CVE-2026-41489
HIGHDescription
Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that protects devices from unwanted content without installing any client-side software. From 6.0 to before Core 6.4.2 and FTL 6.6.1, two shell scripts executed as root by systemd (pihole-FTL-prestart.sh and pihole-FTL-poststop.sh) read the files.pid path from this config without validation and use it in privileged file operations (install and rm -f). By writing an arbitrary path into files.pid, an attacker with pihole privilege can cause root to delete and then recreate any file on the system outside the ProtectSystem=full-restricted directories, gaining write access to it. On a default Pi-hole installation this yields local privilege escalation to root via SSH authorized keys manipulation. If /root/.ssh/authorized_keys does not exist (default on fresh installs), only ExecStartPre is required. If the file exists, ExecStopPost deletes it first, and the same restart triggers both hooks in sequence. This vulnerability is fixed in Core 6.4.2 and FTL 6.6.1.
How to fix
No published remediation has been found for this vulnerability's affected products yet.
Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.
TridentStack Control tracks known vulnerabilities across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet and shows the fix as soon as one is published. See how it works
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Low risk: more likely to be exploited than 3% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-15 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-39280 | Critical | 9.1 | 34% | - | - |
| CVE-2026-41176 | Critical | 9.8 | 33% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2023-50252 | High | 8.3 | 24% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2024-38666 | Critical | 9.1 | 19% | - | - |
| CVE-2024-51544 | High | 8.2 | 14% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2024-10979 | High | 8.8 | 4.4% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2026-41489?
No published fix for CVE-2026-41489 has been found yet. Check the linked vendor advisories for guidance as it becomes available.
Is CVE-2026-41489 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2026-41489 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 0.13% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 3% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2026-41489?
CVE-2026-41489 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.8, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
Embed a live status badge for CVE-2026-41489
Markdown
[](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2026-41489)HTML
<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2026-41489"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2026-41489.svg" alt="CVE-2026-41489"></a>Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet
TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.
This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-05-13.