Authenticated command execution via host-record newline injection
Published Apr 7, 2026 · Updated Apr 7, 2026
Command injection in Pi-hole FTL 6.0 through 6.5 allows remote authenticated users to execute OS commands through the administration API. The dns.hostRecord validator accepts newline characters, and its writer inserts the value directly into dnsmasq configuration, permitting injected leasefile-ro and dhcp-script directives. Administrative API access and a DNS-service restart are required; the resulting shell command runs on the underlying server.
Summary
What happened
Command injection in Pi-hole FTL 6.0 through 6.5 allows remote authenticated users to execute OS commands through the administration API. The dns.hostRecord validator accepts newline characters, and its writer inserts the value directly into dnsmasq configuration, permitting injected leasefile-ro and dhcp-script directives. Administrative API access and a DNS-service restart are required; the resulting shell command runs on the underlying server.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-35519
- Published
- Apr 7, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 7, 2026
- Vendor
- Pi-hole
- Product
- Pi-hole FTL
- Classifications
- CWE-93, CWE-78, CWE-20, T1059.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 7, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 7, 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.
- Affected versionversion=>= 6.0, < 6.6
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- GHSA dns.hostRecord newline-injection proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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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