Executive brief
PocketBase is a backend service platform used to build APIs and manage databases. An unhandled exception in internal worker processes can crash the server, causing service unavailability. Although PocketBase has error recovery for normal requests, panics in background worker threads were not caught, potentially terminating the entire server process.
Technical details
The vulnerability is an uncaught exception (CWE-248) in PocketBase's worker goroutines. While PocketBase implements panic-recovery middleware for HTTP request handling, this protection did not extend to internal child/worker goroutines, which execute background tasks such as scheduled jobs or async operations. An attacker with network access could potentially trigger conditions that cause a panic in these worker threads, leading to process termination and denial of service. The fix wraps all internal worker functions with routine.SafeWrap(f), which automatically recovers from panics and converts them to regular errors, ensuring worker crashes do not terminate the server. The vulnerability affects versions before 0.22.48 and versions 0.23.0 through 0.39.6; patches are available in v0.22.48 (for legacy <v0.23.0) and v0.39.7 (current).
Affected products
- PocketBase PocketBase < 0.22.48; >= 0.23.0, < 0.39.7
Timeline
- 2026-09-17: disclosed: GitHub Advisory published
- 2026-09-17: patched: Fix released in v0.39.7 (current) and v0.22.48 (legacy)
References
- https://api.github.com/users/gigioneggiando
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- https://api.github.com/users/gigioneggiando/repos
- https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/140321494?v=4
- https://api.github.com/users/gigioneggiando/events%7B/privacy%7D