A black hole for Internet advertisements
This report summarizes scanner evidence for pi-hole/pi-hole, a Shell project with 61,225 GitHub stars. SynthScan examined 8,914 lines of code across 53 source files, recording 112 pattern matches distributed across 7 syntactic categories. The legacy adjusted pattern signal is 24.6 (Elevated pattern signal); it is not an authorship estimate.
Use the findings to ask whether maintainers can explain intent, verify dependencies, simplify unnecessary scaffolding, and focus review effort. Risk Payload v1 adds ownership, supply-chain, over-engineering, and review-effort vectors when available. These are prompts for human verification, not probabilities, security findings, or measured maintenance costs.
Use each vector to guide manual verification of the underlying findings.
Can maintainers explain intent, assumptions, and trade-offs? 96 finding(s).
Are imports declared and package/API names verified? 0 finding(s).
Are wrappers, guards, and repeated structures necessary? 16 finding(s).
Which changes need focused human review? 112 finding(s).
This chart tracks the legacy adjusted pattern score across scan runs. Changes can reflect source changes, scan coverage, or detector/scoring versions; they do not measure AI adoption or prove that a team refactored code. Compare runs only when their scoring versions are compatible. The dashed line tracks the raw pattern-hit count.
Groups findings by configured severity weight. Severity is not a confidence estimate, security rating, or proof that a package is missing. Verify imports against the project's manifests and inspect each finding in its local design context.
This horizontal bar chart shows where configured pattern scores accumulate across directories. Treat the bars as locations to inspect, not as evidence of authorship or code quality. Use the file-level findings to decide whether a directory needs a focused ownership, dependency, complexity, or review check.
The scanner identified 112 distinct pattern matches across 7 syntactic categories. Each entry below represents a discrete location in the source code where the engine recorded a detector match to inspect in context. Expand any category row to inspect the individual file paths, line numbers, code snippets, and the lexical context (CODE, COMMENT, or STRING) in which each match was detected.
Reading the findings table: The Severity column indicates the configured finding weight (CRITICAL / HIGH / MEDIUM / LOW). The Context column identifies whether the match occurred inside executable code, an inline comment, or a string literal — legacy comment-context matches receive a ×1.5 score weight. The ⚡ bolt icon marks clustered matches: three or more patterns within a 10-line window, each receiving an additional ×1.5 density multiplier under the legacy scoring model.
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | gravity.sh | 10 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | gravity.sh | 189 | # Create a temporary file with random filename with '.gravity' suffix. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | gravity.sh | 621 | # Create a temporary file with random filename with '.phgpb' suffix. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | gravity.sh | 769 | # Define the generic error message | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/utils.sh | 9 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/piholeNetworkFlush.sh | 9 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/api.sh | 9 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/piholeLogFlush.sh | 8 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/updatecheck.sh | 8 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/piholeCheckout.sh | 8 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/update.sh | 10 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 8 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 144 | # Create a random temporary file for the log | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 565 | # Create an array for these ports in use | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/query.sh | 9 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/list.sh | 9 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/version.sh | 8 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | advanced/Scripts/database_migration/gravity-db.sh | 10 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/uninstall.sh | 8 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/basic-install.sh | 9 | # This file is copyright under the latest version of the EUPL. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/basic-install.sh | 334 | # Create a fresh build directory with random name | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/basic-install.sh | 1117 | # Create an empty adList file with appropriate permissions. | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/basic-install.sh | 1430 | # Create a command from the package cache variable | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2152 | # Create a random temporary file for the log | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2381 | # Create the pihole user | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | gravity.sh | 146 | # Check if the backup directory exists | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 222 | # Read file line by line | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 258 | # Check if a column with name ${2} exists in gravity table with name ${1} | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 311 | # Check if gravity database needs to be updated | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 339 | # Check if gravity database needs to be updated | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 387 | # Check if a backup exists | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 523 | # Check if etag is supported by the locally available version of curl | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 550 | # Check if we can write to the save location file without actually creating | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 661 | # Check if this domain is blocked by Pi-hole but only if the domain is not a | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 668 | # Check if this IP matches any IP of the system | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 732 | # Check if the file exists and is a regular file (i.e. not a socket, fifo, tty, block). Might still be a symlink. | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 775 | # Check if the installed curl version supports the "-w %{errormsg}" option. | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 852 | # Check if $listCurlBuffer is a non-zero length file | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 1158 | # Check if DNS is available, no need to do any database manipulation if we're not able to download adlists | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/api.sh | 78 | # Check if 2FA is required | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeCheckout.sh | 47 | # Check if FTL is installed - do this early on as FTL is a hard dependency for Pi-hole | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeCheckout.sh | 169 | # Check if requested branch is available | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 330 | # Check if a SELinux configuration file exists | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 361 | # Check if FirewallD service is enabled | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 475 | # Check if we are using IPv4 or IPv6 | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 594 | # Check if the right services are using the right ports | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 712 | # Check if Pi-hole can use itself to block a domain | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 922 | # Check if the file we want to view has a limit (because sometimes we just need a little bit of info | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 945 | # Check if the directory exists | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 1276 | # Check if tricorder.pi-hole.net is reachable and provide token | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 456 | # Display the message and use the color table to preface the message with an "info" indicator | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 533 | # Check if the directory is a repository | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 751 | # Check if it's ULA, GUA, or LL by using the function created earlier | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 1407 | # Check if Systemd-resolved's DNSStubListener is enabled and active on port 53 | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 1545 | # Check if the pihole user exists and create if it does not | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 1723 | # Check if the download exists and we can reach the server | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2097 | # Check if the installed version matches the latest version | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2199 | # Check if lighttpd is installed | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2240 | # Print the output of the FTL migration prefacing every line with four | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2304 | # Check if SELinux is Enforcing and exit before doing anything else | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2310 | # Check if this is a fresh install or an update/repair | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2336 | # Check if there is a usable FTL binary available on this architecture - do | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2428 | # Check if gravity database needs to be upgraded. If so, do it without rebuilding | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 7 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 9 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 52 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 54 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 86 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 94 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | test/run.sh | 107 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | test/run.sh | 112 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | test/run.sh | 120 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM⚡ | test/run.sh | 122 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 138 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 140 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 151 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 154 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 169 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| MEDIUM | test/run.sh | 171 | # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | gravity.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 621 | # Create a temporary file with random filename with '.phgpb' suffix. | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 781 | # (see https://github.com/pi-hole/pi-hole/issues/6615) | COMMENT |
| LOW | gravity.sh | 1041 | # Usage: | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/utils.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env sh | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/utils.sh | 41 | COMMENT | |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/utils.sh | 101 | # -s: FILE exists and has a size greater than zero | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/utils.sh | 121 | # Pipe to cat to avoid pihole-FTL assuming this is an interactive command | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeNetworkFlush.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/api.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env sh | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeLogFlush.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/updatecheck.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeCheckout.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/update.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 661 | fi | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 681 | # Get interfaces | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/query.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env sh | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/list.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/list.sh | 121 | LoginAPI | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/version.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env sh | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/bash-completion/pihole-ftl.bash | 1 | #!/bin/bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/uninstall.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 1 | #!/usr/bin/env bash | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 21 | set -e | COMMENT |
| LOW | automated install/basic-install.sh | 2421 | # Check for and disable systemd-resolved-DNSStubListener before reloading resolved | COMMENT |
| LOW | .github/workflows/sync-back-to-dev.yml | 1 | name: Sync Back to Development | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | gravity.sh | 739 | # If we are root, we need to check if the pihole user has read permission | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 673 | # Next we need to check if Pi-hole can resolve a domain when the query is sent to it's IP address | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | gravity.sh | 1041 | # Usage: | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/utils.sh | 25 | # Example usage: | COMMENT |
| Severity | File | Line | Snippet | Context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/updatecheck.sh | 31 | # if ${2} is = "master" we need to use the "latest" endpoint, otherwise, we simply return null | COMMENT |
| LOW | advanced/Scripts/piholeDebug.sh | 465 | # Otherwise, just use ping | COMMENT |