CVE-2026-44848
CVE-2026-44848 is a CWE-862 vulnerability in github.com/portainer/portainer. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-44848 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Portainer: Missing authorization on Docker plugin endpoints allows host RCE
Real-World Exposure
github.com/portainer/portainer🐹github.com/portainer/portainer🐹github.com/portainer/portainerReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
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, The Docker plugin management endpoints (/plugins/*) were not registered with a handler, so standard users with endpoint access could call privileged plugin operations — including installing and enabling plugins — directly against the underlying Docker daemon. The vulnerability is exposed when a non-admin Portainer user (Standard User role, or any role granted endpoint-level access) has been given access to a Docker endpoint via Portainer RBAC. This vulnerability is fixed in 2.33.8, 2.39.2, and 2.41.0.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/portainer/portainer | ≥ 2.33.0&&< 2.33.8 | 2.33.8 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/portainer/portainer | ≥ 2.39.0&&< 2.39.2 | 2.39.2 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/portainer/portainer | ≥ 2.40.0&&< 2.41.0 | 2.41.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/portainer/portainer. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update github.com/portainer/portainer to 2.33.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-44848 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-44848 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-44848. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-44848 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-44848 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.