---
id: CVE-2026-6478
title: >-
  Covert timing channel in comparison of MD5-hashed password in PostgreSQL
  authentication allows an attacker to recover user credentials sufficient to
  authenticate
summary: >-
  Covert timing channel in comparison of MD5-hashed password in PostgreSQL
  authentication allows an attacker to recover user credentials sufficient to
  authenticate.  This does not affect scram-sha-256 passwords, the default in
  all supporte…
severity: medium
cvss: 6.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N'
cwe:
  - CWE-385
  - CWE-385
vendor: postgresql
product: postgresql
affected:
  - postgresql < 14.23
  - 'postgresql >= 15.0, < 15.18'
  - 'postgresql >= 16.0, < 16.14'
  - 'postgresql >= 17.0, < 17.10'
  - 'postgresql >= 18.0, < 18.4'
patched:
  - postgresql 18.4
published: '2026-05-14'
updated: '2026-06-30'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-6478'
references:
  - url: 'https://www.postgresql.org/support/security/CVE-2026-6478/'
    label: f86ef6dc-4d3a-42ad-8f28-e6d5547a5007
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:21182'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22878'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26181'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26203'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26204'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26524'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26525'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26561'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27718'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27738'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27741'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27742'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:27743'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28037'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28143'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28208'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:28999'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29212'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29815'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29904'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:29953'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:32983'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:32994'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:33441'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-6478'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2477447'
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-6478.json
    label: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00558
epssPercentile: 0.45347
ingestedAt: '2026-07-01T09:50:45.712Z'
---

## Overview

Covert timing channel in comparison of MD5-hashed password in PostgreSQL authentication allows an attacker to recover user credentials sufficient to authenticate.  This does not affect scram-sha-256 passwords, the default in all supported releases.  However, current databases may have MD5-hashed passwords originating in upgrades from PostgreSQL 13 or earlier.  Versions before PostgreSQL 18.4, 17.10, 16.14, 15.18, and 14.23 are affected.

## Affected

- `postgresql < 14.23`
- `postgresql >= 15.0, < 15.18`
- `postgresql >= 16.0, < 16.14`
- `postgresql >= 17.0, < 17.10`
- `postgresql >= 18.0, < 18.4`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `postgresql 18.4`