pfSense

When a new version of pfSense is available, the "Current" branch version changes to match the new version. This causes Package Manager to use the Current branch when trying to install or update packages, rather than using packages that match the installed branch.

For example, on a firewall running pfSense 23.09.1 with the update branch set to "Current Stable Version (24.03)", Package Manager shows that update are available for several of the installed packages (i.e Zabbix, ntopng, etc). Attempting to update existing packages or install new packages leads to errors similar to "a new version of PHP is available and must be installed first" (paraphrasing).

Package Manager should use the installed version of pfSense instead of what is selected under System > Update > Update Settings.

The Update Settings screen is under the heading "Firmware Branch" and the the note says "Please select the branch from which to update the system firmware." There is no mention that this also affects Package Manager or packages.

As an alternative, changing the wording of the Update settings to "Please select the branch from which to update the system firmware and packages " or adding a hint to the error message like "Check that the firmware branch setting matches the currently installed version of pfSense and try again" would be helpful.