CriticalPublic exploit

Authenticated RCE via unsafe deserialization in Netgate pfSense CE 2.7.2

IdentifiersCVE-2025-69690CWE-502· Deserialization of Untrusted Data

CVE-2025-69690 is an authenticated remote code execution issue in Netgate pfSense Community Edition 2.7.2 in the configuration backup/restore or module installer workflow. According to the provided content, pfSense invokes PHP unserialize() on user-controlled data from a supplied backup file without class whitelisting, sufficient input validation, or sandboxing. A crafted backup file containing a malicious serialized PHP object can set the post_reboot_commands property in the relevant object path associated with the pfsense_module_installer/config restore logic, resulting in attacker-controlled commands being passed to mwexec() and executed with full root privileges. The supplier disputes the classification as a vulnerability on the grounds that the affected functionality is only available to administrators who are already intentionally permitted to execute PHP code.

For your environment

Are you exposed to this one?

Mallory correlates every CVE against your assets, your vendors, and active adversary campaigns. Know which vulnerabilities matter for you, not just which ones are loud.

Start free trial

ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation allows an authenticated attacker with administrative access to execute arbitrary operating system commands as root on the pfSense firewall. This can result in complete device compromise, persistent backdoor installation, modification of firewall behavior and configuration, theft of credentials and configuration secrets, and broader takeover of the security boundary enforced by the firewall.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

Restrict administrative access to pfSense to a minimal trusted set of operators, disable or tightly control use of configuration restore and module installer functionality where operationally possible, and prevent untrusted backup files from being imported. Enforce strong authentication and network isolation for the management interface, monitor for restore operations and unexpected command execution, and treat imported configuration artifacts as highly sensitive and potentially malicious. Because the supplier disputes the issue and no patch is described in the provided content, mitigation is primarily administrative and architectural.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

The provided content states the supplier indicated no patches would be issued and treated the behavior as expected for authenticated administrators. No vendor-supported remediation is available in the supplied material. If addressing the issue defensively, the vulnerable restore/installer path would need to stop deserializing untrusted data with unserialize(), replace it with a safe serialization format or strict allowlisting, and prevent execution of attacker-controlled values through post_reboot_commands/mwexec().

PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No valid public exploits. Mallory filtered out 1 candidate as fakes, detection scripts, or README-only repos.

VALID 0 / 1 TOTALView more in app

All candidate exploits were filtered out by Mallory's validation.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType

NetgatePfsense Ceapplication

PfsensePfsenseapplication

Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.

ACTIVITY FEED

Recent activity

6 sources tracked across advisories and community write-ups. News coverage will land here when it surfaces.

6 SOURCESView more in app

No news coverage yet. Advisories and community discussion only.

What this page doesn’t show

The version that knows your environment.

This page is what’s public. Mallory adds the parts that aren’t: which of your assets are affected, which adversaries are exploiting it right now, which detections to deploy, and what to do tonight.

Start free trial

Exposure mapping

Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.

Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity6

Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.

EXTERNAL REFERENCES

MITRE CVE

cve.org · CVE-2025-69690

NVD

nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-69690

MITRE CWE · CWE-502

Deserialization of Untrusted Data

Third Party Advisory

seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2026/Feb/16

Authenticated RCE via unsafe deserialization in Netgate pfSense CE 2.7.2

IdentifiersCVE-2025-69690CWE-502· Deserialization of Untrusted Data