Summary
Postgrex: Channel-name SQL injection in Postgrex.Notifications.listen/3
SQL injection in Postgrex.Notifications.listen/3: the channel argument is interpolated straight into LISTEN "..." / UNLISTEN "..." without escaping the " character. Any caller that lets a user influence the channel name (e.g. a pub/sub bridge that uses a tenant id or topic slug as the channel) and the name is not sanitized can execute arbitrary SQL on the notifications connection.
Only those using the Postgrex.Notifications directly or via a dependency, with a non-sanitized channel name are vulnerable. Ecto does not use Postgrex.Notifications by default, but you must validate if any other dependency does.
Details
PostgreSQL escapes a " inside a quoted identifier by doubling it to "". Postgrex doesn't do that doubling, so a " inside channel closes the identifier early and everything after it is parsed as SQL on the same connection.
The notifications connection runs as whatever DB role the app is configured with. Unlike the Postgrex.query/4 API, there's no extended-protocol guard here: LISTEN/UNLISTEN are sent as simple queries, so multi-statement payloads work and the attacker can chain ; CREATE TABLE …, ; DROP …, ; CREATE ROLE …, etc.
Impact
SQL injection on the notifications connection. Affects any application that calls Postgrex.Notifications.listen/3 (or unlisten/3) with a channel name derived from untrusted input. Executes as the configured DB user with no protocol-level limit on what can be chained, so the realistic blast radius is read/modify/destroy on any data the app's DB role can reach.
Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access. Typical impact: data disclosure or modification.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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Upgrade to latest Postgrex v0.22.2 or later. Altenratively, sanitize any user input given as channel name by making sure it doesn't include quotes as well as null bytes (not strictly required, but recommended):
if String.contains?(channel_name, ["\"", "\0"]) do
raise "bad channel name"
end
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2026-32687? CVE-2026-32687 is a high-severity SQL injection vulnerability in postgrex (erlang), affecting versions >= 0.16.0, < 0.22.2. It is fixed in 0.22.2. Untrusted input alters a database query, allowing the attacker to read or modify data the query was not intended to access.
- Which versions of postgrex are affected by CVE-2026-32687? postgrex (erlang) versions >= 0.16.0, < 0.22.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2026-32687? Yes. CVE-2026-32687 is fixed in 0.22.2. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2026-32687 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-32687 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2026-32687 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2026-32687? Upgrade
postgrexto 0.22.2 or later.