Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2019-5021

Versions of the Official Alpine Linux Docker images (since v3.3) contain a NULL password for the `root` user. This vulnerability appears to be the result of a regression introduced in December of 2015. Due to the nature of this issue, systems deployed using affected versions of the Alpine Linux container which utilize Linux PAM, or some other mechanism which uses the system shadow file as an authentication database, may accept a NULL password for the `root` user.

Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a CRITICAL severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 9.8, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts confidentiality (data exposure), integrity (unauthorized modifications), and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 4 products from gliderlabs, from alpinelinux, from opensuse and 1 other, organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

First disclosed in 2019, this vulnerability was reported during a period defined by widespread IoT adoption challenges, mobile security concerns, and the emergence of advanced persistent threat (APT) techniques. Contemporary mitigation strategies focused on secure development practices and third-party component vetting.

Published

2019-05-08T17:29:01.490

Last Modified

2024-11-21T04:44:12.227

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 9.8 (CRITICAL)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Access Vector: NETWORK
Access Complexity: LOW
Authentication: NONE
Confidentiality Impact: COMPLETE
Integrity Impact: COMPLETE
Availability Impact: COMPLETE

Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

10.0

Weaknesses

Type: Secondary
CWE-258
Type: Primary
NVD-CWE-Other

Affected Vendors & Products

Type	Vendor	Product	Version/Range	Vulnerable?
Application	gliderlabs	docker-alpine	≥ 3.3	Yes
Operating System	alpinelinux	alpine_linux	-	No
Operating System	opensuse	leap	15.0	Yes
Operating System	opensuse	leap	15.1	Yes
Application	f5	big-ip_controller	1.2.1	Yes

References

http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-06/msg00004.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108288 Broken Link ([email protected])
https://alpinelinux.org/posts/Docker-image-vulnerability-CVE-2019-5021.html Vendor Advisory ([email protected])
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190510-0001/ Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K25551452 Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2019-0782 Exploit, Mitigation, Patch, Third Party Advisory ([email protected])
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-06/msg00004.html Mailing List, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108288 Broken Link (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://alpinelinux.org/posts/Docker-image-vulnerability-CVE-2019-5021.html Vendor Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190510-0001/ Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K25551452 Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2019-0782 Exploit, Mitigation, Patch, Third Party Advisory (af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108)

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For gliderlabs's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.