Executive Summary

CVE-2026-45255 is a security vulnerability in FreeBSD's bsdinstall and bsdconfig utilities, which are used for system installation and configuration including Wi-Fi setup.

When these tools scan for nearby Wi-Fi networks, they build a list of network names and use a shell script to prompt the user to select a network. However, the code handling these network names does not properly prevent shell expansion.

As a result, an attacker can create a Wi-Fi access point with a specially crafted name that includes malicious shell commands. When the scan occurs, these commands can be executed in a subshell with root privileges on the system running bsdinstall or bsdconfig.

Importantly, the attacker only needs to be within range of the Wi-Fi scan; the user does not need to select the malicious network for the exploit to succeed.

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Impact Analysis

This vulnerability allows an attacker to execute arbitrary code with root privileges on a system running bsdinstall or bsdconfig during a Wi-Fi scan.

The attacker can gain full control over the affected system, potentially leading to unauthorized access, data theft, system compromise, or installation of persistent malware.

Since the exploit occurs during the installation or configuration phase, it can undermine the security of a new or reconfigured system before it is fully secured.

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Detection Guidance

This vulnerability occurs when bsdinstall or bsdconfig scan for nearby Wi-Fi networks and process network names without proper shell escaping, allowing command execution via specially crafted network names.

Detection involves checking if the system is running vulnerable versions of FreeBSD and if bsdinstall or bsdconfig have been used to scan Wi-Fi networks recently.

Since the vulnerability is triggered by scanning Wi-Fi networks, monitoring for unusual or suspicious Wi-Fi access point names in the vicinity could help identify potential exploitation attempts.

No specific commands are provided in the available resources to detect exploitation or scan for the vulnerability directly.

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Mitigation Strategies

Immediate mitigation steps include upgrading FreeBSD to versions where the issue is fixed: 15.0-RELEASE-p9, 14.4-RELEASE-p5, 14.3-RELEASE-p14, or later stable branches.

Until patched, avoid using bsdinstall or bsdconfig to scan for Wi-Fi networks.

As a workaround, configure Wi-Fi manually without using the scanning feature in these utilities.

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Compliance Impact

The provided information does not specify any direct impact of this vulnerability on compliance with common standards and regulations such as GDPR or HIPAA.

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