CVE-2026-45405: Dokku: Arbitrary File Write via Tar Symlink Traversal in git:from-archive and certs:add

Severity: high (CVSS 8.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-26 · updated 2026-06-26
Weakness: CWE-59

Description

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, 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.

Affected products

dokku: before 0.38.2 — fixed in 0.38.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: dokku 0.38.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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