Ghost Alpine Docker ImageApplication · Docker
CVE-2020-35185
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 · uneditedThe official ghost docker images before 2.16.1-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. System using the ghost docker container deployed by affected versions of the docker image may allow a 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 confidenceThe Alpine-based Ghost Docker images prior to version 2.16.1-alpine ship with a blank password for the root user. This default credential vulnerability allows remote attackers to authenticate as root to the container with an empty password, potentially compromising the entire Ghost CMS installation and underlying host.
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
Ghost Alpine Docker ImageApplication
< 2.16.1CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the running Ghost Docker imageRun 'docker ps' to find the container, then 'docker inspect <container_id>' or 'docker images' to get the image tag and digestAffected if The image tag contains 'alpine' and the version is below 2.16.1 (e.g., 2.16.0-alpine, 2.15-alpine, latest-alpine)
A user is affected if they are running any Alpine-based Ghost Docker image version prior to 2.16.1-alpine, as the root account has a blank password in those versions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 · scoped2.16.1
Update to Ghost Docker image version 2.16.1-alpine or later. If already running an affected version, rotate credentials, audit for unauthorized access, and redeploy using the patched image.
ghost:2.16.1-alpine or later
- 1. Stop any running containers using the affected Ghost Alpine Docker Image
- 2. Pull the fixed version of the Ghost Alpine image: docker pull ghost:2.16.1-alpine (or a later stable version)
- 3. Verify the new image version: docker images ghost:2.16.1-alpine
- 4. Update your deployment configuration (docker-compose.yml, Kubernetes manifests, etc.) to reference the fixed image version
- 5. Review container logs after deployment to ensure the application started successfully
- 6. Test authentication and overall application functionality
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Fix this in Ghost Alpine Docker Image
Scoped from the published advisory
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2020-35185 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2020-35185 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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