# CVE-2026-7818: pgAdmin 4: Unsafe deserialization (CWE-502) in file-backed session manager leads to remote code execution

CVE-2026-7818 is fixed in pgAdmin 4 on 1 platform by pgAdmin 4 9.15 (version 9.15), released May 6, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-7818
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 7.3
- EPSS: 0.0013
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: May 11, 2026
- Weakness: CWE-502: Deserialization of Untrusted Data
- Vendor advisory: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-7818

## Description

Deserialization of untrusted data (CWE-502) in pgAdmin 4 FileBackedSessionManager.  The session manager performed unsafe deserialization of session-file contents (using Python's standard object-serialization module) before performing any HMAC integrity check. Any file dropped into the sessions directory was deserialized unconditionally. An authenticated user with write access to the sessions directory (whether by misconfiguration or in combination with another path-traversal flaw) could plant a crafted serialized payload to achieve operating-system level remote code execution under the pgAdmin process identity.  Fix prepends a 64-byte hex SHA-256 HMAC over the session body, computed with SECRET_KEY, and verifies it via hmac.compare_digest before any deserialization. The check is raised (rather than asserted) on empty SECRET_KEY so it is not stripped under -O.  This issue affects pgAdmin 4: before 9.15.

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Windows apps | pgAdmin 4 | 9.15 | [pgAdmin 4 9.15](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/windows-app/postgresql.pgadmin-9.15.md) | May 6, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-08T13:06:02Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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