KEDA has PostgreSQL connection string parameter injection via incomplete whitespace escaping

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

5.9 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N

EPSS

• CVE-2026-53572: 0.39% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 32.68 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary pkg/scalers/postgresqlscaler.go builds libpq-style connection strings by concatenating key=value pairs separated by spaces. Each tenant-controllable field (host, port, userName, dbName, sslmode) is passed through escapePostgreConnectionParameter: The function only escapes when a literal space is present. Per libpq/pgx documentation, parameters are also separated by tabs, newlines, carriage returns, and form feeds, and backslashes are parsed inside quoted strings. Because those characters are not detected, a tenant-supplied value like mydb\tsslmode=disable\thost=attacker.example.com splits into additional key=value tokens when parsed by pgx, injecting attacker-controlled connection parameters. Vulnerable code pkg/scalers/postgresqlscaler.go, lines 155–164 and 250–257. Impact Tenants with the ability to create a TriggerAuthentication or ScaledObject that populates any of host, port, userName, dbName, sslmode can: - Force sslmode=disable on a connection that the cluster owner…

Published by the source

7 Jul 2026, 23:44 UTC

Last modified by the source

7 Jul 2026, 23:44 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 15:24 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-6w3m-4hhp-775q

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-53572

Advisory: KEDA has PostgreSQL connection string parameter injection via incomplete whitespace escaping
IDs: CVE-2026-53572, GHSA-6w3m-4hhp-775q
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-53572 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 15:24 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.9)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 2.20.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/kedacore/keda/v2: affected < 2.20.0; fixed in 2.20.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/kedacore/keda/v2: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/kedacore/keda/v2.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-6w3m-4hhp-775q (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-6w3m-4hhp-775q lists affected ranges: Go github.com/kedacore/keda/v2 >=0 <2.20.0)

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