dbcve.org
Docker ImageApplication · Irssi

CVE-2020-29602

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2020-12-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.1-alpine or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
The official irssi docker images before 1.1-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. System using the irssi docker container deployed by affected versions of the Docker image may allow an remote attacker to achieve root access with a blank password.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The official irssi Docker images prior to version 1.1-alpine contain an Alpine Linux base image configured with a root user that has a blank (empty) password. This misconfiguration allows any attacker who can reach the container to authenticate as root without credentials, achieving full system compromise.

MitigationUpdate irssi Docker deployments to version 1.1-alpine or later, which contains the patched image with proper root password configuration. Alternatively, rebuild the container with a non-root user or set a strong root password before deployment.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Docker ImageApplication
Affected:< 1.1-alpine

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the irssi Docker image version
    Run 'docker images | grep irssi' or inspect the container with 'docker inspect <container_id>' to find the image tag or digest
    Affected if The image tag shows a version earlier than 1.1-alpine (such as latest, 1.0, or any tag without the fix)
  2. Verify root user password status inside the container
    Exec into the container ('docker exec -it <container_id> /bin/sh') and run 'cat /etc/shadow' or check if 'su root' or 'sudo su' works without password prompting
    Affected if The root account has no password set (empty password field in /etc/shadow) or authentication succeeds without credentials
  3. Confirm the container is running as root
    Run 'docker inspect <container_id>' and check the 'User' field under 'ContainerConfig' or run 'id' inside the container
    Affected if The container runs as root user (UID 0) or no USER instruction is set in the Dockerfile
  4. Check if container network is exposed
    Run 'docker inspect <container_id>' and review 'ExposedPorts' in NetworkSettings, or use 'docker network ls' and 'docker network inspect' to see network connectivity
    Affected if The container ports are mapped to host (published ports) or the container is on a custom bridge network accessible to untrusted parties

You are affected if you are running an irssi Docker image older than 1.1-alpine where the root user has an empty password and the container is network-accessible to attackers.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.1-alpine or later
Fixed in 1.1-alpine
Interim mitigation

Update irssi Docker deployments to version 1.1-alpine or later, which contains the patched image with proper root password configuration. Alternatively, rebuild the container with a non-root user or set a strong root password before deployment.

Recommended fix High confidence

irssi:1.1-alpine or later

  1. Stop any running irssi container using the affected Docker image
  2. Remove the existing irssi container
  3. Pull the fixed irssi Docker image: docker pull irssi:1.1-alpine (or a later stable version)
  4. Deploy a new container using the fixed image: docker run -d --name irssi irssi:1.1-alpine
  5. Verify the root user has authentication enabled and not using a blank password
  6. If using docker-compose, update the image tag to irssi:1.1-alpine or later and recreate the container

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Docker Image Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-29602 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data