tomevault-io Docker User and Permission Check
Analyze Docker configurations for user, ownership, and permission issues in PHP containers.
Permission Check Patterns
| Check | Risk | Detection |
|---|---|---|
| No USER instruction | Root execution | Missing USER in Dockerfile |
| Wrong UID/GID | Permission conflicts | Non-standard user IDs |
| COPY without --chown | Root-owned files | COPY without ownership |
| chmod 777 | World-writable files | Overly permissive mode |
| Volume permission mismatch | Read/write failures | Host vs container UID |
| Read-only FS incompatibility | Runtime crashes | Missing tmpfs for writable dirs |
Detection Patterns
1. USER Instruction Present
# INSECURE: No USER instruction (runs as root PID 1)
FROM php:8.4-fpm-alpine
COPY . /var/www/
CMD ["php-fpm"]
# SECURE: Non-root user defined
FROM php:8.4-fpm-alpine
RUN addgroup -g 1000 -S appgroup \
&& adduser -u 1000 -S appuser -G appgroup
USER appuser
CMD ["php-fpm"]
2. Correct UID/GID Convention
# Alpine: addgroup / adduser (BusyBox)
RUN addgroup -g 1000 -S appgroup \
&& adduser -u 1000 -S appuser -G appgroup -h /var/www -s /sbin/nologin
# Debian: groupadd / useradd (shadow)
RUN groupadd -g 1000 appgroup \
&& useradd -u 1000 -g appgroup -d /var/www -s /usr/sbin/nologin -M appuser
3. File Ownership After COPY
# INSECURE: Files owned by root after COPY
COPY . /var/www/
# SECURE: Set ownership during COPY
COPY --chown=appuser:appgroup . /var/www/
# SECURE: Set ownership in multi-stage
COPY --from=builder --chown=appuser:appgroup /app/vendor /var/www/vendor
4. No chmod 777
# INSECURE: World-writable permissions
RUN chmod -R 777 /var/www/var
# SECURE: Minimal permissions
RUN mkdir -p /var/www/var/cache /var/www/var/log \
&& chown -R appuser:appgroup /var/www/var \
&& chmod -R 755 /var/www/var
5. Volume Permissions
# PROBLEM: Host UID doesn't match container UID
services:
php-fpm:
volumes:
- ./src:/var/www/src # May cause permission issues
# SOLUTION: Read-only bind mounts + named volumes
services:
php-fpm:
user: "1000:1000"
volumes:
- ./src:/var/www/src:ro # Read-only (no permission issues)
- cache:/var/www/var/cache # Named volume
- logs:/var/www/var/log # Named volume
6. Read-Only Filesystem Compatibility
services:
php-fpm:
read_only: true
tmpfs:
- /tmp:noexec,nosuid,size=64m
- /var/run:noexec,nosuid,size=1m
volumes:
- cache:/var/www/var/cache
- logs:/var/www/var/log
User Creation: Alpine vs Debian
# Alpine (BusyBox): -g GID -S system -u UID -G group -h home -s shell
RUN addgroup -g 1000 -S appgroup \
&& adduser -u 1000 -S appuser -G appgroup -h /var/www -s /sbin/nologin
# Debian (shadow): -g GID/group -u UID -d home -s shell -M no home dir
RUN groupadd -g 1000 appgroup \
&& useradd -u 1000 -g appgroup -d /var/www -s /usr/sbin/nologin -M appuser
# Using existing www-data (UID 82 on Alpine, 33 on Debian)
USER www-data
Grep Patterns
# USER instruction
Grep: "^USER " --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# User creation commands
Grep: "adduser|useradd|addgroup|groupadd" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# COPY without --chown
Grep: "^COPY(?!.*--chown)" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# Overly permissive chmod
Grep: "chmod.*(777|666|a\+[rw])" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# chown commands
Grep: "chown" --glob "**/Dockerfile*"
# Read-only filesystem
Grep: "read_only:" --glob "**/docker-compose*.yml"
# tmpfs mounts
Grep: "tmpfs:" --glob "**/docker-compose*.yml"
Severity Classification
| Pattern | Severity | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| No USER instruction (production) | Critical | Container runs as root |
| chmod 777 on application dirs | High | Any process can modify files |
| COPY without --chown (with USER) | High | Files inaccessible to app user |
| System UID (< 1000) for app user | Medium | Potential privilege confusion |
| Volume mount without :ro | Medium | Unnecessary write access |
| No read-only rootfs | Medium | Filesystem can be modified |
| Missing tmpfs for /tmp | Low | Temp files on persistent storage |
Output Format
### Permission Issue: [Check Name]
**Severity:** Critical/High/Medium/Low
**File:** `<file_path>:<line>`
**Check:** USER / Ownership / chmod / Volume / Read-only FS
**Detection:**
[How the issue was identified]
**Risk:**
[Security or operational impact]
**Current:**
```dockerfile
// Current configuration
Remediation:
// Secure configuration
Platform Notes:
- Alpine: [Alpine-specific instructions]
- Debian: [Debian-specific instructions]
---
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