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Release Candidates of pfSense CE 2.7.0 and pfSense Plus 23.05.1 Software Now Available

Written by: Bill Rathbone

Date: June 24, 2023

Release Candidates of pfSense CE 2.7.0 and pfSense Plus 23.05.1 Software Now Available

The Release Candidate (RC) builds of pfSense® CE software version 2.7.0, and pfSense® Plus software version 23.05.1, are now available. As we prepare for their final release (currently planned for June 29) we invite you to try out the release candidates and share your feedback with us.

Overview

pfSense Community Edition (CE) software is an open-source project, and Netgate® has been providing stewardship and resources for it since 2008. We support the pfSense CE project by contributing releases, snapshots, and updates of pfSense CE software, as well as making other code contributions, FreeBSD-related updates, and more. The pfSense CE project source code is available on GitHub, distributed under the Apache 2.0 open source license.

pfSense Plus software is a Netgate® product, separate and distinct from pfSense CE software. This separation enables us to develop enhanced capabilities that serve our customers without disrupting the codebase that community members rely upon today. pfSense Plus software is offered at no charge on Netgate appliances, and is available through the AWS and Azure Cloud Service Provider (CSP) marketplaces.

Call for Testing

Testing of these RC builds is important. Rigorous testing is the best way to strengthen the software for everyone, particularly given the unique environments and configurations of our users. Installing and testing these RC builds, and letting us know about issues, is a chance for our users to make a difference.

Release Notes for pfSense CE 2.7.0 Software

For the latest information about the changes and new features in pfSense CE software version 2.7.0, it is best to review the Release Notes prior to any upgrade. Some of the key changes include:

  • Moved captive portal from IPFW to PF
  • Fixed issue with UPnP and multiple game systems
  • Added new gateway state killing options for smoother failover
  • Improved Firewall/NAT rule usability with buttons to toggle multiple rules and copy rules to other interfaces
  • Upgraded OpenVPN to 2.6.4 and deprecated OpenVPN Shared Key Tunnels
  • Upgraded to PHP 8.2.6
  • Moved to track the ‘main’ branch of FreeBSD
  • Deprecated older IPsec transforms
  • Added support for ChaCha20-Poly1305 to IPsec
  • Addressed issues with unbound crashes
  • Added new packet capture GUI
  • Added UDP broadcast relay package

How to Upgrade pfSense CE 2.7.0 Software

It’s always recommended to save a backup of the firewall configuration prior to any major change such as an upgrade. 

Upgrades from an earlier version of pfSense CE are made through the GUI: 

  • Navigate to System > Update
  • Set Branch to “Next Stable Version (2.7.0 RC)”
  • Click Confirm to start the upgrade process

Release Notes for pfSense Plus 23.05.1 Software

For the latest information about the changes and new features in pfSense Plus software version 23.05.1, it is best to review the Release Notes prior to any upgrade. This release incorporates several bug fixes and stability enhancements.

How to Upgrade pfSense Plus 23.05.1 Software

It’s always recommended to save a backup of the firewall configuration prior to any major change such as an upgrade. 

Upgrades from an earlier version of pfSense Plus are made through the GUI:

  • Navigate to System > Update
  • Set Branch to “Next Stable Version (23.05.1 RC)”
  • Click Confirm to start the upgrade process

How to Troubleshoot Upgrades

We recommend testing an RC version in a lab, on a scratch system, or in a Virtual Machine, rather than on production systems. Please review Troubleshooting Upgrades for the most up-to-date information on working around upgrade issues.

Where to Report Errors

We encourage you to test the things which are important or unique to your deployments. Please report any errors or concerns in the corresponding category of the Netgate Forum. Depending on the issue, we may ask for more details, or for you to open a bug on redmine.pfsense.org.

Include as much information as possible in your reports, such as console error messages, full PHP errors, the system configuration file (sanitized, if necessary), information from the text dump, etc. A full text dump might contain sensitive information, so be sure to inspect it before posting.

Summary

We express our sincere thanks to all users willing to get involved with testing these RC builds. This community involvement is part of what makes the pfSense project a stronger solution for everyone.