Quick answer
Direct answer
Risk scores
| CVSS metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Attack vector (AV:N) | Network: reachable remotely |
| Attack complexity (AC:L) | Low complexity |
| Attack requirements (AT:N) | No attack requirements |
| Privileges required (PR:L) | Low privileges required |
| User interaction (UI:N) | No user interaction |
| Confidentiality (VC:H) | High confidentiality impact |
| Integrity (VI:N) | No integrity impact |
| Availability (VA:N) | No availability impact |
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
About Portainer
CVE-2026-44881 affects Portainer, a product from Portainer. Before acting, confirm where Portainer runs in your estate, who owns it and whether it is reachable from the internet, because exposure decides real risk more than the score alone.
What the flaw is
In plain terms: Portainer Community Edition is a lightweight service delivery platform for containerized applications that can be used to manage Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes and ACI environments. From 2.33.0 to before 2.33.8, 2.39.2, and 2.41.0, Portainer supports deploying stacks from Git repositories. When a Git-backed stack is created or updated, Portainer clones the repository using go-git v5, which translates Git blob entries with mode 0o120000 (symlink) into real OS symlinks on the host filesystem via os.Symlink. The only entry blocked from becoming a symlink is .gitmodules; every other path is created as a symlink without validation. Portainer's GET /api/stacks/{id}/file endpoint then reads the stack entry point with os.ReadFile, which follows OS symlinks transparently. A repository containing docker-compose.yml as a symlink to an arbitrary filesystem path causes the symlink target's contents to be returned verbatim in the HTTP response. Any authenticated user with rights to create or update a Git-backed stack — the default configuration in Portainer CE — can read arbitrary files accessible to the Portainer process. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.33.8, 2.39.2, and 2.41.0.
The weakness class is Information Exposure. Sensitive information is shown to someone who should not see it.
Based on its CVSS vector, the flaw can be reached over the network, needs some level of access, and needs no user interaction. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.
Affected versions and timeline
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Product | Portainer |
| Affected versions | Portainer from 2.33.0 before 2.33.8; Portainer from 2.34.0 before 2.39.2; Portainer 2.40.0 |
| Published | May 28, 2026 |
| Last modified | Jul 21, 2026 |
| Added to CISA KEV | Not listed |
| Assigning CNA | security-advisories@github.com |
How to detect it
- Inventory every instance of Portainer and record the running version against the affected range above.
- Check external attack surface scans for internet facing instances of the component.
- Review logs on affected systems for unusual requests, errors or new processes around the vulnerable function.
- Confirm with an authenticated vulnerability scan once your scanner has a check for this CVE.
How to fix it
- Apply the fixed version of Portainer named in the vendor advisory.
- If patching must wait, restrict network access to the affected service and put it behind authentication or a web application firewall rule.
- Rescan after the change to prove the exposure is gone, then close the ticket.
CTEM action plan
| CTEM stage | What to do for this CVE |
|---|---|
| Scope | Add every business service that depends on Portainer to the current CTEM cycle. |
| Discover | Find all instances, including shadow and cloud deployments, and record versions and exposure. |
| Prioritize | Rank using EPSS and CVSS together with asset exposure and business impact. |
| Validate | Confirm the flaw is reachable and exploitable in your environment and that compensating controls work. |
| Mobilize | Assign the fix to the asset owner with a due date matched to the priority, then verify closure. |
CWE References
- CWE-59 More CVEs with this weakness
- CWE-200: Information Exposure More CVEs with this weakness
Technical References
Frequently asked questions
Related CVEs
Portainer Community Edition is a lightweight service delivery platform for containerized applications that can be used to manage Docker, Swarm, Kubernetes and ACI environments. From 2.33.0 to before 2.33.8, 2.39.2, and 2.41.0, Portainer's authentication middleware accepts JWT bearer tokens passed as the ?token=<JWT> URL query parameter on any authenticated API endpoint, in addition to the standard Authorization: Bearer header. URLs are recorded in reverse-proxy access logs, browser history, and HTTP Referer headers on outbound navigation, so any JWT passed this way can be harvested by anyone with access to those logs or by an external site the user subsequently visits. A leaked token grants the full privileges of the user it was issued to, until the token expires (default 8 hours, configurable). The ?token= parameter was used by Portainer's browser-based container attach, exec, and pod shell features, so any user with exec or attach rights on a container was exposed — not only administrators. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.33.8, 2.39.2, and 2.41.0.
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