL-8
    • < 4.1.6-6
    • 4.1.6-6
    postgresqlpostgresql
    • 11.0 – < 11.22
    • 12.0 – < 12.17
    • 13.0 – < 13.13
    • 15.0 – < 15.5
    • 16.0
    • 14.0 – < 14.10
    • 11.22
    • 12.17
    • 13.13
    • 15.5
    • —
    • 14.10
    redhatcodeready_linux_builder_eus
    • 9.2
    • —
    redhatcodeready_linux_builder_eus_for_power_little_endian_eus
    • 9.0_ppc64le
    • 9.2_ppc64le
    • —
    • —
    redhatcodeready_linux_builder_for_arm64_eus
    • 9.0_aarch64
    • 9.2_aarch64
    • 8.6_aarch64
    • —
    • —
    • —
    redhatcodeready_linux_builder_for_ibm_z_systems_eus
    • 9.0_s390x
    • 9.2_s390x
    • —
    • —
    redhatcodeready_linux_builder_for_power_little_endian_eus
    • 9.0_ppc64le
    • 9.2_ppc64le
    • —
    • —
    Distribution and container packages (6)

    Downstream packages (e.g. Bitnami, Debian, Ubuntu, Red Hat). Versions refer to the distribution, not the vendor.

    Distribution and container packages
    Affected versionsFixed in
    bitnamipostgresql
    • 13.0.0
    • 14.0.0
    • 11.0.0
    • 16.0.0
    • 12.0.0
    • 15.0.0
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux8.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux9.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus8.6
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus8.8
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus9.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_eus9.2
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_arm_648.0
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_arm_648.8_aarch64
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems8.0_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus8.6_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus8.8_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus9.0_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_ibm_z_systems_eus9.2_s390x
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian8.0_ppc64le
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian_eus8.6_ppc64le
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian_eus8.8_ppc64le
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian_eus9.0_ppc64le
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_for_power_little_endian_eus9.2_ppc64le
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_server_aus8.2
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_server_aus8.4
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_server_aus8.6
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_server_aus9.2
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_server_tus8.2
    Linuxredhatenterprise_linux_server_tus8.4

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-686Function Call With Incorrect Argument Type

      Variant

      The product calls a function, procedure, or routine, but the caller specifies an argument that is the wrong data type, which may lead to resultant weaknesses.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-686

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: yes

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentadded
      —
      {"id":"CVE-2023-5868","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"yes"},{"technicalImpact":"partial"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2025-08-15T14:58:12.146891Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

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    Badge preview for CVE-2023-5868
    <a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2023-5868"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2023-5868.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2023-5868 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>