CVE-2026-26198: ormar is vulnerable to SQL Injection through aggregate functions min() and max()

Should you act?

Critical and remotely reachable

No known exploitation yet, but it is network-reachable without credentials. This signal is computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS data; it is not an editorial verdict.

• Not in CISA KEV, but CISA’s SSVC assessment records a public proof-of-concept, so attack code exists.
• EPSS 0.7%, percentile 53: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.7% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 53% of all scored CVEs (moderate). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
• Remotely reachable with no login and no user interaction. If the vulnerable service is exposed to the internet, prioritize it.
• Only applies if your dependency tree includes ormar (PyPI) >= 0.9.9, <= 0.22.0, fixed in 0.23.0. Check your lockfile, including transitive dependencies.

What it is

Ormar is a async mini ORM for Python. In versions 0.9.9 through 0.22.0, when performing aggregate queries, Ormar ORM constructs SQL expressions by passing user-supplied column names directly into sqlalchemy.text() without any validation or sanitization. The min() and max() methods in the QuerySet class accept arbitrary string input as the column parameter. While sum() and avg() are partially protected by an isnumeric type check that rejects non-existent fields, min() and max() skip this validation entirely. As a result, an attacker-controlled string is embedded as raw SQL inside the aggregate function call. Any unauthorized user can exploit this vulnerability to read the entire database contents, including tables unrelated to the queried model, by injecting a subquery as the column parameter. Version 0.23.0 contains a patch.

From the GitHub advisory

Report of SQL Injection Vulnerability in Ormar ORM

A SQL Injection attack can be achieved by passing a crafted string to the min() or max() aggregate functions.

Brief description

When performing aggregate queries, Ormar ORM constructs SQL expressions by passing user-supplied column names directly into sqlalchemy.text() without any validation or sanitization. The min() and max() methods in the QuerySet class accept arbitrary string input as the column parameter. While sum() and avg() are partially protected by an isnumeric type check that rejects non-existent fields, min() and max() skip this validation entirely. As a result, an attacker-controlled string is embedded as raw SQL inside the aggregate function call. Any unauthorized user can exploit this vulnerability to read the entire database contents, including tables unrelated to the queried model, by injecting a subquery as the column parameter.

Affected versions

Weakness type: CWE-89.

Product: ormar (PyPI) · Assigned by: GitHub_M · Published: 2026-02-24

Affected and fixed versions

Severity scores

• Attack vector: network (remotely reachable)
• Attack complexity: low
• Privileges required: none (no login)
• User interaction: none
• Scope: unchanged

CVSS measures how bad a flaw is if exploited, not how likely exploitation is. Read it next to the exploitation data below.

Exploitation and urgency

• CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
• CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation poc, automatable yes, technical impact total.
• FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.71% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 53.

Timeline

• 2026-02-23 — GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-xxh2-68g9-8jqr published (critical)
• 2026-02-24 — CVE record last updated
• 2026-02-24 — CVE record published by GitHub_M

Sources and references

Original sources first. Version and fix details should always be confirmed against the vendor or project advisory.

Vulnerability records

1. GitHub Advisory GHSA-xxh2-68g9-8jqr github.com
2. CVE.org record CVE-2026-26198 cve.org
3. NVD entry CVE-2026-26198 nvd.nist.gov

Other references from the CVE record and advisory

1. github.com github.com
2. github.com github.com
3. github.com github.com

Critical PyPI advisories · Today’s Security Digest