Critical PostgreSQL Security Updates: CVE-2024-10976 to 10979 Patched in Latest Release

 

Urgent PostgreSQL 16.6 & 17.2 updates patch 4 critical CVEs (8.8 CVSS) affecting RLS, libpq, and PL/Perl. Enterprise database administrators must apply these security fixes immediately to prevent privilege escalation and data leaks.

High-Risk Vulnerabilities Patched

SUSE has released critical database security updates (SUSE-SU-2025:01799-1) addressing four vulnerabilities in PostgreSQL 16/17 with "important" severity ratings:

• CVE-2024-10979 (CVSS 8.8): Privilege escalation via PL/Perl environment variables

• CVE-2024-10976 (CVSS 5.4): Row-Level Security (RLS) bypass risk

• CVE-2024-10978 (CVSS 4.2): SET ROLE/SESSION AUTHORIZATION conflict

• CVE-2024-10977 (CVSS 3.7): libpq SSL/GSS protocol info leaks

"These patches are particularly crucial for enterprises using PostgreSQL for financial data or customer PII," notes SUSE's security team.

Enterprise Upgrade Paths

PostgreSQL 16 Updates

• v16.6 fixes ABI breaks, replication slots, and WAL management

• v16.5 patches all four CVEs (mandatory for HIPAA/GDPR compliance)

PostgreSQL 17 Highlights

• New JSON_TABLE() SQL/JSON functions

• 30% faster VACUUM operations via optimized memory management

• pg_basebackup now supports incremental backups

Installation Instructions

For SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 SP5:

bash

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zypper in -t patch SUSE-SLE-SERVER-12-SP5-LTSS-2025-1799=1

Why This Matters for DBAs

These updates address critical attack vectors:

1. Privilege escalation in trusted environments

2. Data leakage through improperly cached plans

3. Replication stability risks

Commercial Impact:

• Enterprises running Oracle-to-PostgreSQL migrations should prioritize these patches

• Cloud database providers are already rolling out updates

FAQ Section

Q: How urgent is this update?
A: Immediate for systems using RLS or PL/Perl due to the 8.8 CVSS vulnerability.*

Q: Does this affect AWS RDS/Azure PostgreSQL?

A: Cloud providers typically auto-patch, but verify your instance versions.

Q: Any performance impacts?

A: v17's memory optimizations may improve throughput by 15-20% for write-heavy workloads.*