Detections
Analytics

Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-16240

low Nessus Plugin ID 379947

Synopsis

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be patched.

Description

The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied patch available.

 - Use of externally-controlled format string in PostgreSQL pg_basebackup allows an attacker having already compromised a server to achieve disclosure from pg_basebackup memory, via backup manifest bytes. The vulnerability does not return the improperly-read bytes back to the attacker's server, so a successful attack would need separate implementation-specific secrets for that. Integrity impact is unlikely; in particular, the applicable formatter does not support %n. Versions before PostgreSQL 18.7, 17.12, 16.16, 15.20, and 14.25 are affected. (CVE-2026-16240)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.

Solution

There is no known solution at this time.

See Also

https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-16240

Plugin Details

Severity: Low

ID: 379947

File Name: unpatched_CVE_2026_16240.nasl

Version: 1.2

Type: Local

Agent: unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 11/13/2026

Updated: 11/13/2026

Supported Sensors: Agentless Assessment, Frictionless Assessment Agent, Nessus Agent, Tenable Cloud Security, Tenable Self-Hosted Container Security, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Low

Score: 1.2

Percentile: 0.01

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 5

Temporal Score: 4.3

Vector: CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2026-16240

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Low

Base Score: 3.7

Temporal Score: 3.4

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:12.0, cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:14.0, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:postgresql-15, p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:postgresql-18

Required KB Items: Host/cpu, Host/local_checks_enabled, global_settings/vendor_unpatched, Host/OS/identifier

Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available

Vulnerability Publication Date: 11/12/2026

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2026-16240