Netgate Releases pfSense Plus Software Version 26.03

pfSense® Plus software, the world's leading firewall, router, and VPN solution, delivers secure network edge and cloud networking capabilities for millions of deployments worldwide.

Today, Netgate® is releasing pfSense Plus software version 26.03. This regularly scheduled update brings over 40 improvements, bug fixes, and enhancements. We strongly encourage all pfSense Plus customers to upgrade to the latest version.

New Features and Improvements

WebGUI Optimizations

The WebGUI code has been optimized. Users may notice a significant improvement in the performance and responsiveness of the WebGUI.

System Patches Package

The System Patches package is now installed by default. This package simplifies the process of applying official recommended security patches and bug fixes from Netgate between major releases. We recommend periodically checking for and applying updates to this package.

SSH Algorithms

This release updates the SSH daemon with stronger algorithms for key exchange, encryption, and message authentication. These changes enhance security by incorporating post-quantum key exchange algorithms and removing older, weaker ones.

TLS Certificate Strength

Weak TLS server certificates (< 2048 bits) are now deprecated. During the upgrade process, the system will automatically check the GUI certificate and regenerate a stronger one if the current certificate is invalid, expired, or no longer meets current security standards.

TLS Certificate Auto-Renew

pfSense Plus can now automatically renew self-signed TLS server certificates or those signed by an internal CA stored in the configuration. This feature is enabled by default for the GUI certificate where possible, and renewed certificates always use the latest strict security settings.

Release Notes

Detailed release notes for pfSense Plus 26.03-RELEASE are available in the pfSense documentation.

Installing the Upgrade

Netgate has a detailed Upgrade Guide in the pfSense documentation that explains the process. Below are the high-level steps to perform the upgrade.

Note: New installations of pfSense Plus 26.03 require Netgate Installer version 1.1.1 or later, available for download here.

For users currently running pfSense Plus software:

Upgrades are typically performed through the web interface. As always, back up your configuration before upgrading.

Navigate to System > Update

Set the Branch to "Current Stable Version (26.03)"

Click Confirm to begin the upgrade

For users running pfSense Community Edition (CE):

We encourage you to migrate to pfSense Plus to access all the latest features, performance improvements, and ongoing development. Details are available on the Netgate website.

Troubleshooting

Please review the documentation on Troubleshooting Upgrades for the most up-to-date information on working around upgrade issues.

This pfSense Plus software release is ready for use in production environments. Should any issues arise, please post to our forum or contact Netgate Technical Assistance Center (TAC) for paid 24/7/365 support.

Looking Ahead: Transitioning to a Modern Architecture

For more than two decades, our legacy PHP-based GUI and backend have served us exceptionally well. They provided a familiar and reliable interface that helped establish pfSense and its many derivatives as trusted leaders in the networking industry.

However, as networking demands have evolved, that codebase has grown increasingly outdated. Its architectural limitations and accumulated technical debt no longer align with our vision of delivering the fast, responsive, and truly modern user experience our customers expect and deserve.

That's why we're excited to announce our transition to a completely rewritten system built on Go. This modern architecture, already powering the new UI in the Nexus Controller, delivers significant performance improvements, a powerful, full-featured API, and true cross-platform compatibility. It lays the foundation for the future of pfSense software, including native Linux support.

Supporting the Project

Your purchases directly support the engineering teams building the future of pfSense. When you buy Netgate hardware, pfSense Plus software, TAC subscriptions, or use our AWS/Azure cloud instances, you help fund continued innovation, including the shift to our high-performance Go-based platform.

Ways to support the project:

• Purchase an official system directly from Netgate or from our worldwide reseller partner network. Our appliances are the fast, easy way to get up and running with a fully-optimized firewall.
• Purchase a technical assistance subscription (TAC), which provides you with direct 24/7 access to our Netgate Global Support team.
• Purchase Professional Services to access our most senior engineers for more complex projects outside the scope of TAC support.
• Use a genuine pfSense Plus instance from Netgate to connect and protect your cloud workloads on AWS and Azure.

Thank you to our customers and the community for your continued support. Your involvement helps strengthen pfSense for everyone.