CVE-2026-33727Public exploit

Root command execution via writable sourced file

Published Apr 6, 2026 · Updated Apr 6, 2026

Local privilege escalation in Pi-hole 6.4 allows local users controlling a pihole process to execute arbitrary commands as root. Root-run pihole, version.sh, and piholeDebug.sh scripts source /etc/pihole/versions even though the pihole account can write that file. Exploitation requires an existing foothold as UID pihole; the account has nologin, but injected shell content runs with root privileges when a privileged script or cron path reads the file.

CVSS severity6.4
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in Pi-hole 6.4 allows local users controlling a pihole process to execute arbitrary commands as root. Root-run pihole, version.sh, and piholeDebug.sh scripts source /etc/pihole/versions even though the pihole account can write that file. Exploitation requires an existing foothold as UID pihole; the account has nologin, but injected shell content runs with root privileges when a privileged script or cron path reads the file.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-33727
Published
Apr 6, 2026
Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Vendor
Pi-hole
Product
Pi-hole
Classifications
CWE-269, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=>= 6.4, < 6.4.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Pi-hole · Pi-holeversion=>= 6.4, < 6.4.1

Published CVSS scores

6.4GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
6.7NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-269Improper Privilege Management
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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