7.5
/ 10
HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Description
When bsdinstall or bsdconfig are prompted to scan for nearby Wi-Fi networks, they build up a list of network names and use bsddialog(1) to prompt the user to select a network. This is implemented using a shell script, and the code which handled network names was not careful to prevent expansion by the shell. As a result, a suitably crafted network name can be used to execute commands via a subshell.
The problem can be exploited to execute code as root on the system running bsdinstall or bsdconfig. The attacker would need to create an access point with a specially crafted name and be within range of a Wi-Fi scan. Note that bsdinstall and bsdconfig are vulnerable as soon as the user prompts them to scan for nearby networks; they do not need to actually select the malicious network.
The problem can be exploited to execute code as root on the system running bsdinstall or bsdconfig. The attacker would need to create an access point with a specially crafted name and be within range of a Wi-Fi scan. Note that bsdinstall and bsdconfig are vulnerable as soon as the user prompts them to scan for nearby networks; they do not need to actually select the malicious network.
Basic Information
ID
CVE-2026-45255
Source
freebsd
Published
May 21, 2026 at 09:27
Modified
May 21, 2026 at 14:27
Affected Product
Vendor
FreeBSD
Product
FreeBSD
Version
15.0-RELEASE
Affected Versions
FreeBSD FreeBSD 15.0-RELEASE
FreeBSD FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE
FreeBSD FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE
FreeBSD FreeBSD 14.4-RELEASE
FreeBSD FreeBSD 14.3-RELEASE