Description
Netgate pfSense CE through 2.9.0 contains a php.ini injection vulnerability that allows authenticated users with General Setup privileges to inject directives by submitting an unvalidated timezone value. Attackers can embed a quote and newline to add auto_prepend_file pointing at /var/db/zoneinfo, executing PHP as root after php.ini is regenerated at boot or php-fpm restart.
Affected products
pfsense: pfsense
References7
- abraxaslabs.tech/research/pfsense-ce-leftovers Issue Tracking
- github.com/abraxas/pfsense-timezone-phpini Third Party Advisory
- github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/9363ac5b8651a1c7a333180425ce771… Product
- github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/9363ac5b8651a1c7a333180425ce771… Product
- github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/9363ac5b8651a1c7a333180425ce771… Product
- github.com/pfsense/pfsense/blob/9363ac5b8651a1c7a333180425ce771… Product
- www.vulncheck.com/advisories/netgate-pfsense-ce-through-2.9.0-p… Third Party Advisory
Metrics
- CVSS 3.1
-
7.2
HIGH
Score source: NVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 4.0
-
7.5
HIGH
Score source: CNA
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X - EPSS — exploit probability
- 1% percentile: 62 · as of 10 November 2026
- CWE
- CWE-93
Could this be exploited in your environment?
A patch closes the known hole. A penetration test shows what an attacker can still reach — with proof.