CVE-2026-45406 | Dokku: Host RCE via Maliciously Named OpenResty Include Files Injected Through eval

Dokku is a docker-powered PaaS. Prior to 0.38.2, the openresty-vhosts plugin copies files from an app's openresty/http-includes/ git repository directory to the host and then interpolates their filenames, unescaped, into a single-quoted shell string that is later parsed by eval. A filename containing a single quote breaks the quoting and allows command substitution to execute arbitrary commands on the host as the dokku user during the app's next deploy. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.38.2.

Published: 2026-06-26 Last update: 2026-06-26 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-45406 is rated Moderate Risk (42.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.27%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-45406

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-27 0.06% 0.27% +0.21%
2 2026-06-12 0.06%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-45406

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.0 3.1 CRITICAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.3 6.0 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-45406

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-45406

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
dokku dokku < 0.38.2 cpe:2.3:a:dokku:dokku:*:*:*:*:-:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-45406

cvelogic Threat Intelligence