Postgres Archives

Tech Optimizer

April 8, 2025

Pools across the sea: how Hyperdrive speeds up access to databases and why we’re making it free

Cloudflare has made Hyperdrive available on the free plan of Cloudflare Workers, allowing developers to create high-performance global applications that connect to SQL databases. Hyperdrive simplifies database connectivity by using existing drivers and connection strings, reducing the need for extensive refactoring. It has been adopted by Cloudflare's engineering teams for various functions, demonstrating its effectiveness in addressing common challenges in application development. Hyperdrive significantly improves performance, with a benchmark showing latency reduction from 1200 ms to 500 ms when using Hyperdrive instead of a direct connection, and further to 320 ms with caching enabled. It employs transaction-mode connection pooling to efficiently manage database connections, minimizing overhead and ensuring optimal performance for serverless applications. Hyperdrive's architecture includes a split connection approach that reduces latency by conducting necessary round trips over shorter distances. It also features a regional pool strategy for selecting data centers based on the inferred location of the Worker, optimizing connection latency. The system includes a dual-layer caching strategy to enhance query performance and reduce load on the origin database. Developers can easily start using Hyperdrive by executing a simple command or using a dashboard to set up a sample Worker application with their existing Postgres database.

Tech Optimizer

April 3, 2025

1,500+ PostgreSQL Servers Compromised With Fileless Malware Attack

A cryptojacking campaign has targeted over 1,500 organizations by exploiting inadequately secured PostgreSQL database servers. The attackers, identified as JINX-0126, use advanced techniques including credential brute-forcing and fileless execution to deploy Monero (XMR)-mining malware. Approximately 30% of cloud-hosted PostgreSQL servers are affected due to weak or default credentials. The attackers execute commands using PostgreSQL’s COPY FROM PROGRAM function, bypassing standard detection mechanisms. They have been linked to three cryptocurrency wallets with around 550 active mining workers, generating a hashrate of 4.04 GH/s and approximately €10.40 per hour in XMR revenue. The attack begins with credential spraying against default accounts, followed by an SQL injection to fetch the payload. The malware operates in memory, modifies PostgreSQL’s configuration to maintain persistence, and creates cron jobs for reactivation. The campaign reveals significant security gaps in cloud environments, with recommendations for improved access controls and monitoring.

Tech Optimizer

April 2, 2025

Thousands of PostgreSQL servers are being hijacked to mine crypto

Researchers at Wiz have identified a cryptojacking campaign by a group called JINX-0126, targeting over 1,500 misconfigured PostgreSQL servers by exploiting weak login credentials. The attackers deploy the XMRig-C3 miner to mine Monero, consuming nearly all computing resources and increasing electricity usage for victims. Each compromised device is assigned a unique mining worker for tracking. The campaign has evolved to include defensive measures and fileless deployment to evade detection. Nearly 90% of cloud environments host PostgreSQL instances, with about one-third publicly accessible, highlighting security vulnerabilities.

Tech Optimizer

April 2, 2025

Ongoing cryptomining campaign hits over 1.5K PostgreSQL servers

Over 1,500 PostgreSQL instances exposed to the internet have been targeted by a cryptocurrency mining malware campaign called JINX-0126. Attackers exploit weak credentials to access PostgreSQL servers and use the "COPY ... FROM PROGRAM SQL" command for arbitrary command execution. They deploy a shell script to terminate existing cryptominers and deliver the pg_core binary. A Golang binary, disguised as the PostgreSQL multi-user database server, is then downloaded to establish persistence and escalate privileges, leading to the execution of the latest XMRig cryptominer variant. JINX-0126 employs advanced tactics, including unique hashes for binaries and fileless miner payload execution, to evade detection by cloud workload protection platforms.

Tech Optimizer

April 2, 2025

Bun 1.2 Improves Node Compatibility and Adds Postgres Client

Bun v1.2 has been released, enhancing compatibility with Node.js and introducing a native S3 object storage API and a built-in Postgres client alongside the existing SQLite client. The update focuses on Node.js compatibility, achieving a 90% pass rate on the Node.js test suite for core modules. The team adapted the Node test suite for Bun to address challenges with error message verification. New features include support for the node:http2 module, which offers a 2x speed enhancement, and additional support for node:dgram, node:cluster, and node:zlib. The built-in S3 support allows file operations with a 5x speed improvement over Node.js packages. The new Postgres client includes optimizations such as automatic prepared statements and connection pooling, potentially increasing read speeds by 50% compared to popular Node.js Postgres clients. Bun is developed in Zig and uses WebKit’s JavaScriptCore as its JavaScript engine, with the first version launched in September 2023.

Tech Optimizer

April 1, 2025

Crunchy Data Warehouse, a Modern Postgres Analytics Platform for the Hybrid Cloud

Crunchy Data has released an optimized version of its Crunchy Data Warehouse for Kubernetes, integrating Postgres-native Apache Iceberg for enhanced analytics. This version supports both analytical and operational workloads by combining traditional Postgres tables with transactional Iceberg tables. Key features include managed Iceberg tables in PostgreSQL, high-performance analytics through DuckDB integration, the ability to query raw data files in S3, flexible data import/export options, and seamless integration with various analytics tools. The system is designed to be developer-friendly and supports automated, scalable deployments across different infrastructures.

Tech Optimizer

April 1, 2025

Scenario Based Interview Question — 4

- An event-driven architecture utilizing Kafka, MongoDB, and PostgreSQL is employed for data management, ensuring real-time tracking and auditing. - A PostgreSQL trigger on the customer table monitors INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations and uses the LISTEN/NOTIFY mechanism to publish changes. - A Spring Boot listener, CustomerChangeListener, monitors database changes and sends structured events to Apache Kafka via KafkaProducerService. - A Kafka topic named customer_events is created to manage customer change events, with KafkaProducerService publishing these events and KafkaConsumerService listening for them. - Events received by KafkaConsumerService are stored in a MongoDB collection called customer_history, which captures details about changes for auditing. - The MongoDB customer_history collection serves as a repository for historical customer changes, including who made the change, what was altered, when it occurred, and the rationale. - A project structure must be established, and the Maven pom.xml file updated with dependencies for Spring Boot, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and Kafka. - Application properties need to be configured to connect to PostgreSQL, MongoDB, and the Kafka broker. - The main application file is CustomerTrackingApplication.java, which runs the service. - CustomerController.java manages CRUD operations for customer data, triggering database actions and Kafka notifications. - CustomerService.java contains business logic for managing customer data and interacts with PostgreSQL and Kafka. - A history table and trigger must be created in PostgreSQL to log all changes to the customer table. - CustomerChangeListener.java listens for notifications from PostgreSQL and sends relevant data to Kafka. - Kafka producer and consumer services manage messages related to customer changes, ensuring accurate history in MongoDB. - All changes (insertions, updates, deletions) are stored in the customer_history collection in MongoDB.

Tech Optimizer

March 31, 2025

Fileless XMRig-C3 Cryptominer Targets PostgreSQL Servers

Wiz Threat Research has reported a new variant of a malicious campaign targeting misconfigured and publicly exposed PostgreSQL servers, attributed to the threat actor JINX-0126. This actor exploits vulnerable PostgreSQL instances with weak login credentials to gain unauthorized access and deploy XMRig-C3 cryptominers. The campaign has evolved to include advanced evasion techniques, such as using unique hashes for binaries and executing payloads in a fileless manner to avoid detection. The analysis indicates that the threat actor assigns unique mining workers to each victim, with three distinct wallets identified, suggesting over 1,500 affected victims. Nearly 90% of cloud environments host PostgreSQL instances, with about one-third publicly exposed. The threat actor scans for poorly configured services, exploiting default weak credentials to gain access and execute malicious payloads. Upon successful login, the actor performs reconnaissance and executes a dropper script to deploy an obfuscated Golang binary, which contains an encrypted configuration with critical system information. The malware establishes persistence by creating cron jobs and modifying access controls. The actor also creates high-privilege roles for continued access and weakens the default admin user. The analysis identified three wallets associated with the campaign, with each wallet having around 550 workers. The Wiz Dynamic Scanner can identify exposed PostgreSQL services, while the Wiz Runtime Sensor detects malicious activities associated with this threat. The report includes specific wallet addresses, a file hosting service, and file hashes related to the malware. Techniques used by the malware align with various MITRE ATT&CK® techniques, including credential access, defense evasion, and resource hijacking.

Tech Optimizer

March 27, 2025

PostgreSQL Database Lands Initial Support For IO_uring: “Can Be Considerably Faster”

Initial support for IO_uring has been merged into the PostgreSQL Git repository as of March 26, enhancing asynchronous I/O capabilities. This feature is part of the upcoming PostgreSQL 18 release. To use it, developers must compile PostgreSQL with the --with-liburing option and set the I/O method to io_method=io_uring in the configuration. Recent commits included adding the liburing build dependency and integrating the io_method=io_uring option. Using IO_uring can significantly improve performance, especially for small I/O operations, due to reduced context-switch overhead and limitations of worker-based AIO. IO_uring is Linux-specific and requires the liburing library. Further performance optimizations are anticipated before the PostgreSQL 18.0 release in September.

Tech Optimizer

March 19, 2025

7 Reasons PostgreSQL is a Great Choice for AI Projects

PostgreSQL, or Postgres, is increasingly recognized as a leading choice for AI projects due to its strong integration capabilities, cost-effectiveness, and scalability. It supports vector similarity search essential for AI tasks through extensions like pgvector, which simplifies storage and querying of vectors. The latest pgvector version 0.8.0 introduced enhancements such as iterative index scans and improved cost estimation. PostgreSQL optimizes query performance with various index types, including B-tree, Hash, BRIN, GiST, and SP-GiST indexes, and allows for custom index creation. It also features native JSON and NoSQL capabilities, enabling efficient handling of semi-structured data. Parallel processing and query execution are supported, allowing faster data processing on multi-core machines. Scalable and distributed computing options are available, including Multi-Master Asynchronous Replication and Multi-Master Sharded PostgreSQL, catering to the growing demand for AI applications. PostgreSQL ensures AI data security and compliance through Access Control Lists, Row Level Security, and Transparent Data Encryption. Its open-source nature allows for flexibility and integration with AI frameworks, making it a cost-effective alternative to proprietary databases. PostgreSQL was recognized as the Most Popular Database in the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, reflecting its strong adoption and evolving capabilities in AI projects.