CVE-2020-11108

HIGH

Pi-Hole heisenbergCompensator Blocklist OS Command Execution

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 6 public exploits for CVE-2020-11108. PoCs published by Photubias, Metasploit, Nick Frichette, including Metasploit module exploits/unix/http/pihole_blocklist_exec.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This exploit targets CVE-2020-11108, a vulnerability in Pi-hole <=4.4.0 + Web <=4.3.3, allowing authenticated remote code execution via command injection in the blocklist settings. It creates a backdoor PHP file and triggers execution via a crafted request.

Description

The Gravity updater in Pi-hole through 4.4 allows an authenticated adversary to upload arbitrary files. This can be abused for Remote Code Execution by writing to a PHP file in the web directory. (Also, it can be used in conjunction with the sudo rule for the www-data user to escalate privileges to root.) The code error is in gravity_DownloadBlocklistFromUrl in gravity.sh.

Exploits (6)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Photubias · pythonwebappslinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48519

This exploit targets CVE-2020-11108, a vulnerability in Pi-hole <=4.4.0 + Web <=4.3.3, allowing authenticated remote code execution via command injection in the blocklist settings. It creates a backdoor PHP file and triggers execution via a crafted request.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Pi-hole <=4.4.0 + Web <=4.3.3
Auth required
Prerequisites: Authenticated access to Pi-hole admin interface · Network connectivity to the target · Listener set up on attacker's machine
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Metasploit · rubyremotephp
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48491

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2020-11108 in Pi-Hole <= 4.4 by adding a malicious blocklist, forcing a gravity update to write a PHP backdoor, and escalating privileges via teleporter.php. It achieves remote code execution with root privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Pi-Hole <= 4.4
Auth required
Prerequisites: Network access to Pi-Hole admin interface · Valid credentials if authentication is enabled · Web server port 80 accessible
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC
by Nick Frichette · pythonwebappslinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48443

This exploit targets Pi-hole <= 4.4 by leveraging an authenticated RCE vulnerability. It uses a multi-stage payload to upload and execute a reverse shell via PHP code injection in the blocklist settings.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Pi-hole <= 4.4
Auth required
Prerequisites: Authenticated session cookie · Target URL · Attacker-controlled IP and port for reverse shell · Root privileges to bind to port 80
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb WORKING POC
by Nick Frichette · pythonwebappslinux
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/48442

This exploit targets Pi-hole <= 4.4 by leveraging an authenticated RCE vulnerability (CVE-2020-11108) via a malicious blocklist URL to upload and execute a PHP payload, resulting in a reverse shell.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Pi-hole <= 4.4
Auth required
Prerequisites: Authenticated session cookie · Target URL · Attacker-controlled IP and port · Root privileges for port 80 binding
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 27 stars
by Frichetten · poc
https://github.com/Frichetten/CVE-2020-11108-PoC

This repository contains two Python scripts demonstrating remote code execution (RCE) in Pi-hole <= 4.4 via CVE-2020-11108. The first script achieves a reverse shell as www-data, while the second escalates privileges to root by overwriting teleporter.php.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Pi-hole <= 4.4
Auth required
Prerequisites: Authenticated session cookie · Target URL · Attacker-controlled IP and port for reverse shell · Root privileges on attacker machine for port 80 binding
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC EXCELLENT
by h00die, Nick Frichette · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/unix/http/pihole_blocklist_exec.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2020-11108 in Pi-Hole <= 4.4 by adding a malicious blocklist, forcing a gravity update to write PHP payloads to the webroot, and achieving root privilege escalation via teleporter.php.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Pi-Hole <= 4.4
Auth required
Prerequisites: Network access to Pi-Hole admin interface · Valid credentials if authentication is enabled
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (6)

Core 6
Core References
Exploit, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://frichetten.com/blog/cve-2020-11108-pihole-rce/
Exploit, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://github.com/Frichetten/CVE-2020-11108-PoC
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry x_refsource_misc
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/157623/Pi-hole-4.4-Remote-Code-Execution.html

Scores

CVSS v3 8.8
EPSS 0.8959
EPSS Percentile 99.6%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-434
Status published
Products (1)
pi-hole/pi-hole < 4.4
Published May 11, 2020
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026