High exploit reference

CVE-2026-39849 — Pi-hole FTL remote code execution via newline injection in dns.interface configuration

Pi-hole FTL is the core engine of the Pi-hole network-level advertisement and tracker blocker. In versions before 6.6.1, the `dns.interface` configuration field in Pi-hole FTL accepted newline characters without validation, allowing an attacker to inject arbitrary directives into the generated dnsmasq configuration file. On installations with no admin password set (the default for many deployments), the configuration API is fully accessible without credentials, allowing a network-adjacent attacker to inject the payload, enable the built-in DHCP server, and achieve arbitrary command execution on the host the next time any device on the network requests a DHCP lease. The injected value is persisted to /etc/pihole/pihole.toml and survives restarts. The strncpy in the code path limits the total interface field to 31 bytes, but payloads such as wlan0\ndhcp-script=/tmp/p fit within this constraint. The dnsmasq config validation introduced in FTL 6.6 only checks syntactic validity, so valid directives injected via newline pass validation successfully. This issue has been fixed in version 6.6.1.

Published May 5, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: GitHub_M

Low

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.

How the score was calculated

EPSS 1% (30-day exploitation probability)+9
Technical severity (high)+6
CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation

Not confirmed

Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.

EPSS FIRST

ahead of 62% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026

Affects

Pi-hole

FTL and 1 more

CVSS base

8.8

High · 3 source(s)

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation

Proof of concept

none · proof-of-concept · active

Automatable

can an attacker script the kill-chain steps

Technical impact

Total

partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

Documented patch — github.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Pi-hole FTL, Pi-hole Ftldns).
Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Vendor	Product	Versions	Status	Source
Pi-hole	FTL	version < 6.6.1	Vulnerable	CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Pi-hole	Ftldns	version 6.6	Vulnerable	NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector

Network

Attack complexity

Low

Privileges required

Low

User interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Score	Version	Severity	Expl.	Impact	Scored by
8.7	CVSS 4.0	High	—	—	security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database
8.7	CVSS 4.0	High	—	—	GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
8.8	CVSS 3.1	High	2.8	5.9	nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-93

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 1.00%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).

web/proxy/WAF logsnetwork IDS/IPS

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

2026
Affected products added · pi-hole/ftl
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
SSVC assessment updated
Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Record published
Oct 13, 2026
Fix documented
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS changed · 8.8
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Source status changed · → Analyzed
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
Record created in this database
Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVE published
May 5, 2026 · GitHub_M

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

3 on the record

github.com/pi-hole/FTL/security/advisories/GHSA-9cqv-839p-gpq2
Exploit, Vendor Advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/pi-hole/FTL/commit/0c46e4ec7fe57f762fce261625f2cf5d43806e6d
Patch, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database
github.com/pi-hole/FTL/releases/tag/v6.6.1
Product, Release Notes, x_refsource_MISC, NIST National Vulnerability Database

Elsewhere on this site

Pi-hole
every CVE for this vendor

CWE-93
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

High CVE-2026-44693 Pi-hole FTL: Unauthenticated Session Hijacking via Race Condition on Global Session Buffer Jun 10, 2026
High CVE-2026-35517 Pi-hole FTL affected by Remote Code Execution (RCE) via dns.upstreams Newline Injection Apr 7, 2026
High CVE-2026-35518 Pi-hole FTL affected by Remote Code Execution (RCE) via dns.cnameRecords Newline Injection Apr 7, 2026
High CVE-2026-35519 Pi-hole FTL affected by Remote Code Execution (RCE) via dns.hostRecord Newline Injection Apr 7, 2026
High CVE-2026-35520 Pi-hole FTL affected by Remote Code Execution (RCE) via dhcp.leaseTime Newline Injection Apr 7, 2026
High CVE-2026-35521 Pi-hole FTL affected by Remote Code Execution (RCE) via dhcp.hosts Newline Injection Apr 7, 2026

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-39849 is "Pi-hole FTL remote code execution via newline injection in dns.interface configuration", rated High. It affects FTL (Pi-hole); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 1.00% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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