---
id: CVE-2026-119336
title: >-
  Pi-hole: arbitrary root file clobber / chmod / disclosure via updatecheck.sh
  cron following /etc/pihole/versions symlink
summary: >-
  Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that protects devices from unwanted content without
  installing any client-side software. From 6.4.2 until 6.5, the root-run
  advanced/Scripts/updatecheck.sh cron job applies truncate -s 0 and chmod 644
  to /etc/pi…
severity: high
cvss: 7.8
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-59
  - CWE-61
vendor: pi-hole
product: pi-hole
affected:
  - 'pi-hole >= 6.4.2, < 6.5'
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: total
  timestamp: '2026-10-30T21:21:13.368597Z'
published: '2026-10-30'
updated: '2026-10-30'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-30T22:14:23.468Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-119336'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/security/advisories/GHSA-xch2-4qxw-g5vj'
    label: 'https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/security/advisories/GHSA-xch2-4qxw-g5vj'
  - url: 'https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/pull/6719'
    label: 'https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/pull/6719'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/commit/85de82dd2b63bf71ecb936177dfb82421d9d2f25
    label: >-
      https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/commit/85de82dd2b63bf71ecb936177dfb82421d9d2f25
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/commit/c1062f43b0de1876321bafac58fba862406366cb
    label: >-
      https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/commit/c1062f43b0de1876321bafac58fba862406366cb
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/commit/e05dc3f139206fd8d0e4a052dceefb9056533517
    label: >-
      https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/commit/e05dc3f139206fd8d0e4a052dceefb9056533517
  - url: 'https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/releases/tag/v6.5'
    label: 'https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/releases/tag/v6.5'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00247
epssPercentile: 0.16144
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T16:24:31.475Z'
---

## Overview

Pi-hole is a DNS sinkhole that protects devices from unwanted content without installing any client-side software. From 6.4.2 until 6.5, the root-run advanced/Scripts/updatecheck.sh cron job applies truncate -s 0 and chmod 644 to /etc/pihole/versions while following symbolic links in a directory owned by the pihole user. An attacker executing as pihole can replace that path with a symlink so the scheduled root operations truncate or create an arbitrary root-owned file, or race the operations so chmod makes a sensitive target world-readable without truncating it. This issue is fixed in version 6.5.

## Affected

- `pi-hole >= 6.4.2, < 6.5`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.