Docker Hub flaw let attackers impersonate users, tamper with images

Docker has disclosed a critical vulnerability (CVE-2026-105445) in Docker Hub that let attackers access another user’s container repositories using a personal access token (PAT).

Docker Hub is an online registry for storing, sharing, and downloading container images - templates that package everything needed for an application to run in an isolated environment.

In Docker Hub, a PAT serves as a secret used to authenticate tools and workflows. It allows you to pull, push, or delete container images.

According to a security bulletin from the Docker team, an attacker could create an account and PAT, then convert the account into an organization and name a target user as its owner.

The CVE-2026-105445 flaw stems from Docker Hub reassigning a personal access token (PAT) to a designated organization owner without changing its secret or obtaining the target's consent. This allowed the attacker to use the token to authenticate as the target.