CVE-2026-45405
Dokku ≤ 0.38.2
Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:HCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-45405 is a critical-severity Link Following (CWE-59) vulnerability in Dokku Dokku. Its CVSS base score is 9.0 (Critical).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked at the 39th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-39804
Vulnerability Data
Dokku is a docker-powered PaaS. Prior to 0.38.2, the git:from-archive and certs:add commands extract user-supplied tar/zip archives into temporary directories without sanitizing member paths or preventing symlink traversal. GNU tar creates symlinks during extraction and follows them for subsequent entries,…
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allowing an attacker to write arbitrary files anywhere writable by the dokku user — including overwriting ~/.ssh/authorized_keys to gain unrestricted shell access. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.38.2.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V15.4.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Proper enforcement of access authorizations on the resolved target resource stops a link from reaching an unintended object.
Least-privilege limits the damage an attacker can cause after following an unintended link.
Validating file-name inputs can reject or canonicalize names that resolve to links before access occurs.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices can mandate link-resolution checks and canonicalization before file access.
Application security requirements can explicitly require safe handling of symbolic links and path traversal.
Secure architecture principles include input validation and safe file-access design patterns.
Secure coding standards directly address canonicalization and symlink attacks during implementation.
Security testing can detect link-following flaws before release.
Access-control rules can limit which files are reachable, reducing exposure to malicious links.