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CVE-2026-44881: Portainer Information Exposure (CVSS 8.5)

CVE-2026-44881 is a high severity information exposure in Portainer with a CVSS score of 8.5. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Last updated: Jul 21, 2026

Quick answer

Direct answer

CVE-2026-44881 is a high severity information exposure in Portainer with a CVSS score of 8.5. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

Risk scores

CVSS base score
8.5HIGH
EPSS probability
0.58%
Higher than 47 percent of all CVEs
CISA KEV
Not listed
CVSS metricWhat 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

FieldDetail
ProductPortainer
Affected versionsPortainer from 2.33.0 before 2.33.8; Portainer from 2.34.0 before 2.39.2; Portainer 2.40.0
PublishedMay 28, 2026
Last modifiedJul 21, 2026
Added to CISA KEVNot listed
Assigning CNAsecurity-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 stageWhat to do for this CVE
ScopeAdd every business service that depends on Portainer to the current CTEM cycle.
DiscoverFind all instances, including shadow and cloud deployments, and record versions and exposure.
PrioritizeRank using EPSS and CVSS together with asset exposure and business impact.
ValidateConfirm the flaw is reachable and exploitable in your environment and that compensating controls work.
MobilizeAssign the fix to the asset owner with a due date matched to the priority, then verify closure.

CWE References

Technical References

Frequently asked questions

CVE-2026-44881 is a high severity information exposure in Portainer with a CVSS score of 8.5. Apply the vendor fix and confirm exposure on internet facing and business critical assets first.

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