PT-2026-42403 · Freebsd · Bsdinstall+2

Austin Ralls · Published 2026-05-21 · Updated 2026-05-25 · CVE-2026-45255

Positive Technologies (AI Summary)

CVSS v3.1

7.5

High

Base vector

AV:A/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Name of the Vulnerable Software and Affected Versions FreeBSD bsdinstall/bsdconfig (affected versions not specified)

Description When bsdinstall or bsdconfig are prompted to scan for nearby Wi-Fi networks, they compile a list of network names and use the bsddialog(1) function to prompt the user for selection. Because this process is implemented via a shell script that fails to prevent shell expansion of network names, a specially crafted network name can trigger command injection via a subshell. This allows an attacker within range of a Wi-Fi scan to execute arbitrary code as root. The issue is triggered as soon as the scan is initiated; the user does not need to select or connect to the malicious network.

Recommendations At the moment, there is no information about a newer version that contains a fix for this vulnerability.

RCE

OS Command Injection

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-78

Related Identifiers

CVE-2026-45255

Affected Products

Freebsd

Bsdconfig

Bsdinstall

References · 7

• https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45255 · Security Note
• https://security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-26:23.bsdinstall.asc · Vendor Advisory
• https://t.me/CVEtracker/54495 · Telegram Post
• https://twitter.com/DFIR_Lab/status/2057616738108178912 · Twitter Post
• https://reddit.com/r/freebsd/comments/1tjaceg/20260520_freebsd_errata_notice_and_seven_security · Reddit Post
• https://freebsd.org/security/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-26:23.bsdinstall.asc · Note
• https://twitter.com/the_yellow_fall/status/2058717686319002069 · Twitter Post