Monitor vulnerabilities like this one. Sign up free to get alerted when software you use is affected.
7.3

Glances TimescaleDB Export Allows Remote Code Execution

GHSA-x46r-mf5g-xpr6 CVE-2026-30930 GHSA-x46r-mf5g-xpr6
Summary

Glances TimescaleDB export feature allows an attacker to inject malicious SQL code by manipulating process names, which can lead to remote code execution. This is a critical security risk that can compromise sensitive data. To protect your system, update Glances to the latest version or disable the TimescaleDB export feature.

What to do
  • Update glances to version 4.5.1.
Affected software
VendorProductAffected versionsFix available
glances <= 4.5.1 4.5.1
Original title
Glances has SQL Injection via Process Names in TimescaleDB Export
Original description
### Summary

The TimescaleDB export module constructs SQL queries using string concatenation with unsanitized system monitoring data. The normalize() method wraps string values in single quotes but does not escape embedded single quotes, making SQL injection trivial via attacker-controlled data such as process names, filesystem mount points, network interface names, or container names.

Root Cause: The normalize() function uses f"'{value}'" for string values without escaping single quotes within the value. The resulting strings are concatenated into INSERT queries via string formatting and executed directly with cur.execute() — no parameterized queries are used.

#### Affected Code
- _File: glances/exports/glances_timescaledb/__init__.py, lines 79-93 (normalize function)_
```
def normalize(self, value):
"""Normalize the value to be exportable to TimescaleDB."""
if value is None:
return 'NULL'
if isinstance(value, bool):
return str(value).upper()
if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)):
# Special case for list of one boolean
if len(value) == 1 and isinstance(value[0], bool):
return str(value[0]).upper()
return ', '.join([f"'{v}'" for v in value])
if isinstance(value, str):
return f"'{value}'" # <-- NO ESCAPING of single quotes within value

return f"{value}"
```

- _File: glances/exports/glances_timescaledb/__init__.py, lines 201-205 (query construction)_
```
# Insert the data
insert_list = [f"({','.join(i)})" for i in values_list]
insert_query = f"INSERT INTO {plugin} VALUES {','.join(insert_list)};"
logger.debug(f"Insert data into table: {insert_query}")
try:
cur.execute(insert_query) # <-- Direct execution of concatenated SQL
```

### PoC
- As a normal user, create a process with the name containing the SQL Injection payload:
```
exec -a "x'); COPY (SELECT version()) TO '/tmp/sqli_proof.txt' --" python3 -c 'import time; [sum(range(500000)) or time.sleep(0.01) for _ in iter(int, 1)]'
```
- Start Glances with TimescaleDB export as root user:
```
glances --export timescaledb --export-process-filter ".*" --time 5 --stdout cpu
```
- Observe that sqli_proof.txt is created in /tmp directory.

### Impact

- Data Destruction: DROP TABLE, DELETE, TRUNCATE operations against the TimescaleDB database.
- Data Exfiltration: Using COPY ... TO or subqueries to extract data from other tables.
- Potential RCE: Via PostgreSQL extensions like COPY ... PROGRAM which executes OS commands.
- Privilege Escalation: Any local user who can create a process with a crafted name can inject SQL into the database, potentially compromising the entire PostgreSQL instance.
ghsa CVSS4.0 7.3
Vulnerability type
CWE-89 SQL Injection
Published: 9 Mar 2026 · Updated: 13 Mar 2026 · First seen: 9 Mar 2026