CVE-2026-65321: PyAthena SQL Injection via DefaultParameterFormatter DELETE/CTAS

Published Aug 2, 2026
·
Updated

PyAthena prior to 3.35.4 contains a sql injection vulnerability that allows unauthenticated attackers to inject arbitrary SQL by exploiting improper quote-escaping in DefaultParameterFormatter.format(), which routes DELETE and CTAS statements to the escapehive function that backslash-escapes single quotes rather than doubling them. Because Athena and Trino do not treat backslashes as escape characters inside string literals, attacker-supplied input such as a single quote followed by SQL syntax causes the parser to terminate the string literal prematurely, enabling data exfiltration via UNION SELECT, execution of destructive statements, and attacker-controlled CTAS destination and content.

Affected Software

1 affected component
PyAthena PyAthena<3.35.4

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade PyAthena to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 3.35.4
  2. Compensating control

    Ensure DefaultParameterFormatter.format() does not backslash-escape single quotes for routed DELETE/CTAS statements; use correct quote-escaping/doubling (since Athena/Trino treat backslashes as non-escaping in string literals) to prevent premature string termination and SQL injection.

Event History

Aug 2, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·02:56 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·02:56 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·03:16 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness
Aug 3, 2026
Exploit Published
via GitHub·09:47 AM

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-65321?

CVE-2026-65321 has a critical severity score of 9.8.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-65321?

To fix CVE-2026-65321, upgrade to PyAthena version 3.35.4 or later.

3

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-65321?

CVE-2026-65321 is an SQL injection vulnerability.

4

Who is affected by CVE-2026-65321?

Users of PyAthena versions prior to 3.35.4 are affected by CVE-2026-65321.

5

What can attackers achieve with CVE-2026-65321?

Attackers can inject arbitrary SQL commands into DELETE and CTAS statements.

Contact

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