VulnerabilityPublished 28 Jun 2025Updated 30 Jun 2025

CVE-2025-53392: Netgate pfSense · Absolute Path Traversal

Affects Netgate pfSenseSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 5.0 Medium.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

5.0Medium

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 1.8% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 78% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Changed
Confidentiality: Low
Integrity: None
Availability: None

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Changed: An exploited vulnerability can affect resources beyond the security scope managed by the security authority of the vulnerable component. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are different and managed by different security authorities.
Confidentiality: Low: There is some loss of confidentiality. Access to some restricted information is obtained, but the attacker does not have control over what information is obtained, or the amount or kind of loss is limited. The information disclosure does not cause a direct, serious loss to the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: None: There is no impact to availability within the impacted component.

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 28 Jun 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
GitHubskraft9/pfsense-security-research/pfsense`pkg:github/skraft9/pfsense-security-research/pfsense`Other threats	Affected =2.8.0	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

Restrict the assignment of the "WebCfg - Diagnostics: Command" privilege strictly to highly trusted administrators only, minimizing the attack surface.
Implement strong authentication mechanisms (e.g., multi-factor authentication) for all administrative accounts to reduce the risk of privilege compromise.
Monitor and audit usage of the diagnostics command interface to detect unusual or unauthorized file access attempts.
Consider network segmentation and access controls to limit administrative interface exposure to trusted management networks only.
If feasible, apply custom hardening or patches that restrict the dlPath parameter to safe directories or sanitize input to prevent directory traversal, even for privileged users.
Keep pfSense installations updated and monitor Netgate advisories for any future patches or changes in privilege handling related to this issue.

Description

In Netgate pfSense CE 2.8.0, the "WebCfg - Diagnostics: Command" privilege allows reading arbitrary files via diag_command.php dlPath directory traversal. NOTE: the Supplier's perspective is that this is intended behavior for this privilege level, and that system administrators are informed through both the product documentation and UI.

Impact

For European organizations using pfSense CE 2.8.0, this vulnerability could lead to unauthorized disclosure of sensitive files if an attacker gains the "Command" privilege on the web interface. Since this privilege is typically granted to trusted administrators, the risk primarily arises from insider threats or compromised administrator accounts. Exposure of configuration files or system data could facilitate further attacks, such as credential theft or network reconnaissance. The medium severity score reflects that while the vulnerability does not allow remote unauthenticated attackers to exploit it, it can be leveraged by attackers with some level of access. Given pfSense's widespread use in enterprise and governmental networks across Europe for firewalling and routing, exploitation could impact network security posture and confidentiality of internal data. However, the lack of integrity or availability impact limits the potential for disruption or system manipulation directly via this vulnerability.

CWE-36Absolute Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize absolute path sequences such as "/abs/path" that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.
Implementation · Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
Implementation · Input Validation
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174).
Operation · Firewall
Use an application firewall that can detect attacks against this weakness. It can be beneficial in cases in which the code cannot be fixed (because it is controlled by a third party), as an emergency prevention measure while more comprehensive software assurance measures are applied, or to provide defense in depth.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Authorization (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V12.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Absolute Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

github.com/skraft9/pfsense-security-research (opens in a new tab)

Community reviews

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 28 Jun 2025, 22:54 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-36

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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