Pi-hole: Local privilege escalation via config-controlled path in root-executed service hooks

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Summary

CVECVE-2026-41489
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGitHub_M
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-05-11 21:19:00 UTC
Updated2026-05-12 16:38:54 UTC
DescriptionPi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that protects devices from unwanted content without installing any client-side software. From 6.0 to before Core 6.4.2 and FTL 6.6.1, two shell scripts executed as root by systemd (pihole-FTL-prestart.sh and pihole-FTL-poststop.sh) read the files.pid path from this config without validation and use it in privileged file operations (install and rm -f). By writing an arbitrary path into files.pid, an attacker with pihole privilege can cause root to delete and then recreate any file on the system outside the ProtectSystem=full-restricted directories, gaining write access to it. On a default Pi-hole installation this yields local privilege escalation to root via SSH authorized keys manipulation. If /root/.ssh/authorized_keys does not exist (default on fresh installs), only ExecStartPre is required. If the file exists, ExecStopPost deletes it first, and the same restart triggers both hooks in sequence. This vulnerability is fixed in Core 6.4.2 and FTL 6.6.1.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 8.8 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS: 0.000120000 probability, percentile 0.017080000 (date 2026-05-12)

Problem Types: CWE-15 | CWE-269 | CWE-732 | CWE-732 CWE-732: Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource | CWE-269 CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management | CWE-15 CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting

VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Secondary8.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1CNADECLARED8.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Pi-hole Pi-hole affected >= 6.0, < 6.4.2 Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/security/advisories/GHSA-6w8x-p785-6pm4 [email protected] github.com
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