CVE-2020-17446: Asyncpg Asyncpg Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-2xpj-f5g2-8p7m
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-824
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-17446 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) asyncpg arbitrary code execution vulnerability (CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer) affecting Asyncpg libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves asyncpg arbitrary code execution via access to an uninitialized pointer. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.21.0.

CVE-2020-17446 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-17446
GHSA Identifier GHSA-2xpj-f5g2-8p7m
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer
Affected Product Asyncpg
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2020-17446

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Asyncpg dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

asyncpg fixed: 0.21.0 
pip install asyncpg>=0.21.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show asyncpg

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2020-17446, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show asyncpg

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Asyncpg in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.21.0), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show asyncpg command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer, where the product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. In Asyncpg, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

asyncpg before 0.21.0 allows a malicious PostgreSQL server to trigger a crash or execute arbitrary code (on a database client) via a crafted server response, because of access to an uninitialized pointer in the array data decoder.

CVE-2020-17446 Affected Asyncpg Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.21.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
asyncpg
pypi/asyncpg
PyPI
< 0.21.0
0.21.0

References

NVD — CVE-2020-17446 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-17446
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/commit/69bcdf5bf7696b98ee708be5408fd7d854e910d0
Asyncpg Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg
Asyncpg Release RELEASE
https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/releases/tag/v0.21.0
GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2xpj-f5g2-8p7m
Asyncpg Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/asyncpg/PYSEC-2020-24.yaml
lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce... WEB
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00002.html

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-17446?
CVE-2020-17446 is a security vulnerability in Asyncpg involving Asyncpg Arbitrary Code Execution Via Access to an Uninitialized Pointer under CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer.
Which Asyncpg versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.21.0 across affected packages: asyncpg.
What version fixes CVE-2020-17446?
Upgrading to 0.21.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is asyncpg affected?
Yes, asyncpg is affected in releases prior to 0.21.0. Upgrade your dependency to 0.21.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-17446?
CVE-2020-17446 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-17446?
CVE-2020-17446 is classified under CWE-824: Access of Uninitialized Pointer (The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2020-17446?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show asyncpg'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-2xpj-f5g2-8p7m",
  "modified" : "2024-09-12T21:06:18Z",
  "published" : "2021-04-20T16:30:51Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-17446" ],
  "summary" : "Asyncpg Arbitrary Code Execution Via Access to an Uninitialized Pointer",
  "details" : "asyncpg before 0.21.0 allows a malicious PostgreSQL server to trigger a crash or execute arbitrary code (on a database client) via a crafted server response, because of access to an uninitialized pointer in the array data decoder.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "asyncpg"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.21.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-17446"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/commit/69bcdf5bf7696b98ee708be5408fd7d854e910d0"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/MagicStack/asyncpg/releases/tag/v0.21.0"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-2xpj-f5g2-8p7m"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/asyncpg/PYSEC-2020-24.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2020/09/msg00002.html"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-824" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-04-14T21:35:20Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2020-08-12T16:15:00Z"
  }
}