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.
Published: 2019-05-09
A Hard-Coded NULL root user password vulnerability was found in Alpine Linux Docker Images from December 2015’s 3.3 version onward. Users are encouraged to disable the root user, or any services that utilize the system shadow file as an authentication database.
https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2019-0782
https://support.f5.com/csp/article/K25551452
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20190510-0001/
https://alpinelinux.org/posts/Docker-image-vulnerability-CVE-2019-5021.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/108288
http://lists.opensuse.org/opensuse-security-announce/2019-06/msg00004.html